One more day till permit season.

On the eve of the Grand Canyon lottery, our shop continued to press on as though nothing was happening in the outside world.

Yesterday we were talking about stop waters. Here they are installed into the joints that will eventually be cut for the rabbit.

 I lofted several things today. First i located the shelf and inwhale point on the molds (see pic below). then i laid out the deck beam locations. No pictures of that or the beams being cut. I'll try and get some of that tomorrow.

 Today was a great day not only for the boat progress but we finally got big blue running. She cuts through wood like there is nothing there at all, keep yer fingers out!!

Here is a panorama of the shop as it is so far.

Stop, Water!!!

First of all what is a stop water? Well its not a very clever name, they simply stop water from traveling up joints. This afternoon we got the backbones all bolted together so it was an opportune time to install the stop waters in their proper places.

 It all starts with wood, in this case Port Orford Cedar. First i milled it into little square strips on the table saw. Then i eight sided it by clamping one of my planes in the vice on a work bench and planing off the corners. Be careful doing this, its easy to plane off your knuckles.

 Now the pieces are compressed by pounding them through a piece of plate steel. This also rounds them, they come out a little like a pasta noodle.

 Now this noodle is pounded into a hole bored through a joint.

 Finally here is the first of the molds being stood up on the strong back. Hold on to your hats things are really starting to happen!

Rabbits, not like the fuzzy ones.

Ok folks, were going to kick it off with some definitions.

Rabbit: where the planking ends into structural members of a boat, usually the visible line of a notch.

Back Rabbit: the hidden point in the notch where where the back of the planking ends.

Bearding line: the inner point where the planking ends. 

All of these lines can be created on the lofting floor and although it sounds complicated its not really. In the picture below i am transferring the rabbit, back rabbit, and bearding line onto the stern of one of the boats.

 Using sail pins and a plastic baton i an fairing the lines, being sure to see that the lines are "sweet" (a nice curve without any lumps).

 Once the lines are down its time to chop it out.

 A sharp chisel is required, its  more fun if its shiny.

 I started with little pockets and then connected them. Once you get going its not to bad but starting is a little frighting, and well God hates a coward.

Once done and cleaned up you are left with a nice landing for the planking.

Who we are.

Here is a brief photo introduction to the folks building the Powell's 21' replicas.

 First up is Ben the instructor. Sometime he panics but without his drawings and expertise this would never have gotten off the ground.

 This is Gina, lining up and boring a hole into the stem knee.

 Here we have Shawn, aka Juice Box. Boring holes through the keel.

This is Chris, not only is Chris an Alaskan and a hell of a guy but also a prankster although you wouldn't know it from this photo.

 Patrick is rolling bevels for Noah. Working on getting molds done so we can get these boats up on the strong backs.

 Asa, when not building any number of other things usually makes us all look bad with his joinery. 

Last but not least here is Sam, multi-tasking. Coffee and rolling bevels. Sweet.

L

Molds, aprons, and other

Here is the update for the day. I promise that i will try and get a photo of each team member and give them credit for whats going on ( i just need to ask them first).

 In the mean time here are two fine folks putting together molds. Much like in the last post but with bevels and a lot more complications, good thing i'm not doing it.

Ok i know it looks like a boot out of a Python skit but its really the stern post and the dead wood. The little notch on the left is where the transom will live.

 Here is a shot looking down the starboard side of the stem. The rabbet, back rabbet, and bearding line are all there but there much easier seen n the next shot.

 So the curved line at the top is the bearding line, the middle is the back rabbit, and the bottom is the rabbet. This is where the planking lands. Also in this picture is the joint between the stem, keel, and stem knee. Stop-waters can be seen (there the little round plugs) and they do about what you'd expect... Stop water.

 Here we have an elusive floating tenon. Not related to Alfred Lord, anyhow... this little guy fits into the stem post and the keel giving a little more lateral strength, its a good thing.

 The next are a series of shots putting the apron onto the keel. The rabbit and its friends continue through both of these assemblies. Brace and bit are still the order of the day, hey if it ain't broke don't fix it.

So there you have it.

All the molds but one.

Here is how you make a mold for a boat (these are in fact the molds for the I.R.H.. I finished all but one of them). The one that's left, station 1, dies in the stem so i'm still thinking about how to do that one.

 

Anyhow... You should have the station lines drawn. to build a mold you need to reduce for the planking and draw it on each side. Mylar really helps with the transfer.

 

 Once transferred cut the bottom of the mold's angles and nail into place on the loft floor.

 Next use a scrap of wood to estimate how long of a piece you need for the next section of the mold and cut them to length.

Using tri-squares project the bevels that need to be cut onto the stock. Then stack the peaces on the chop saw and cut them out.

Tack them down and repeat. Be sure to have reference lines so that then positioning the molds onto the strong-back everything lines up correctly.

 

 Ones all the pieces are down nail, screw, or glue gussets onto the joints.

Before you know it you will have cruised through the molds.

As i said before i finished up all but one for the I.R.H.. Next is the strong back, stem, and transom. So many boats so little time....

Stuber out.

Happy birth boat!

Another birthday and more boat work. Cant help but look back on this time last year. Back then i couldn't get out of the situation fast enough. Stupid job, a long way away from Lea, in a town i didn't really identify with. The only thing that got me trough it (aside from the occasional visit from friends) was the dory Flo.
Now a year later i have broken ground on a much different boat. Here are the first parts of the I.R.H.
32, damn. Here is to 32 more,
Cheers!

Dear BBC how to do this???

So the Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building is re creating the 1st Powell expedition boats down the grand canyon. I have been trying to think of a way to present the daily progress. Here it is, i will post all of the photographs here on a daily basis. You may not get my epic narration in every post. Feel free to ask questions comment or buy us beer. I'll introduce the teem next week. Right now here is the pics so far. I'm out for my birthday weekend.

So there you go, visual overload. Fire away with your questions its going to be a fun trip!!!