8.33 X 2 = $115

I was zooming along cutting frames and bulkheads when I made what I thought was a little mistake on 8.33, the end of the bunk area. I cut to a grid line instead of the sheer line — the top of the hull. It was just 2 inches off, so I cut off the offending 2 inches and redrew the lines.

It look pretty good, but not quite. So one more measurement, and I discovered one side was 5/8 inch wider than the other. On a boat, that’s a lot, and the curve at the top seemed off, too. Somehow all the angles had changed. So after thinking for about an hour of ways to patch/compensate, I gave up and threw out $115 of plywood and a half-days work.

I think my problem was drawing too many lines and measurements on the plywood. On bulkhead 11, I just drew the lines I needed to cut out the frame, erased any extraneous, and it seemed to go much easier when it was time to cut.

After sitting at a desk for 40 years, it’s hard to describe how good I feel after a day in the shop. I sleep like a log, I can’t wait to go back every day. If I had to do this for a living, of course, I would be in constant worry about the poverty that is part of the boatbuilder’s life. But I guess in those 40 years, I paid my dues to the worry-Gods.