Still working on issues, still not 3d. Have not yet drilled the rudder lashing holes, but am about to for the starboard hull. Just have to glass the spots first.
Also hit an issue with the backbones being one inch too short, due to a mismeasure back in september or sometime. I had to fix that before continuing.
I wanted the hulls 3d before April, now I'm hoping before May. :(
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Ugh
I am STILL working on the damn rudder lashing points on the sternpost. I've got 'em all notched and filled but.....
Shit, as I am typing this I just remembered that I should have glued on the hardwood inserts BEFORE filling the big holes I cut! What am I going to clamp to now?!? Well, too late to cry over it. I guess I'll put a tiny screw in as a clamp and fill it, or else make a jig. Dammit.
Anyway, once it's done I am going to put the starboard hull together.
On a side note, I am usually in a continual state of "patting myself on the back" for choosing this design. I guess it's a necessity. If you are doubting your choice in design, you start on a downhill slide to somewhere you don't want to be.
The wharram Tiki 30 is definitely a safe, stable, small, trailerable cruising design that is very. very seaworthy. I know it doesn't move fast to weather, and I know it isn't a luxury craft, but I don't doubt that it would convey us, safely and relatively comfortably, wherever we might want to go.
But God damn, they're practically GIVING monohull boats away now. I could have a cruising boat for a song and a dance, almost without taking out a loan. It has begun to worry me a bit, a little taste of self-doubt that I am used to anywhere else in my life, but not in my choice to build the Wharram. I also have read some other things about the designer that worry me a bit. Mostly things I already knew, but had not heard in so many words. Things like how the whole aesthetic is more designed to sell plans than to create good boats. Things about self-serving design analysis and refusal to acknowledge weak points.
I have also re-read the Larry Pardey's nasty, horrifying article about how epoxy is garbage, and how your boat will definitely fall apart long before the wood even has a chance to rot.
These things worry me, but I have to shut out the worst of it and focus on the completion of the project. Whether it is the boat for me or not, it will still sell, to someone, for more than I paid for it, or I will get out of it what it cost in enjoyment. I have to believe that one day I will come over the horizon and see the Bahamas growing before me, that I will beach the boat I built, and my wife and kid will be thrilled as they jump off onto the sand.....
Shit, as I am typing this I just remembered that I should have glued on the hardwood inserts BEFORE filling the big holes I cut! What am I going to clamp to now?!? Well, too late to cry over it. I guess I'll put a tiny screw in as a clamp and fill it, or else make a jig. Dammit.
Anyway, once it's done I am going to put the starboard hull together.
On a side note, I am usually in a continual state of "patting myself on the back" for choosing this design. I guess it's a necessity. If you are doubting your choice in design, you start on a downhill slide to somewhere you don't want to be.
The wharram Tiki 30 is definitely a safe, stable, small, trailerable cruising design that is very. very seaworthy. I know it doesn't move fast to weather, and I know it isn't a luxury craft, but I don't doubt that it would convey us, safely and relatively comfortably, wherever we might want to go.
But God damn, they're practically GIVING monohull boats away now. I could have a cruising boat for a song and a dance, almost without taking out a loan. It has begun to worry me a bit, a little taste of self-doubt that I am used to anywhere else in my life, but not in my choice to build the Wharram. I also have read some other things about the designer that worry me a bit. Mostly things I already knew, but had not heard in so many words. Things like how the whole aesthetic is more designed to sell plans than to create good boats. Things about self-serving design analysis and refusal to acknowledge weak points.
I have also re-read the Larry Pardey's nasty, horrifying article about how epoxy is garbage, and how your boat will definitely fall apart long before the wood even has a chance to rot.
These things worry me, but I have to shut out the worst of it and focus on the completion of the project. Whether it is the boat for me or not, it will still sell, to someone, for more than I paid for it, or I will get out of it what it cost in enjoyment. I have to believe that one day I will come over the horizon and see the Bahamas growing before me, that I will beach the boat I built, and my wife and kid will be thrilled as they jump off onto the sand.....
Thursday, March 19, 2009
hold up
Wait a second.
I was about to put my first hull together, until someone (some several) reminded me that the rudder lashing points on the sternposts are way easier if done 'on the flat.' than after the boat hull goes up.
So I'm doing that now. I'm doing it Scott Williams style too, pouring in a while epoxy insert instead of drilling through the plywood. This isn't a quick job, so my 3D hull plans are going to have to wait until it's done and done.
Oh well, it's probably saving time overall, so here we go on that.
I was about to put my first hull together, until someone (some several) reminded me that the rudder lashing points on the sternposts are way easier if done 'on the flat.' than after the boat hull goes up.
So I'm doing that now. I'm doing it Scott Williams style too, pouring in a while epoxy insert instead of drilling through the plywood. This isn't a quick job, so my 3D hull plans are going to have to wait until it's done and done.
Oh well, it's probably saving time overall, so here we go on that.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Tools
Here is a list of the tools I have in the shop that I use most for the boat:
1. Portable 'jobsite' table saw with fence, 10" blade.
I find this invaluable, and I can't count the number of times I've used it to rip up long boards into stringers, beams, any of the dimensional lumber in the boat. Super important tool, for the $100 or whatever it was.
2. Hand held electric jigsaw
This has cut out ALL the bulkeads, all the hullsides, all the keel pieces, all the stems and skegs, and tons of other little trimmings and end-choppings, and I still am on the original blade! I have two others in the handle still, probably enough to finish the boat! I bet that blade had cut close to a mile of continuous sawline.
3. 3/8 corded clutch drill
I found out last year on the dinghy that a battery drill is next to useless. My wife got me this one for father's day last year, and it's gotten tons of use, I have a set of bits to drill holes with, a die-grinder sanding disc, and the awesome drum sander attachment, the drill works well.
4. Japanese Style pullsaw.
What boat builder is without one of these? I not only use it for endless wooden things, but it is the main workhorse when I have to cut bone. How many of your pullsaws have beheaded multiple deer? I can hear it now, in the Bahamas one day, some rich guy will be looking at my boat, and say "What's that dark reddish brown staining under the epoxy there, rot?" "Nah, it's just deer blood."
5. 9 inch tabletop bandsaw:
Another handy thing, but actually not nearly as useful as a lot of other tools are. I do use it whenever I can, mostly to save time or elbow grease with a handsaw on tedious jobs.
6. Electric power plane, hand-held.
This guy eats wood with the greatest of ease, and no effort on my part. I use him whenever the job calls for him. when you laminate a lot of plywood, some of the edged don't match up perfect, until this comes along.
7. Regular jack plane, sharp.
I got this at a flea market for $12, and it's done $400000 worth of work. I abuse it though, I am sorry. No plane should face hardened epoxy, but this one must.
8. Handheld belt sander
I hate this tool I HATE it. It is in my hands far too much, and it never seems to DO anything to the material. The belt always stops moving too. I thing I am faster with a sanding block.
9. Table top belt/disc sander
This is a different story. it works well, and I like it. It's relatively new, and only broke down after 20 minutes or so of run time, requiring me to disassemble it and put the centrifugal start/run switch back on the motor shaft, from which it had fallen off. Other than that, it's great.
10. Random orbital sander, 5"
This works well too. I hate sanding anything though.
11. Sur-form
King of the shop here, lifesaver of all lifesavers, etc...
I also have a circular saw that doesn't get much use. And a table top scroll saw that gets ZERO use, I don;t know why I own it. Maybe it'll gut out lexan windows one day or something/
1. Portable 'jobsite' table saw with fence, 10" blade.
I find this invaluable, and I can't count the number of times I've used it to rip up long boards into stringers, beams, any of the dimensional lumber in the boat. Super important tool, for the $100 or whatever it was.
2. Hand held electric jigsaw
This has cut out ALL the bulkeads, all the hullsides, all the keel pieces, all the stems and skegs, and tons of other little trimmings and end-choppings, and I still am on the original blade! I have two others in the handle still, probably enough to finish the boat! I bet that blade had cut close to a mile of continuous sawline.
3. 3/8 corded clutch drill
I found out last year on the dinghy that a battery drill is next to useless. My wife got me this one for father's day last year, and it's gotten tons of use, I have a set of bits to drill holes with, a die-grinder sanding disc, and the awesome drum sander attachment, the drill works well.
4. Japanese Style pullsaw.
What boat builder is without one of these? I not only use it for endless wooden things, but it is the main workhorse when I have to cut bone. How many of your pullsaws have beheaded multiple deer? I can hear it now, in the Bahamas one day, some rich guy will be looking at my boat, and say "What's that dark reddish brown staining under the epoxy there, rot?" "Nah, it's just deer blood."
5. 9 inch tabletop bandsaw:
Another handy thing, but actually not nearly as useful as a lot of other tools are. I do use it whenever I can, mostly to save time or elbow grease with a handsaw on tedious jobs.
6. Electric power plane, hand-held.
This guy eats wood with the greatest of ease, and no effort on my part. I use him whenever the job calls for him. when you laminate a lot of plywood, some of the edged don't match up perfect, until this comes along.
7. Regular jack plane, sharp.
I got this at a flea market for $12, and it's done $400000 worth of work. I abuse it though, I am sorry. No plane should face hardened epoxy, but this one must.
8. Handheld belt sander
I hate this tool I HATE it. It is in my hands far too much, and it never seems to DO anything to the material. The belt always stops moving too. I thing I am faster with a sanding block.
9. Table top belt/disc sander
This is a different story. it works well, and I like it. It's relatively new, and only broke down after 20 minutes or so of run time, requiring me to disassemble it and put the centrifugal start/run switch back on the motor shaft, from which it had fallen off. Other than that, it's great.
10. Random orbital sander, 5"
This works well too. I hate sanding anything though.
11. Sur-form
King of the shop here, lifesaver of all lifesavers, etc...
I also have a circular saw that doesn't get much use. And a table top scroll saw that gets ZERO use, I don;t know why I own it. Maybe it'll gut out lexan windows one day or something/
Saturday, March 14, 2009
QBU 3.14.09
Shaped foils on keel, skeg, finished gluing knuckle stringers and tapering them. Also filed and trimmed keel slots to for BH's 3 and 4. Finished coating stems and skegs.
Still to go:
1. End-grain edge coating of everything not done, with silica.
2. Abrade all fillet surfaces.
3. Add vents to BH 6 (or 3)
4. Mark hull end lines on all stems
New stuff thought of before assy:
1. Get screws and washers
2. Clear a space
3. Do the layout for the rudder lashings before going 3D
After that, we assemble the hulls and do filleting until the new wood arrives.
No pictures again, my camera is a pain in the ass to use for a few shots, it's set up to take 100 at a time in photoshoots, not shoot quick progress shots.
Shaped foils on keel, skeg, finished gluing knuckle stringers and tapering them. Also filed and trimmed keel slots to for BH's 3 and 4. Finished coating stems and skegs.
Still to go:
1. End-grain edge coating of everything not done, with silica.
2. Abrade all fillet surfaces.
3. Add vents to BH 6 (or 3)
4. Mark hull end lines on all stems
New stuff thought of before assy:
1. Get screws and washers
2. Clear a space
3. Do the layout for the rudder lashings before going 3D
After that, we assemble the hulls and do filleting until the new wood arrives.
No pictures again, my camera is a pain in the ass to use for a few shots, it's set up to take 100 at a time in photoshoots, not shoot quick progress shots.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
QBU 2.12.09 + horror story
Lower hulls all coated, all knuckle stringers scarfed, 2 of them glued to hullsides and tapered to plan, 2 to go, one hopefully glued up today.
Left B4 assy of lower hulls:
Finish coats on stems and skegs.
End-grain edge coating of everything not done, with silica.
Abrade all fillet surfaces.
Glue on 2 more stringers, taper them.
File-fit grooves from bulkheads to keelpiece so they slide together nicely.
Add vents to BH 6 (or 3)
Shape foil surfaces on keels and skegs.
And now, the horrifying story of this Monday's "Hobie fiasco!"
Sunday night, browsing craigslist for Western MD, I come across : "Catamaran, $250"
I look at the ad, the grainy pictures show a hobie beachcat, maybe a 17' model, newer, nice paint, everythign there: trailer, rig, beach launching dolly, all for $250, and about 100 miles away!
It was a storage lot that claimed the boat was 'abandoned' on their property and must go ASAP. I called just when they opened on Monday, and the dopey sounding kid says, "yeah, it's still here. A lot of people have been looking at it though."
I say "I'm on the way right now, don;t sell it to anyone, I'm getting in the truck now." He says "durrr, it's pretty much, like, um, first come, first serve, man."
Stupidly, I wake my daughter and we jump in the truck, fill it up with gas and went to the cash machine to get the $250. I also grabbed a pile of rope and my portable compressor, in case the trailer tires are flat. We roar our way to Frederick MD, never breaking the speed limit, but never going under it either.
We pull into the lot, and there's the boat, all big and in great shape. We did it! We run into the office and there's the dopey faced douchebag taking a credit card from another shame-faced schmuck who is staring intently at the floor.
A piece of paper on the counter reads "Receipt: $250 for outstanding back storage of catamaran." The douche standing next to me was the owner, and the douche behind the couter had played me for an ass. It was all a SCAM to scare this jerk into paying his storage bill.
I said anyway, "I called about the boat," just to see what he'd say, and he says "Yo, man, like, we can't sell it now." My kid had just been thinking of names for the boat, and she starts crying, and I am sick in my stomach, having just driven 2 hours and 100 miles, wasting the whole day off, and all the gas money, to be ripped off.
I really wanted a smaller beach cat to play with while working on this big boat, I'd do a Hitia 14 or 17, but I can't fathom paying another $300 just for the plans, when I almost had an entire Hobie 17 complete with the trailer, for less.
(Wharram designs awesome boats, but his plans sets are notoriously the most expensive home-builder boat plans in the universe. I paid over $1200 for the Tiki 30 plans, and wonderful as they are, they still represent the single most expensive part of the build so far. The 15 gallons of epoxy and the truckload of plywood didn't cost that much, almost if you added them together. Don't let anyone tell you the line that plans costs are only 2% of the total. By my figures, they're more like 10%)
Anyway, waves of disappointment have flooded me all week, and I still want a small, CHEAP beachcat to play with. I might get a bunch of doorskin and knock up a "Hobby Kat" from those free plans here and ther on the internet. It would likely only cost $200 for a car-topper sized one with no glassing, tarp sails, and old oil paint. I could give it away when done with it for that price.
Left B4 assy of lower hulls:
Finish coats on stems and skegs.
End-grain edge coating of everything not done, with silica.
Abrade all fillet surfaces.
Glue on 2 more stringers, taper them.
File-fit grooves from bulkheads to keelpiece so they slide together nicely.
Add vents to BH 6 (or 3)
Shape foil surfaces on keels and skegs.
And now, the horrifying story of this Monday's "Hobie fiasco!"
Sunday night, browsing craigslist for Western MD, I come across : "Catamaran, $250"
I look at the ad, the grainy pictures show a hobie beachcat, maybe a 17' model, newer, nice paint, everythign there: trailer, rig, beach launching dolly, all for $250, and about 100 miles away!
It was a storage lot that claimed the boat was 'abandoned' on their property and must go ASAP. I called just when they opened on Monday, and the dopey sounding kid says, "yeah, it's still here. A lot of people have been looking at it though."
I say "I'm on the way right now, don;t sell it to anyone, I'm getting in the truck now." He says "durrr, it's pretty much, like, um, first come, first serve, man."
Stupidly, I wake my daughter and we jump in the truck, fill it up with gas and went to the cash machine to get the $250. I also grabbed a pile of rope and my portable compressor, in case the trailer tires are flat. We roar our way to Frederick MD, never breaking the speed limit, but never going under it either.
We pull into the lot, and there's the boat, all big and in great shape. We did it! We run into the office and there's the dopey faced douchebag taking a credit card from another shame-faced schmuck who is staring intently at the floor.
A piece of paper on the counter reads "Receipt: $250 for outstanding back storage of catamaran." The douche standing next to me was the owner, and the douche behind the couter had played me for an ass. It was all a SCAM to scare this jerk into paying his storage bill.
I said anyway, "I called about the boat," just to see what he'd say, and he says "Yo, man, like, we can't sell it now." My kid had just been thinking of names for the boat, and she starts crying, and I am sick in my stomach, having just driven 2 hours and 100 miles, wasting the whole day off, and all the gas money, to be ripped off.
I really wanted a smaller beach cat to play with while working on this big boat, I'd do a Hitia 14 or 17, but I can't fathom paying another $300 just for the plans, when I almost had an entire Hobie 17 complete with the trailer, for less.
(Wharram designs awesome boats, but his plans sets are notoriously the most expensive home-builder boat plans in the universe. I paid over $1200 for the Tiki 30 plans, and wonderful as they are, they still represent the single most expensive part of the build so far. The 15 gallons of epoxy and the truckload of plywood didn't cost that much, almost if you added them together. Don't let anyone tell you the line that plans costs are only 2% of the total. By my figures, they're more like 10%)
Anyway, waves of disappointment have flooded me all week, and I still want a small, CHEAP beachcat to play with. I might get a bunch of doorskin and knock up a "Hobby Kat" from those free plans here and ther on the internet. It would likely only cost $200 for a car-topper sized one with no glassing, tarp sails, and old oil paint. I could give it away when done with it for that price.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
QBU 3.5.09
Three of the four lower hullsides are now double coated. One to go. Sunday for that.
Started planing the bottom of the keels as well, which are still rough from the many laminations not being exactly the same.
Also, made a scale model of the basement and the hulls, to assure myself that they would fit out the door once built down there. They will, as I had thought.
Jobs before 3D assembly now include:
Coat one more lower hullside.
Finish coats on stems and skegs.
End-grain edge coating of everything not done, with silica.
Abrade all fillet surfaces.
Scarph knuckle stringers.
Glue on stringers.
Taper stringers.
File-fit grooves from bulkheads to keelpiece so they slide together nicely.
Add vents to BH 6 (or 3)
Shape foil surfaces on keels and skegs.
Started planing the bottom of the keels as well, which are still rough from the many laminations not being exactly the same.
Also, made a scale model of the basement and the hulls, to assure myself that they would fit out the door once built down there. They will, as I had thought.
Jobs before 3D assembly now include:
Coat one more lower hullside.
Finish coats on stems and skegs.
End-grain edge coating of everything not done, with silica.
Abrade all fillet surfaces.
Scarph knuckle stringers.
Glue on stringers.
Taper stringers.
File-fit grooves from bulkheads to keelpiece so they slide together nicely.
Add vents to BH 6 (or 3)
Shape foil surfaces on keels and skegs.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
QBU 3.3.09
Coating inner lower hullsides, roughly an hour to coat once upon waking up on a good day off, then do other jobs/tasks until late at night, when it seems ready for the second coat Not sanding between coats, not brushing. Squeegee only, and I'm becoming quite adept at it. The first coat lifts the grain, and the second covers everything end makes it smooth-surfaced. If grain shows through anywhere, I apply more goo.
Goo supply holding up as of now, should carry me well into the filleting phase, (hopefully all the way through before needing to get more.)
Done one lower completely, and have first coat on second, so 3/8ths of the way through this particular job, and will be 1/2 way through tonight, then work Wed, so on Thurs I might do the third hullside, then the fourth on Sunday.
After Sunday we will hit a new set of tasks, scarphing the stringers and attaching them to the hullsides are the last big jobs, completing the 'parts' for the lower hull assembly.
Goo supply holding up as of now, should carry me well into the filleting phase, (hopefully all the way through before needing to get more.)
Done one lower completely, and have first coat on second, so 3/8ths of the way through this particular job, and will be 1/2 way through tonight, then work Wed, so on Thurs I might do the third hullside, then the fourth on Sunday.
After Sunday we will hit a new set of tasks, scarphing the stringers and attaching them to the hullsides are the last big jobs, completing the 'parts' for the lower hull assembly.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Quick Build Update 3.2.09
Keels and backbones: done, save for foil-shaping the keels.
Bulkheads: done and coated, not sanded for fillets yet, otherwise finished.
Lower hullsides: butted and waiting for coating on inner face
Lower long stringers: Cut and awaiting scarphing
Stems: made, not finished coating
skegs: same as stems.
Stands: all 4 made and padded
Remaining in Phase 1:
*Scarphing stringers
*coating inner hullsides
*attaching stringers to hullsides, planing tapers on the ends.
*coating and smoothing rest of stems and skegs.
*assembly of lower hull, including making spacer timbers fore and aft of backbone, stitching, and screwing
*opening of hulls, installing bulkheads
*glueing and then filleting.
ADDED TO PH 1:
Workignout the rudder lashing holes before going 3D
Long way to go.....but a long way already traveled.
Bulkheads: done and coated, not sanded for fillets yet, otherwise finished.
Lower hullsides: butted and waiting for coating on inner face
Lower long stringers: Cut and awaiting scarphing
Stems: made, not finished coating
skegs: same as stems.
Stands: all 4 made and padded
Remaining in Phase 1:
*Scarphing stringers
*coating inner hullsides
*attaching stringers to hullsides, planing tapers on the ends.
*coating and smoothing rest of stems and skegs.
*assembly of lower hull, including making spacer timbers fore and aft of backbone, stitching, and screwing
*opening of hulls, installing bulkheads
*glueing and then filleting.
ADDED TO PH 1:
Workignout the rudder lashing holes before going 3D
Long way to go.....but a long way already traveled.
My Workshop
On the Wharram forums, where I have a thread about my build, I get a few comments such as "after seeing your workshop, I'll never complain about mine again!"
However, I work in that workshop every single day, and I'll never complain about it either. There are some 'cons' to it, which I'll admit freely. It's dark, cluttered, and has an uneven gravel floor. I can't run loud saws after 10pm because my wife will be sleeping just above the saw.
But with those detracting factors in place, there is still a pile of redeeming qualities to my choice of build location:
It's a huge, (30x50) nearly open space, save for two support columns. It's indoors and protected from the elements. It's extremely convenient to my main living space, just up the stairs. I didn't have to build a shed, barn, or tarp/pipe shelter. It gets residual heat from the furnace. It's got electricity and plumbing. It's got a slew of overhead beams just above the build, which will make turning the hulls in place possible with just a bit of rigging. It's wired for high-speed internet, phone, and cable TV (if I watched TV, that is.) It's got everything I need to build the T30, and then to get it out the door and onto a trailer. What else could I ask for? (Besides a solid floor!)
They say Tiki boats are designed for "flexi-space." To me this means that you can re-configure the space for different uses. Your Pod bunks transform into a dining area when you reach port and drop the hook. The gear tramp turns into a shower stall with the hanging of a solar water-bag, etc... So then is my shop going to be "flexi-space." I configure the tables for one set of jobs, and when done, move them to the next positions for the next jobs. The tools are all portable, everything can be moved around to fit the tasks at hand.
And when the build is complete, the space will revert to it's old condition, and you would never know boats were built there. The house's next owners, when we eventually move out, will see only a wide open space suitable for whatever they want to use it for. It's completely temporary, leaving no trace. Even the flourescent light fixtures are hanging with bailing twine.
If I were in the business of buiding boats or even if I considered myself a 'woodworker' of any sort, then maybe I would bemoan the work-space and build a more permanent one. But Wharrams, in particular, carry the "transitory spirit." They seem to be designed to build on a tropical beach of you wanted, and sail off without fuss or a mess.
So, then, will be this workshop.
However, I work in that workshop every single day, and I'll never complain about it either. There are some 'cons' to it, which I'll admit freely. It's dark, cluttered, and has an uneven gravel floor. I can't run loud saws after 10pm because my wife will be sleeping just above the saw.
But with those detracting factors in place, there is still a pile of redeeming qualities to my choice of build location:
It's a huge, (30x50) nearly open space, save for two support columns. It's indoors and protected from the elements. It's extremely convenient to my main living space, just up the stairs. I didn't have to build a shed, barn, or tarp/pipe shelter. It gets residual heat from the furnace. It's got electricity and plumbing. It's got a slew of overhead beams just above the build, which will make turning the hulls in place possible with just a bit of rigging. It's wired for high-speed internet, phone, and cable TV (if I watched TV, that is.) It's got everything I need to build the T30, and then to get it out the door and onto a trailer. What else could I ask for? (Besides a solid floor!)
They say Tiki boats are designed for "flexi-space." To me this means that you can re-configure the space for different uses. Your Pod bunks transform into a dining area when you reach port and drop the hook. The gear tramp turns into a shower stall with the hanging of a solar water-bag, etc... So then is my shop going to be "flexi-space." I configure the tables for one set of jobs, and when done, move them to the next positions for the next jobs. The tools are all portable, everything can be moved around to fit the tasks at hand.
And when the build is complete, the space will revert to it's old condition, and you would never know boats were built there. The house's next owners, when we eventually move out, will see only a wide open space suitable for whatever they want to use it for. It's completely temporary, leaving no trace. Even the flourescent light fixtures are hanging with bailing twine.
If I were in the business of buiding boats or even if I considered myself a 'woodworker' of any sort, then maybe I would bemoan the work-space and build a more permanent one. But Wharrams, in particular, carry the "transitory spirit." They seem to be designed to build on a tropical beach of you wanted, and sail off without fuss or a mess.
So, then, will be this workshop.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
First....again
My old blog, The Road to Chebacco, is abandoned. The plans for the 20' plywood catboat, which I bought from Dynamite Payson, are laying on a shelf still in the mailing tube, calmly waiting for another day - another phase of life.
Right now, as a man of 34 years with a wife and a young daughter, I must put aside the quiet solo camp-cruising waters favored by boats like Bolger's Chebacco, and build for the family's requirements. Thus, after a long and painstaking process of decision-making, we have arrived at a new design - Wharram's "Tiki 30" double-canoe catamaran.
The Adriatic-based CATATUSC, a Tiki 30 with "Pod" cockpit.
It is a slightly modernized version of his older, more Polynesian-inspired boats, and enjoys a nearly unanimous good reputation, both as a pleasure craft, and as a modest voyaging boat, from everyone who doesn't already have an axe to grind against multi-hulls from the start.
I have made extensive lists of the pros and cons of my choice, and the T30 comes out far ahead of any other possible choices when our own priorities are applied. I won't list them all here, but suffice to say that I would not be the least bit hesitant to take my little family over to the Bahamas on this boat. And after that -- after we have sailed on her for some time and are comfortable and learned of her ways -- I think she could go anywhere else we wanted her to take us.
And even if the standard blue water dream is never-to-be, the boat is still small enough, and can sail in thin enough waters, to function as that camp-cruiser/vacationer for smaller jaunts.
But enough of my justifying my choice, few would question it's worth anyway. This blog is supposed to be about construction, hopefully I can supply more photographs than dreams, for building the thing - (as I learned last year on my dink) - is at least 50% of the fun.
You dream while you build. I carve out a keel, and instantly imagine it being dragged up on some tropical beach, where my kid jumps off and starts kicking around a soccer ball in the sand. I sweep away some sawdust in my cold basement, and start coating a bulkhead in epoxy, and in my mind's eye, my wife stretches her sexy legs and starts beach-combing for shells while I take photos: pictures that will one day be posted in this blog.
The building has already begun, stay tuned for photos and words. This is just the beginning.
Right now, as a man of 34 years with a wife and a young daughter, I must put aside the quiet solo camp-cruising waters favored by boats like Bolger's Chebacco, and build for the family's requirements. Thus, after a long and painstaking process of decision-making, we have arrived at a new design - Wharram's "Tiki 30" double-canoe catamaran.
The Adriatic-based CATATUSC, a Tiki 30 with "Pod" cockpit.
It is a slightly modernized version of his older, more Polynesian-inspired boats, and enjoys a nearly unanimous good reputation, both as a pleasure craft, and as a modest voyaging boat, from everyone who doesn't already have an axe to grind against multi-hulls from the start.
I have made extensive lists of the pros and cons of my choice, and the T30 comes out far ahead of any other possible choices when our own priorities are applied. I won't list them all here, but suffice to say that I would not be the least bit hesitant to take my little family over to the Bahamas on this boat. And after that -- after we have sailed on her for some time and are comfortable and learned of her ways -- I think she could go anywhere else we wanted her to take us.
And even if the standard blue water dream is never-to-be, the boat is still small enough, and can sail in thin enough waters, to function as that camp-cruiser/vacationer for smaller jaunts.
But enough of my justifying my choice, few would question it's worth anyway. This blog is supposed to be about construction, hopefully I can supply more photographs than dreams, for building the thing - (as I learned last year on my dink) - is at least 50% of the fun.
You dream while you build. I carve out a keel, and instantly imagine it being dragged up on some tropical beach, where my kid jumps off and starts kicking around a soccer ball in the sand. I sweep away some sawdust in my cold basement, and start coating a bulkhead in epoxy, and in my mind's eye, my wife stretches her sexy legs and starts beach-combing for shells while I take photos: pictures that will one day be posted in this blog.
The building has already begun, stay tuned for photos and words. This is just the beginning.
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