The Boat Shop

May 3, 2018

Between bad weather and a new transmission for boat hauler Chadd Mowrey, Tardis is running a couple weeks late getting back to Connecticut.

But in the meantime, the shop is totally full of projects:

— Ray’s Herreshoff 12 1/2 footer is under the tarp. We have some final bottom work to do, but basically she’s ready to rig and launch as soon as Ray gets back from a little jaunt over to Egypt.

— Offcut, the new dinghy for Tardis, is awaiting a can of interior paint for the final coat, and gunwale guards. This will be the last project out of the shop, since I won’t need her until June. All the sanding I had to do after screwing up the fairing was worth it, since my neighbor Wally paid me the wooden boat builder’s highest compliment: “Wow, that finish looks like fiberglass!”

— The floorboards in the foreground are from the Connecticut River Museum’s steam launch Osprey. I have been refurbishing and re-engineering the floors and seating system all winter, since the old system was starting to get a little dangerous. Some of the floors and seating are original to the boat, which makes them well over 125 years old, so they were in need of some TLC.

— The small boat in build is also for the Museum. We had a Clint Chase Compass Point Skiff kit left over from last year’s boatbuilding workshop, so I’m finishing it to use as a silent auction or raffle prize. So she is getting the full treatment — mahogany veneer on the transom, solid wood breasthook , quarter knees and seats, no exposed plywood edges, two-part epoxy finish, and as many coats of varnish as I can get on by May 31.

I can’t say enough about the quality of Clint’s kits. The puzzle joints he uses are as strong as they can be made. The slot and tab system you can see in the pictures makes initial assembly a snap. The plywood and CNC cutting are perfect. Working on this boat is a real pleasure.

I had to fill out a bunch of forms today in connection with my volunteer work for our town government, and listed my occupation as “retired”. As busy as I am, I was worried that this might be some sort of perjury, until I truthfully answered the next question — Employment Income: $0.