Category: Uncategorized

Transom 2

Done.

As far as any small boat can be watertight, Shearwater is now watertight….

Next task:  repairing our new mainsail, which has been damaged by an enterprising rat. He, or she, gnawed three almost perfectly circular holes in the lower fabric. I suppose that is one interpretation of the nautical phrase – shortening sail.

Our last voyage in the Bay was long ago (around 2007).  Almost time to get out the beach rollers, and return Shearwater to her native element.

LEARNING CURVE 5

I have already glued four Lute Ribs edge to edge, and to their shared point of contact: the neck-block (temporarily attached to the mould).

Here I am fitting Lute Rib number three on the treble side.

Sam has photographed the various tasks as they arise: shaping the rough-cut Rib on a Bending Iron (so that it lies snugly against all points of contact along the curves of the mould); removing excess wood by means of an upside-down Block Plane  – and fine-tuning both edges on the absolutely flat surface of the Emery board.

It is an absorbing and frustrating and satisfying process….

 

Transom 1

As you can see below, Shearwater has two areas of dry rot along the top edge of the transom.

I admit to purchasing the Hishika Azebiki Saw primarily for its looks – but already it a has become a necessary luxury, as I knew it would.

These excellent saws with their curved blade can begin a cut in the middle of a flat surface….hence their traditional use in Japan for inlay work, butterfly joints, and (for all I know ) – boat-building.

Watertight 3

 

 

A bit rough….it won’t make it into the pages of Wooden Boat Magazine – but the stem-piece is at least solid, and functional.

A final sanding, and paint will cover up any minor defects of workmanship.

I am hoping that the shipwright would be satisfied. For him, function and integrity were always the primary concerns; beauty might show itself when least expected.

We could say: Wabi Sabi boat-building

WATERTIGHT 2

 

It has been a slow (and rather complicated) business – and I am, after all, a slow worker: slow by both temperament and choice.

But we have been landlubbers too long. With a bit of luck, Shearwater should be out on the water by early Autumn 2022.

I am looking forward to that auspicious Day.

The merest glimpse of Shearwater – moored in the shallows, perhaps, or drawn up with sails furled at the edge of the bay – somehow engendered a sense of comfort. She was undoubtedly poised for her next voyage….and all must be well with the world. *

*My Father as Mariner, page 91.