Category: Melonseeds

Grommet Attempts, Worst to Best

 

(to start of project)

I keep thinking of more things to do before the decks go on. Which is good – some of these would be a real pain to do later. Even so, putting on the decks will be a huge milestone I’m anxious to pass.

The lines for the centerboards need to run smoothly to the back, without catching on things. Best way to do that is run them through fairleads in the framing, where they’ll be out of the way. A friend gave me a tip on a good way to do that. Last year at St. Michaels, Terri and I went for a sail with Timmo Schlieff in his gorgeous Coquina. Unbelievably, this was the first boat Timm ever built, and it launched his professional career. Here are some photos from that trip: Continue reading “Copper Grommet Fairleads”

South Centerboard Tuning

 

(to start of project)

With the interiors essentially complete and loosely in place, and the centerboard cases locked down, last weekend I could finally test and fine tune the lift mechanisms for the centerboards. Big relief came when I slid the boards in and they actually seem to work as planned. Continue reading “Centerboard Testing”

Double Sheer Clamp Lamination

 

(to start of project)

An odd and disconcerting thing about this sort of project is it takes just as long to make a little piece of wood fit as it does a big one. This means when you make a lot of little pieces it doesn’t look like you’ve accomplished much for the time spent. It makes it hard to gauge how long it will take you to finish, since you tend to overlook the little things when thinking of what’s left, and the little things add up. Continue reading “Sheer Clamps – Second Layer”

Richmond Skyline from Church Hill

 

(to start of project)

Cicadas are synonymous with Southern summers, the air and light simmer with a pulsing, tinny buzz. This morning, at dawn, bagpipes joined the metallic chorus. Played badly, I might add. It’s Fourth of July weekend, and the Scottsville Parade does pre-promenade staging on the road in front of the house. Hay wagons, antique tractors, fire engines, politicians, Shriners in go-carts . . . not much good for sleeping in, but gets me out of bed early. Continue reading “Catching Up”

Centerboard Slot, rough cut

 

(to start of project)

(Happy Birthday, T!)

This weekend was all about cutting holes in the hulls for centerboard slots. This is one of those things you only have once chance to get right – no do overs – so it took a lot of time to get up the nerve. Made my mouth dry and my palms sweat. There’s just something instinctively wrong about cutting a hole in the bottom of a boat, buried deep down at the genetic level, like a fear of snakes or spiders; as though our ancestors, who had the good sense to keep such holes out of their boats, thus lived to pass on their genes and a wise aversion to said holes. Continue reading “Holes in My Boats”

 A Morgan Dollar, epoxied in place.

 

(to start of project)

Traditions die hard among watermen. Sailors and shipwrights have been putting coins under masts of ships for several thousand years, and still do today. They’ve been found in the mast steps of ancient Roman shipwrecks, even recently. The hope, still, is the offering will bring good luck and safe passage. The original practice had much in common with the consecration of ancient Greek temples as construction began and, more eerily perhaps, putting coins in the mouths of the dead before burial. It was believed that you had to pay the ferryman, Charon, to take your soul across the River Styx to your final resting place in the underworld. Otherwise, your soul would be doomed to wander the earth. A silver coin was preferred, usually an Obolus, placed under the tongue. Continue reading “Coins Under the Mast”