My new keel

Dawn rose...well 10:00am and rushed out to Bren's farm to check how the keel had fared overnight   We loaded it onto a trailor - took it to a weighbridge which suggested that it weighted 360kg - about 95kg more than specified.  But it was still in the mold and the weighbridge was only calibrated to weigh...

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Keel Pour

The forecast this morning was for clear skies and no rain - seemed like the ideal opportunity to pour our keel.  My friend Brendan is a farmer with lots of open yard spaces so we set up camp on his farm next to an old shed.  Bren's son Jordan did some final welding to secure the crucible and ensure the smelter was stable. Meanwhile Brendan...

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Slow but sure progress

Still continuing with planking operations.  Progress has been slow, not least because my two helpers insist I play ball with them in the garden rather than helping me in the workshop..I have been comparing results from spiling with  an articulating template and those from using the 2 batten and trellis method.  I made a test...

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Interesting hull shapes

Fitted planks no. 5 today and it's interesting to see the hull shape forming, especially close to the bow.  The no 2 station has a tighter profile when compare to no. 4 which creates an interesting spoon shape in the hull.  I rechecked this several times, but on re-examining the full size plans which layout the station mold shapes, it is...

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Lead Smelting

Have to say, I was really looking forward to this... must be the pyromaniac in me!I gathered scrap lead from a local roofer plus a bucket of wheel weights from my local tyre depot.  The tyre weights were a disaster - maybe in the US, "tire" weights are still lead, but in Ireland and presumably all Europe, they all seem to be...

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At last - fool proof method for spiling planks

Having suffered too many instances of "edge setting" (I'm still not sure what that is, but I'm blaming it anyway, as most observers seem to suggest it's the main culprit for incorrect planking spiling with a compass), I opted to use a slower method, which I call the two batten and trellis method.  I'm sure there is...

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Spiling challenges

Although I managed to get a reasonable result with spiling the garboards, the broad strake and next plank proved more difficult.  I suspected a faulty spiling pattern (the bad carpenter always blames his tools, right?!!) so I recreated the spiling pattern using larch thicknessed to 8mm.  It is articulated in three places and seems...

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More Planks

Today, I continued on with planking, having completed my keel mold and awaiting delivery of some melting equipment - more of which later.My dilemma is to decide which boards to cut my next planks from. In the specifications there are one set of boards scarfed at a slight angle to accommodate a more "banana" shaped plank.  However,...

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Keel Mold

Having run to a standstill when a supplier of fasteners told me one month after ordering the screws that his supplier's factory was demolished..(yeh likely story Dave) I decided to start building the mold for my keel.Using JB's plans for the keel, I ordered some pine from a local supplier, somewhat thicker than specified, in the...

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