Building peterson's schooner "susan" #12

[RodB]

A nice view of the decks etc from the bow...



This shot shows one of the stern oak cap rail joints with a couple of coats of Cetol.



I like how nice and brown the Osage has oxidized over the months with only linseed oil applied...



The masts will be coming up very soon.... Heres some 32 foot Douglas Fir 2X6's to start inventory...



RodB

[ucb4ume]

Thanks for the update Rod. She's really starting to come together. I see light at the end of the tunnel.

[riversailor92]

Absolutely fantastic stuff guys! I am completely and utterly jealous! Keep up the good work and thanks so much for continuing to entertaining us!

[Sailor]

I'm in awe. I LOVE the Osage and how it turns dark so beautifuly and so quickly. I wonder if it's available here in Nova Scotia. I could certainly trim a boat in that and not feel the least bit bad about it.

[riversailor92]

Lions, tigers and spars, oh my! Looking good gentlemen.

Having followed this thread for a number of years and having fallen in love with Murray G. Peterson's "Susan" schooner design I can't help but feel like I'm watching my own child, or at the very least a favorite niece or nephew, growing up. I continue to be amazed by the beauty of this design and the excellence of your craftsmanship. Please keep entertaining all of us who follow this project religiously.

Thanks,
- Cam

[SchoonersRUS]

I just read the whole thing. Very beautiful boat, well made. A lot of yellow pine, though. Some people say it's not good to use, but seems like it turned out just fine. Excellent workmanship.

[RodB]

A little progress.... Bob painted the topsides a couple of coats... "off white".... shes looking very clean...











She's sure going to be pretty....



RodB

[RodB]

Other works underway...


Booms and such....



Birdsmouth trial section (bottom and top of mast will be filled in solid....





Love the smell and dry heat of the wood burning stove... with a fan is even better...



Till later....

[P.L.Lenihan]

This build just keeps getting more stunning each time you post an up-date Rod. Your excellent pictures tell a perfect story of craftmanship.Thank you for the up-date and bravo to Bob for allowing us all to follow along!!


Cheers!


Peter

[RodB]

Thanks...

There will be a navy blue cove stripe and the bottom will be red most likely.... standard bottom paint.

R

[sailboy3]

Gorgeous.

[Larks]

I'm with Peter, this just keeps getting better, I've thoroughly enjoyed your threads Rod.

And I love that shed!!!

[Sayla]

Can't get enough of it - great looking colours
- wish I were working away and smelling that wood stove myself

sayla

[Sailor]

+1, can't get enough of this thread. Looking forward to seeing her completed. And starting my own Peterson Schooner one day I hope.

[Thad Van Gilder]

A very sweet boat!

[domecreek]

Great Thread !!!! Thank you for sharing. You indicated that you would be putting hinge(s) on you hatches. Have you done that yet ? I would certainly appreciate some close-up photos of your hinge installations and where you sourced your hinges from.

[riversailor92]

How are those spars coming? I can't wait to see them standing tall!

[darroch]

Thanks to you both for this build thread. I'm always impressed by how much work gets done between threads on this one. She looks just gorgeous!

[Bernadette]

she is looking just beautiful. thanks for posting the photos.
im envious of such a beautiful boat. great work! yum! yum! i hope one day our two boats can raft up for a peterson "get together" to celebrate both the designer and their respective builders.

[USS Flasher]

Summer Bump

[HarryH]

Rod, or Bob-

Perhaps I missed it, but will ask in case not: What paint mfg. and color is the hull "off white"? I've been contemplating some shade similar....

Thanks..

[BobAlbers]

Hi All,
well it seems life has gotten real busy lately and progress has come to a stand still......
funny how there is not much left to do and time is now hard to find!
Anyway, I hope to get back to work in earnest soon.....Rod has ben bugging me for some progress too....masts and rigging are next..

Hull paint is Rustoleum Topside Marine - color Oyster White....I like the simplicity and less cost of enamels...

-Bob

[beernd]

It is incredible that I missed this thread, beautyful boat.

A pity that the links to the other threads are not working anymore I would have liked to know a bit more about the construction method.

[RodB]

OK... start her up after a long hot summer... continuing with the spars... the booms and gaff are solid and done... here the masts are being fabricated....

Birdsmouth staves all scarfed and milled, ready for glueup.... (Doug Fir)



8:1 Scarf



Spar stave cradles.... for just holding the staves in position till clamped up for gluing....



Staves in cradles ... dry fitted...



This pic illustrates how the drill holes allow room for the "corners" of the staves...



This shot shows size perspective and length of spar bench....



con't

RodB

[RodB]

This closeup shows the final staves from 2 by Doug Fir stock planed just a bit on each side... clamped in place... Milling done with the table saw.



So, changing channels... lets move the the Bowsprit... Whisker Stay installed for view...







Note galvanized cable completely wrapped in tarred nylon twine....



Closeup of the Cranse Iron and stay end....



Continued...

RodB

[RodB]

Whisker stay connection at the hull....


Continued...

One of the bronze jib winches Bob found on Ebay....



Placed for viewing....



Wider view....



A better shot of the mast staves dry fitted in cradles....



More to come later....

RodB

[johngsandusky]

Way cool.

[Sailor]

Nice. The home stretch is coming up. Looking forward to seeing more of this.

[riversailor92]

WELCOME BACK. Missed your pictures, thanks very much for posting again!

[Sailor]

Rod,
Any updates for us?

[RodB]

Update.... Update...

Continuing with the masts... here you see the mast bases shaped to fit their perspective positions...









The original Susan has towing bitts for cleats on the stern for the mainsheets... Bob was working on these yesterday... here are some pics...



Bronze rod installed in Doug Fir stern bitt....


Continued...

RodB

[RodB]

Heres the bitt dry fitted with hawse pipe (chock) shown but not installed...



Here both dry fitted....



Wider shot...



I still have a thing for Bob's radial drill press...



More to come later...

RodB

[Sailor]

More about that drill press? Looks like it could do a whole lot more than any drill press I've ever used.

[riversailor92]

Very nice stuff as usual! Keep it coming!

[Rapelapente]

Obviously the transom can't wait for gold leafed letters

Thanks again for sharing your beautiful work.

[riversailor92]

Bump!

[bristoljonny]

Any updates on this incredible build?

[BobAlbers]

Hi All......man, time just seems to fly by lately.....it definitely has been a loing time since our last post! Rod has been busy as well with other projects....
Anyway, the boat is in the final stretch......as the 'ol cliche goes, the last 10% of the work seems to take 90% of the time!
I am currently working on all the standing rigging. Lots of cables to serve!....
I plan on "freeing" the boat from the shop in a couple months to step the masts and do all the rigging.....other items that remain are electrical, a few plumbing items, and interior details such as cushions etc...
I plan on a launch in late August/Sept timeframe if all goes well....
I'll try and get a hold of Rod to get him to come out again for some more of his great photos!!
-Bob

[Thad]

Thanks for the update! Have fun! Carry on.

[RodB]

Hey Bob... how are you?

R

[Sayla]

On standby - in anticipation

[RodB]

This set of images are fairly recent additions to the progress on "Susan". This photo shows where Bob added a Osage grab rail on the aft end of the sliding hatch... which will be just as dark brown as the hatch itself once it ages for a month or so. This is a good comparison of older and newer Osage (Bois'darc) wood. The teak grab rails are also installed here.



Here the newly completed skylight and the wood stove stack can be seen.




The skylight has the rope-like gasket material and it flattens nicely for a good look...



A wider shot shows some perspective...



I switched to a wider angle lens... a 11-16mm and its more extreme but has lots of capabilities...



More new details....




Continued... RodB

[RodB]

Wide angle lenses can have distortion, but I like this shot anyway...



This shows the two hawse pipes ... some more detail on the skylight...



Here the deck house is painted and the Osage hatch varnished. Also the circular ports are installed. The short section of mast shows the mast partner's opening and the mast steps have been completed. Photos to come later on those.



Cockpit .... Note the small beer cooler lid just forward of the cockpit...



I just like this shot... beautiful bow sprit...





More to come...

RodB

[RodB]

The chain stays are strong and look great. This shows starboard set forward... Note, Bob fabricated a two layer rub rail to get the look he wanted. Nice job! AS usual, Bob's work is incredible...





The chain stays have two bolts through the hull and two through the bulwarks....




The water line makes her look even better...





Transom and rudder looking great.



My wide angle lets me get most of the hull in with all kinds of stuff in the way...




RodB

[RodB]

I thought this of interest..... Bob's rig for sanding perfectly smooth spars.... Those engineers can figure out how to do anything easier...
This smaller spar (gaff I think) is being power planed very slightly...


And heres Bob sanding her to perfection....





So ... this is a plastic wheel bolted to the standard velcro pad that attaches to the sander buffer... with the longer bolt to provide a handle. Two sanding belts are taped together... works pretty damn good.



Thats it for now... Bob is serving his galvanized standing rigging cables... and that process will be covered soon...

RodB