Judy P's Tickle Trunk

…or Shaping Up

Finally starting to look like a boat. I didn’t take many pictures; I just put in two long days, working each night until eleven. I was a little off regarding the amount of time this would take. The company offers a workshop in which they build a boat up to the finishing stage in 6 days. I figured add 4 more to do it at home. Oh dear. Many factors slow the process for me. They are experienced people with all the tools and supports right at hand, it was done in a group so there was always a second set of hands or two or three, and of course they have done it many times before. They didn’t spend hours staring at parts wondering which way was up. In the first days I spent almost as much time studying the manual and the boatbuilding forum as I did working on the boat. There was lots of advice but I learned most by actually doing. I learned that everything takes all day. Things I thought would take a couple of hours took much more. I learned that I should schedule meals because I am so focused I forget to eat. I learned that I am almost done a step before I really have it down. I also learned by my mistakes. I accidentally got a couple of pieces of the hull transposed so that now two are inside out. At the time I puzzled over which side was which. I realize now that the stickers were all on the right sides but I didn’t pick up the mistake until I noticed the tiny drill holes were going from in to out on a couple of panels with some tear out. So I guess I will be painting the hull not varnishing but I will see what it looks like after the glass goes on. That’s why one needs to build a second boat; to solidify the skills and to justify all the tool purchases. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Here’s the beginning and end of day 6 and late afternoon of day 7.

Saturday morning I opened shop with just one plank stitched onto the hull.

By Saturday evening all of the planks were on but the wires not tightened.

For you non-boat obsessed, here’s a photo without a boat in it; Sunday breakfast – cranberry scones.

This gets mostly covered in later but sure looks pretty to me.

The wires tightened and a nice tight transom.

© Judy Parsons 2014