More Planks

And more planks! (8 down and 6 to go).

A full day’s work sees 2 planks scarfed and joined together into 16 foot lengths (ready for the next day). Also a plank on each side cut, fitted and glued into place.

Second strakes

Second strakes

Having fitted the second garboard plank, the second strakes are also now shaped and fitted. When it finally came to gluing and we had managed to increase the temperature up to 'melting point' and with epoxy mixed and planks coated, all suddenly went dark. We were left in a pitch black workshop with the epoxy rapidly curing on the planks which we had spent most of the weekend cutting and shaping. Epoxying and power cuts definitely don’t mix, but fortunately light was soon restored and the planks were quickly clamped into place.

Cutting the gain – working in 4mm ply all of this needs to be fairly precise. The rolling bevel cut on each of the planks to accommodate the changing angles of the hull shape, then moves into a rebate. This ensures the plank thickness remains at 4mm by the time it hits the inner stem.

Note the clamps and wedges, these worked well as a method of holding the bevels together when gluing. Even if making up 60 or so pairs did take some time (allowing a plank each side to be glued up, on the same day).

Take a break

Time for a short break from the canoe build. Friday gave me the first opportunity of some winter sailing this year. Cold, cold or very cold? Ice on the pontoons that morning was probably the clue. Apart from a couple of squally showers, this was an almost perfect day for it. The wind increased as soon as I left the shelter of the marina and was soon blowing a steady 6 from the NE and gusting up to 30 knots.

Whoever said Wind Vane use is restricted to long passage making was definitely wrong. My trusted Sea Feather self steering was quickly set. At least a large chunk of my body then went below to get warm, with head routinely stuck out of the hatch watching out for tankers and buoys.

Did I mention the cold?

To add to the theme of sail salt and sawdust, Saturday saw engine oil and grease, as the Beta 10 received its annual TLC. The drain plug on the gearbox requires an ‘out of socket experience’ for my left hand shoulder. Once that was completed, heat exchanger, anode, 2 fuel filters, coolant, oil and filter was just a breeze. Back to epoxy and the canoe next weekend.