July 2008
0 posts
back in SF!
June 2008
24 posts
boarding a flight home.
last day in the east
happy birthday to ME!
missing the Tamale Lady’s birthday party at Zeitgeist, apparently.
today, i learned the patience of a boatbuilder.
a pound of copper makes 848 copper cut nails...
new nail estimate: ~5000.
we forgot to factor in the additional floorboards. we’ve got about 800 nails on hand, with another 800 on the way. the bulk of them will not arrive until after i’ve left (they are, conveniently, backordered).
of fairing and fastening
today, we figured out the purpose of an old split hunk of wood found rattling around in the bow (it fits between the clamp and the gunwhale, in place of a rib).
i also clinched about 45 copper nails. the clinching process involves nailing with a small, light hammer, and holding a whopping chunk of iron behind it. properly clinched nails roll over, and stick back into the rib. (yes, this would...
i had a big entry about spiling and whatnot, but now it is gone.
apparently i forget how technology works already.
man/pan of steel to the rescue!
We managed to repair the steam rig today, with the help of a steam engineer, and a stainless steel pot. Also, based on the post-mortem of yesterday’s events, we added a level-indicator float, with some helpful red zones to indicate imminent immolation. simple, and effective. i’ll have some photos of the new rig, and the wreckage of the old, before long.
No beard. Too itchy.
I am trying to decide if a beard is a good idea. I haven’t shaved in a week.
generational trifecta!
three generations worked together today to build a lean, mean, steam-generating machine. Three generations also took a coffee break at the same time, and the steam rig ran out of water, and burned through the aluminum water vessel.
In other news, the current estimate of how many clenched nails need to be put in is around 4500. Current number of nails on hand: ~400.
Apparently there have been 3 brown recluse spiders caught near the boat. I’ll try not to get bitten
no boat work today. just a lovely saturday with the family.
the first few days
I have just completed day 3 of my boat restoration/building education, with just a few more lifetimes to go. I have been bitten by about a hundred mosquitos, and a tape measure. I have removed at least 120 clenched nails, and managed to keep all my fingers. I have learned a lot about fastening, spiling, scarfing, patching, and using a plane to sharpen a pencil.
As for the boat, she’s a Penn...
“In every amateur boatbuilder’s shop there should be a “moaning...”
– Boatbuilding: a complete handbook of wooden boat construction, by Howard I. Chapelle, first published 1941
Day 2 of boat building complete. So tired. Photos to come soon.
my longest vacation
I’ve just begun the longest vacation i can remember having since high school. As of last friday, i will not work another day in the month of June. What will i be doing, you ask? Boat building. I leave today, to spend the rest of my vacation learning the art and craft of boat building from a gentleman who has been building boats for well over 50 years: my grandfather. While part of my...