Construction Journal

The number of clamps needed to hold the second plank is somewhat daunting, not to mention expensive if you choose to buy them. Naturally, I, being a cheap bastard, fished about for some other way. Here I'm making some twenty or so plywood clamps and wedges from really cheap, nasty plywood. I figure they cost about 2 bucks to make. My kind of tools.

Now it's time to see if my measuring and planing worked. You have to put a bevel along the edge of the preceding plank (in addition to the rebate) to allow the plank to be well and truly glued. This helps to avoid the embarrassing condition in which you have a beautiful hand made craft that immediately sinks upon being placed in the water.

Okay, I'm boogeying now. My work is beginning to fall into a predictable sequence that goes like this: Cut the pattern. Fair the pattern. Place the pattern. Note that the pattern is all screwed up. Re-cut the pattern. Place the pattern. Accept the pattern for what it is. Say to hell with it and get a coffee. Cut the plank from the pattern. Plane, plane, plane. Glue the pattern. Accept the plank for what it is. Cut the pattern...

Hey, am I hallucinating, or is this actually beginning to look somewhat boat-like?

One thing that bothers me somewhat is the fact that the planks at the first station past the stem tend to want to lay off the moulds by about 1/4", making the bow less fine that the plans have been drawn. I've done lots of reading about this, with one school of thought saying that the moulds are wrong, or the planks are poorly cut, or the stem isn't faired properly (all of which are certainly possible given my lack of facility with tools) and another saying to just let the planks land where they want to and it'll look just fine. I am naturally inclined to accept and move forward with the latter point of view.

I tend to accept the quality of work that I'm turning out with the statement, "It is what it is." I find that I can forgive myself for less than perfect work, and that I am just as pleased with the bumps and warts of this piece, the acceptance of which makes for a much more pleasurable building experience. The alternative is to beat myself up with my obvious lack of skill, which I refuse to do. This boat will not be perfect, but it'll be good enough, and I will be happy with whatever comes out.