Author: Chris Wells

I wasn’t looking forward to climbing up a ladder for this job – but it proved to be relatively simple. The beadings held the glass firmly inside the frame, while I drilled holes and hammered the small nails.

I put a sheet of cardboard between the glass and the hammer head, just for peace of mind.

 

We now have two functional windows, high up, ‘harvesting’ the steady southern light.

Done.

No more Noggins and Studs, for the time being.

I should have the the aircell sisalation (insulation) in place by next Sunday.

 

 

Dad gave me this toolbox in 1987, when I was building the wooden cottage on Forktree Road, Carrickalinga. He made it from scraps of this and that scavenged from his workshop – somehow resisting the temptation to incorporate sections of Jarrah and/or Lignum Vitae. I can easily lift the box with one hand, even when it is full of tools.

Nevertheless, it is made to last, and will no doubt outlast me.

For twelve or so months, now, it has kept me company on the boatshed site. I could not ask for a more companionable companion: steadfast, reliable, good-humoured, sympathetic, discreet….

It sets the standard. I am daily reminded that solid construction is more important than superficial appearance – and can have a quiet beauty of its own.

I am working on two fronts at present: the eastern and northern walls.

It is perfect weather for building, with the gentle Autumn light, pleasant temperature, and calm seas (for the occasional swim).

I have fastened a sheet of air-cell sisalation along the eastern wall, in readiness for the weatherboards. You can see in the photos that the entrance is solidly defined.

My priority, however, is the northern wall, since the roof slopes from south to north, and I haven’t yet installed fascia and gutter. When it rains, the northern side can get a little uncomfortable – so I am concentrating my efforts on that wall. I need to finish the frames and window as soon as may be.

What a delight it is to work with this cypress. I think I may have mentioned it before, and if so, it is worth repeating. Cuts sweetly, planes sweetly, fastens easily (as long as you pre-drill the holes), has a lovely honey colour and intoxicating smell – what more could you ask from a humble wood? And termites find it distasteful; it is their loss.

I am hoping to get the boatshed water-tight before the late autumn rains sweep in. Of course, I need to put some glass in the windows – that will help.

Ps My thanks again to Sam for his excellent photographic work, which (as far as I know) he is providing free of charge. I particularly like the close-up photo of the northern wall frames and delicate sheoak. It reminds me of a Japanese woodblock print, in vertical format….

 

Purchased from:   www.japanesetools.com.au

 

BOATSHED ELEGY FOR THE HAMMER THAT DOES NOT RETURN

stolen hidden away
lost
but not abandoned
or forgotten
O humble hammer
never forget
never desert
your children
your master
your family of lovers

come back
O beloved hammer –
our solid cherished certain
hammer –
and be loved once again
by the old hands
the old grip
the slow embrace
of shape and substance

O lovely indispensable
glorious hammer –
tap tapping your song
on the rim
of my heart –
do not forget
to bring back
that bold hopeless
dazzling
vision
of long ago

 

A generous neighbour recently upgraded his heating system, and offered us this slow-combusion heater at low cost.

Used sparingly, it should take the edge off winter mornings, without inducing a state of inertia.

 

In telling of work on St. Finbarr’s Cathedral, he mentions a workman who was inclined to cut the tiles on the spire stones a bit on the rough side, and the foreman came along and spotted it: “It won’t do, Jer”, said he.

“Why?”says the ould fella. “Sure, ‘tis going up two hundred feet an’ no one but the crows will see it”.

“God will see it”, says the foreman, “an’ He’s damn particular”.

 

from: ‘Stone Mad’, by Seamus Murphy, published by The Collins Press, Cork, Republic of Ireland.

As quoted in ‘Sweet Cork of Thee’, by Robert Gibbings, published by JM Dent.

….except for the top ‘barge’ plank, window beadings, glass, and one or two oil applications.

Took a while. I blame my habit of reinventing the wheel; my amateur status; the philosophy of ‘bit by bit’ – and a fussy temperament, which can drive my long-suffering employer to the point of despair.

Next project: the eastern wall with double-doors.