February 24, 2019
Between the mold redaction, a great two weeks with Molly and a bug infestation (more later), I have been incredibly remiss in reporting on “Arnehm” another Olga 28 going together in Zebulon, NC. I stopped by to see Sytse Douna, his friend, assistant and electrical guru Ton Schoenmaker (a frequent commenter on this blog) and his gracious wife on the way south to Vero Beach.
My first surprise was the boatbuilding shop. I was able to rent a suitable area to build Tardis, but Sytse, having a cabinet shop and land available on site, decided to build a shop exactly suited to build (and turn over) an Olga 28. It is incredible — tools to hand, warm, a big beam down the middle to mount hoists for the flip.
The hull is almost ready for glass and is incredible. The joints in the frame are perfect. I cut my stringer slots to the plans, left a little wiggle room, and ran Thixo fillets over everything to strengthen any gaps. Sytse’s joints are all perfect to begin with, again, like furniture.
The scarphs look great. They should. Sytse and Ton laid them all out and glued them on the floor to make one big plank for the sides up to the curvy areas. I would never trust my measurements that far. I patterned everything in thin plywood and scarphed on the frame. I think mine are strong, but glue-dependent. Sytse’s have a perfect wood-to-wood meeting.
Every Olga builder is going to struggle with the cold-molded area in the bow. It’s worth it — the curvature throws off water and spray perfectly and the foredeck is always dry. I hope I was able to reassure Sytse and Ton that what they have done is just fine. A diagonal top layer followed by 12 oz biax fiberglass and a 6 oz topcoat and that area will be extremely strong.
I very much like the way the Olga 28’s are becoming a collaborative process. Malin in Ontario has been down to see the Tardis twice, Sytse and Ton obviously followed my blog carefully, I got a lot of clues for Friedbert in Germany, and Mark (out in Washington State, I think) is always standing by to help and make minor (very minor, since the boat is pretty much perfect) as needed.
More on other builds, soon.
Syste’s shop — where’s the old furniture, 5 year’s of empty paint cans, the dust, the rum and Hostess Twinkies? Just kidding — it’s perfect.
Outside of the shop with an exterior addition going on
Forward framing — immaculate
Interior — poor picture, but as you can see, there are a LOT of joints — and all are perfect
Forward hull planking
Tricky bow planking
Mid section — those hairlines are scaarfs in 1/2 inch plywood!
Hull planking from the stern
Hull from above
Sytse tp the left and his faithful assistant Ton to the right
The Tardis Project 
Paul, Please take all the credits (and more) for this collaborative process. You’ve earned it! (Dubbel en Dwars – as the Dutch shipbuilders would say)
In the mean time, Sytse and I are prepping for the big event: Flipping a Hull. We built two hoops to hold the hull at stations 8.3 and 19, got some trolleys and hoists on that big beam, and invited some 30 strong-hands for the last Saturday of August.
I even crafted a scale 2-D model of the “wharf” and boat to discuss the best approach. . Only to find us lacking 2 stupid inches between the hoist beam and the floor when the hull is in an intermediate position. I cannot believe it. We studied Friedberts pictures and stories, where he had much less ceiling space, but the hoops we use are made of 2×10’s, and those too require space.
Anyway, with so many capable hands available, we will go on as planned. Saturday 8/31 is the big day.
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