Doing it old school

Seriously heinous, following the money, and some Maker Faire (and yes dear reader there is a trebuchet!!!) goodness...

Yesterday I was working on the deck when a boat motored up beside me and asked where we were... Which is not a question you get asked a lot these days in a world where GPS is commonplace.

So, I told him the name of the anchorage...

He then asked, "What island?"...

I told him St Croix...

"But where is Tortola?"

I pointed...

"How far is it?"...

"About 41 miles"...

"Thats a long way"...

"What course should I steer?"

"Six degrees should get you there"

"My compass doesnt work, can you point me in the right direction?"

So I pointed then went back to the job at hand and when I next looked up he was no longer in sight...

Listening to Love and the Zealous

So it goes...

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Hello Old Friend!

Yesterday I got out to the boat shop after over a month of  running around with the trailer, the new job, and starting graduate school full-time. Luna looked so sweet and lovely as I approached the shop. I climbed up on her keel, situated myself where her "cockpit" will be and lingered for a few moments imagining rolling waves instead of rolling hills. Then I got to work building the L-A-S-T frame! More on that tomorrow.

View from Lunas cockpit.

One thing Ive learned about boat building is that the shop needs to be a pleasant place to work. This doesnt necessarily mean lots of expensive tools (Im still a proponent of using the cheapest functional tools you can get), nor does it mean a climate controlled, deluxe barn. I guess to me it just means less exposure to the elements. The shed I work out of, while the price is right, has a dirt floor and only one wall to the North which makes exposure to all sorts of stuff inevitable.  

A project like this requires thousands of hours. Given this, it is generally best to limit the "excuses" one has to not go out to work during a few spare hours. Sometimes I find myself hesitating to go to the shop because it is 110 degrees outside, or the wind is really high and I dont want to cough and sputter in the heavy Texas dust. I am no delicate petunia, but sometimes thats just a bit too much. 

View of the shop floor.

While I have been less-than-organized all my life, this mess is not all my fault. Let me introduce you to the beautiful part of the USA I call home:

It isnt quite this bad.

Actual view from the back of the shop.

When I moved here a couple of years ago, the ranch was lush and green:

The ranch in September, 2 years ago.

Then the drought hit and we havent had much rain since. This, combined with the common practice of ranchers in my area desperately clearing the land of all vegetation on the false hope that it might rain (it never does), means it is pretty dusty here. 

While the ridiculous amount of dust might drive me to entertain apocalyptic thoughts, I cant imagine what its like for the ranchers whose livelihoods depend on the rain. My heart breaks to see the hardworking couple who own the ranch I live on sit on the porch praying for rain as thunderheads roll in-- and then roll out-- without a drop of water hitting the ground. Heres to hoping the drought ends soon.

Boatbuilding in Hindsight
Boat shop requirements for The Next Boat:

1. no months average temperature may exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit 

2. the shop must have at least 5 sides (one of these must be a roof)

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New kits Old kits More kits!

New and Updated Kits

Calendar Islands Yawl under construction
Updated Deer Isle Koster (KDI) kits being cut out West

The CIY hull#1 is being expertly built in Duluth and everything is looks really good. The boat has been set up and planking has started.

The building jig set up was all CNC cut and self-jigging. In a post on the Wooden Boat Forum about the CIY project, the builder says "I have the distinct sense of the boat building itself" as he assembled the building jig and is not planking within 10 days time working on the side.

Here is the boat so far, all photos courtesy of Jim Levang, builder and owner of hull #1.

The building jig set up. All parts are CNC cut.

The stem, bulkheads, centerboard trunk, and transom all set up. They were all CNC cut.

Bottom and garboards attached!

But thats not all! You can also get the updated KDI. This model is not my own design, but drawn originally by Bruce Elfstrom, friend, fellow designer, and small boat guru from Connecticut who plays with boats, particularly Scandinavian type boats on the side. I have done a lot of new design work with the help of three builders of hull #3, 4, and 5. Photos below courtesy of Frank Stauss in New Jersey. He looks to be doing a fabulous job. 

New Jersey KDI.

NJ KDI.

The Deblois Street Dory is getting a few tweaks to the building jig set up to facilitate building and then two kits will be cut. Finally, the last project will be to finish the Drake 19, a new model. A bit of a line up is forming there for this kit. Everything is on track to be done by the end of May. Then I am going rowing and sailing, dang it!

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Not the same old same catboat

You might find this thought provoking, excuse me while I throw up a bit, and just another bit of educational integrity going down the drain...

All too often we tend to stick "traditional" boat types in the must be kept traditional ghetto which kills any sort of further development or evolution in its tracks.

That said, every once in a while, an inquisitive brave soul will decide to take on the powers that be, break from the lockstep mentality, and liberate a traditional design from the ghetto to bring it into the present day... Makes me get all funky and do the happy dance.

Not your same old same quaint catboat.

 More information can be found here and here.

Listening to Third Eye Blind

So it goes...

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An Old Head on Young Shoulders

It is often said that words of wisdom come from the mouths of babes...

The other week one of my sons mentioned that he wanted to build one of my First Mate designs. I was full of enthusiasm and told him that Id build one too, and maybe I could arrange to have the parts for both boats cut by CNC.

He looked at me and said, "Marking and cutting is easy and fun - can you arrange to have the sanding and painting done by CNC instead?"

First Mate is a nice boat - you can see more designs on my website here.

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Old popular mechanics boat plans Learn how

Pic Example Old popular mechanics boat plans Popular Mechanics 1902 Batman The Dark Knight Batcave Runabout Boat Plans Popular Mechanics Luxury Speed Boats Popular Mechanics Boat Plans

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Old model boat plans

Old model boat plans U.s. news | national news - abc news, Abc news reports on united states politics, crime, education, legal stories, celebrities, weather, the economy and more Uss constitution - wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Uss constitution is a wooden- hulled, three- masted heavy frigate of the united states navy, named by president george

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