Unlikely Boat Builder: Plan 'B'

[John Almberg]

As Captain Cook knew, there's always a Plan B. Thus, when the wooden boat that Helena and I had been looking for for years, turned up on eBay, we suddenly needed a Plan B.

Plan A had been to "build Cabin Boy this winter so when and if we buy a wooden boat, I'll know how to take care of it." But the right boat came along sooner than we expected, and we now owned a boat. A boat in Florida -- about 2000 nm. from home. Clearly, Plan A wasn't going to cut it.

So we came up with Plan B: to sail the new boat home from Florida in stages. Stage 1, the north west coast of Florida to the south east coast of Florida, via the Keys, commencing in 20 days.

And that means this unhandy man needs to finish Cabin Boy in 20 days...

Read complete blog post: Plan B

Enjoy: John

[Tim Thomas]

Now this should be really interesting to watch. Thanks for sharing, I'm looking forward to seeing how this unfolds.

[John Almberg]

What a difference a deadline makes. I've been puzzling over a build problem for several weeks now, without success. None of my boat building books has a solution. Even Clem Kuhlig's "Building the Skiff Cabin Boy" just skips over the problem.

Here's the problem: The backbone of the skiff consists of the stem in the front, the keelson along the bottom, and the transom in the back. The stem has to go from about where my hand is in the picture below, down to the leading edge of the ladder frame. What makes this complicated is that the angle and position of the stem is very important, and I knew I'd have to fool around with it a bit to get it right.

So how could I hold the stem in place in a way that was easily adjustable, but also very strong?

Read complete blog post: Stem Invention

Enjoy: John

[John Almberg]

On this Day 18, my goal was to work on Cabin Boy's transom. I had bought a large plank of Mahogany from Condon's. It was a beautiful piece, but since I'd brought it home to my basement workshop, it had developed a nasty crack. The sudden change in humidity combined with a hidden weakness in the board, I suspect.

Luckily, I'd been smart enough to buy a longer length than I needed...

Read complete blog post: Year of the Blue Moon

Enjoy: John

[John Almberg]

Well, on this Day 17, my mission was to mount Cabin Boy's transom, using the micro invention described yesterday, and to tie the whole backbone together, as much as possible.

I started by bolting the keelson to the stem. To do that, I had to drill a long 1/4" hole through the keelson and the stem, and then chisel out a 'landing area' on the stem for the washer and nut.

For some reason, I still find it difficult to drill or cut 'real wood'... i.e., the wood that will end up in the actual boat. There is something so final about drilling a hole, or -- worse -- making a saw cut...

Read complete blog post: Oak Smoke

Enjoy: John

[John Almberg]

I had a nightmare last night. Not about 60 foot breaking waves in the Gulf of Mexico. Not about being dashed on rocks, or falling overboard. No, I was worried about my lofting.

I woke up in a cold sweat, realizing that the chance were zero that a batten, run from Cabin Boy's stem to his transom, would show a fair line. I mean, how could the stem, the 4 forms, and the transom all line up perfectly, so that a plank, when pressed around that curve, would touch all 5 points at the same time?

Impossible. I would have had to do a perfect job of lofting -- and I knew I hadn't done that. And I would have had to build all the forms exactly right, and mounted them, again, exactly right. And then my jury-rigged stem and transom jigs would have to be perfect.

Not a chance. The batten would probably have more bump and bends than the Long Island Expressway. My project was doomed...

Read complete blog post: Scary Dreams

Enjoy: John

[John Almberg]

I knew it might come down to this: Build or Blog? Build or Blog?

So, for the last two day's I've been building, with no time to blog. The cause for all this concentration is the hardest thing I've run into, yet: letting the chine log into the forms. Whoever said there are no straight lines, no right angles on a boat, sure was right!

Read complete blog post: Chine Logs - Part 1

http://www.unlikelyboatbuilder.com/2...gs-part-1.html

Enjoy: John

[John Almberg]

There's a woodworking adage that goes something like this: "Every one makes mistakes. The difference between a beginner and the Master Craftsman is the Master Craftsman knows how to fix his mistakes."

No doubt this is true, but on the long road that leads to Master Craftsmanship, I am still on the 'on' ramp. So I've come up with my own adage: "Make Mistakes Slowly".

Read complete blog post: Make Mistakes Slowly

Enjoy: John

[John Almberg]

One of the nice features of the Tom Glimer Blue Moon is the raised deck amidships. It gives the boat great strength, lovely wide side decks, and lots of room below decks (for a 23' boat.)

I don't know what Tom specified on the original plans (they suddenly being out of stock at the Wooden Boat store), but this particular Blue Moon has flush decks, right to the edge of the boat. Not even a toe-rail. While this keeps her lines clean, I like to have a little something between me and the deep-blue sea as I'm crawling up to the foredeck...

Read blog post: Bulwarks a la Buehler

Enjoy: John

[John Almberg]

Once or twice a week, I get gentle (and sometimes not so gentle) comments or emails from readers, asking me, in one way or another "Why do you do everything the hard way?!?!"

An easy answer would be, because my goal is not just to build a boat, but to learn how traditional wooden boats are put together, so I can maintain a larger wooden boat, such as the Blue Moon.

I have nothing against modern techniques like stitch and glue, but building such a craft (as attractive as one seems as my deadline looms), would not help me understand traditional wooden boat construction.

But a fuller, more honest answer is that it's just plain fun to do something that is really, really hard...

Read complete blog post: Easy is Overrated

http://www.unlikelyboatbuilder.com/2...overrated.html

Enjoy: John

[Dale Probst]

I'm enjoying your blog, totally get the "Essential Tool".
DP

[John Almberg]

When you look at the plans of a Master, like John Atkin, everything you need to know is right in front of your face. It's in the plans... in the boat's DNA.

The trick is seeing it...

Read complete blog post: Seeing DNA

Enjoy: John

[John Almberg]

I'm enjoying your blog, totally get the "Essential Tool".
DP

Thanks! I've been using it a lot, lately

-- John

[Mac McQuinn]

John,
Keep "em" coming! Atkin's designs are timeless and always a hoot to peruse on a cold winter's night.

Mac

[John Almberg]

And now for something completely different...

A weather window in Florida opened up, and I was able to get a slot on the only Travel Lift within 50 miles of my Blue Moon, so I abandoned Cabin Boy for the moment, and dashed down the coast with a Honda Fit full of tools, paint, and other supplies.

Read blog post: Blue Moon Rising

Enjoy: John