Boatshed

….is the steady light at Lady Bay.

Two workbenches will be lit from the southern side.

The making of window frames – even simple ones like these – is finicky work. I can well understand why professional builders prefer to get in their window frames ready-made.

Too late now.

My home-made versions are, at the least, solid. But I do not think I am a born window-maker.

 

A number of visiting experts have declared that our southern Wall frames are over-engineered.

Well, they may be right, although I do not have a copy of the relevant building regulations on hand, to verify the claim. One thing is certain: if a badly-built wall is exposed to the fierce gales of January and July – and every other month bar one or two – it will sooner or later collapse.

To my mind, the frames are exactly what they should be: just right for the conditions – never mind building regulations and conventions. I would rather have an over-engineered boatshed, intact, than a ‘regulated’ structure on the verge of ruin.

The end-timbers are in place; my next task is to fit inner frames to the windows. These will support the glass, and provide an edge for the cypress cladding.

 

If all goes well, I should be installing the weatherboard in a week or so. No doubt there will be a few more (mild) dramas, as I re-invent the wheel yet again. I am a slow learner, and a slow worker, and so the work proceeds in the usual way: bit by bit.

As Dad might have observed: what a business. Seven and a half weeks.

The floor is by no means perfect, but it is solid and durable (and of course I used very long nails). It should outlast this generation of aspiring shipwrights, and serve the next generation well enough.

Back to the southern wall.

….bring a visitor.

Floorboards could easily become an obsession. Fortunately there will be an End, along with the Beginning and Middle. When the End arrives, I will get back to our southern wall,  which currently lacks uprights, windows, cypress cladding….and in short, provides small protection from the fierce southerly gales sweeping along the coast.

Sam has recorded the beginning of our cypress floor, which extends eastwards from the western wall.

As the old saying goes: well begun – a lot more to do….

You can see the half inch gap between the outside floorboard and the wall: large wooden floors may (or may not) expand and contract according to the season, although native cypress is said to be relatively stable.

The ‘gap’ will  eventually be covered by a low skirting board.

I have chosen to nail into the face of the boards, rather than through the top edge of the tongue (the latter method is called ‘blind nailing’).  After all, this is a boatshed, not a dining room; strength and durability take precedence over appearance….and I expect the same principle will apply to our boats.

 

Here are the western weatherboards, after a first application of decking oil. I will tackle the second coat in a week or so, if there is a dry spell. The oil looks to be primarily Tung Oil, with small additions of Eucalypt, Pine etc.  It gives a lovely, fresh finish, which should change to soft grey over the next few years – especially on the western side of the Boatshed, where the wood will be exposed to the full impact of winter storms and summer heat.

 

….who loved wood, water, rocks, and the wild creatures of land and sea.

 

GIFTS

unlooked for

her gifts
came at the quiet time
wrapped you could say
inside themselves

with certain hands
in mind
and a certain
heart

small gifts
of large worth
to those who favour
the uncarved block

deep gifts
and rare gifts
for those who cherish
simple things

gifts that last the distance
and outlast distance
and keep giving
wonderfully

from within