love and boats

[Francois van Wyk]

I recently connected the two stems of the boat I am building with the keelson (double ender caledonia yawl by Oughtred). I struggled to get to this point (see post "caledonia yawl"), straightening out molds, correcting mistakes. But right now, in my back yard, lies a very beautiful sight. Since I got to this point yesterday (pics to follow) I spent the whole of today at work thinking about her, I am in love. If I have a bad moment I think of the shape taking place in my backyard. This may sound goofy, but I am so excited to have the backbone glued up and almost ready for planking. It has been hard work, and frustrating because of mistakes, but hell it is worth it. Now to save up money for planking!
p.s what does SWMBO and LOL mean???

[htom]

IIRC (if I remember correctly)
SHMBO (she who must be obeyed)
LOL (laughing out loud)
IANAL (I am not a lawyer ... IAAL shows up sometimes, but rarely)
ROTFL (rolling on the floor laughing)
ROTFLMAO (... my a s s off)
ROTFLMAOAKTC (... and kicking the cat).

Yes, it's addicting, but it's a GOOD addiction!

[paladin]

SHWMBO.....She who married BOAT Owner!

[This message has been edited by paladinsfo (edited 07-10-2001).]

[Art Read]

Francois... The funny thing is, I understand completely. The "moaning" chair could also be called the "self-congratulation" chair. People used to look at me funny when I would sit and stare for hours, twisting my head at odd angles and sqinting my eyes at what to any sane person appeared to be nothing but a pile of rough lumber. It was months before I put the first stick of wood on that would actually become part of the finished boat! I remember one guest who looked over my just completed molds and battens and tactfully asked "What kind of wood are you using?" He seemed skeptical when I explained that everything he was looking at was just temporary. I found it went over better if I just called it a building "jig". (Folks around here are all airplane builders...) Keep up with the picture taking. Put together an album dedicated solely to the project. (Let SWMBO put the birthday party pics in her own book!) It will be a real pleasure as the project progresses to go back and flip through those early photos again... Who cares if the guy at the photo lab thinks you're a bit odd!

[ken mcclure]

congrats, Francois! That's one of those milestone moments.

I'm at about the same place you are, except I don't have all the mold ups (3 to go), and I haven't fashioned the inner stem and sternpost yet and I haven't cut the keelson members. Well. (ahem) Maybe not the same place you are.

By all means take pictures. Take pictures of everything. Take closeups of any areas you had a hard time figuring out, so when someone later asks how you did it you can show them.

[Phil Young]

Best thing I ever did was take some pictures as I built my oughtred acorn skiff. When I had all the molds set up I took a photo from dead forward. Got the film developed and there on the photo was a decided curve to one side. For some reason I couldn't see it with my eye direct. Lined everything up again before fiting the keel, and the boat, I'm glad to say, tracks straight rather than going round in large circles as might have been the case.

[ken mcclure]

My eyesight is pretty bad. I tried to enlist in 1969 (nope, not crazy...wanted the GI Bill benefits for college money) and was classed 4F (unfit for military duty) because of my eyesight.

My glasses distort everything that is not in the direct center of my field of vision.

I've had to use all sorts of things already in setting up the molds to ensure that the lines really are correct. If I depend on my own eyesight, I could end up sailing a corkscrew.

Using the pictures to double-check is a GREAT tip. Thanx!!!!!!!

[TomRobb]

Speaking of love and boats....
An area of the Cuyahoga River between the big bend and Lake Erie called the Flats used to be all industrial working waterfront but now is littered with fern bars, condos, etc. Guys who are given to shirts opened to the navel and gold neck chains tie their hot rod sporty boats to the decks of the bars lining the river rafted off each other when it's crowded on the weekends. A bulk carrier came up the river and in attempting to turn to where they were to unload/load they managed to crush a couple of the sporty boats. No one was killed, but in one of them was a couple getting it on and probably much surprised that their love nest was disintigrating about them. Afterward they stood on the dock, nude, wondering what happened to them. I imagine it put the guy "off his game" so to speak
Love and boats. What a great combination.

[ken mcclure]

LOL, Tom !!!!

Reminds me of the story of two Canadians discussing the meaning of the term "savoir faire" (excuse the spelling if it's wrong).

First one says "Savoir Faire - that's when you come home from work and find your wife in the bedroom with another man; you go downstairs, take off your coat, get a glass of wine, turn on the radio and wait for them to finish so you can discuss the situation. You have Savoir Fiare."

Second one says, "No, my friend. Here it is: like you, you come home from work and find your wife in the bedroom with another man; like you, you go down, relax with music and wine, and wait. Now - if HE can finish what they were doing when you walked in, HE's got Savoir Faire!"

[Andrew]

Art - I know what you mean about just looking at the boat. I took Tom Hill's course at WB School. Every evening after supper I would go back to the shop and just look at the canoes for at least a half hour partly to absorb the process but mostly just to admire the lines.

KWM - I can relate to the vision distortion. I started college just before slide rules were replaced by calculators. Packing for summer holidays, I took my K&E out of the leather holster to check it out (it had been a slack semester and it hadn't seen much use). I nearly cried when I saw the bow in it. These were expensive little items for a poor college student. I was relieved when the bow reversed itself as I lifted it to the top of my field of vision and realized it was distortion from my glasses. I've just had lasik surgery on my eyes and highly recommend it. I wish they'd had this years ago.