True blue

The first Beetle replica whaleboat is now sporting her color scheme.  She has a bright blue shiny sheer strake, and bright white topsides.  The color scheme matches the Independence Seaport Museum's logo colors, which is wholly appropriate.

No question where this boat was built!

One more coat of topside paint, and she will be ready to flip.  Launch day is coming quickly.

Her sister is coming along nicely as well.  As promised, frame installation is complete, and the team moved on to the multitude of interior construction tasks that will need to be completed by our committed launch date in June.  The centerboard trunk was constructed outside the boat, and Jeff fitted it and fastened it in place.

Jeff works from below fastening the centerboard trunk.

The trunk is in place among all those frames.

At the bow, Charles began fitting and shaping the bow chocks.  When whaling, the harpoon line, once it was "connected" to a whale, payed out through the space between these chocks, so they had to be both massive and well attached.

Oak timbers squared and ready to be shaped into bow chocks.

Port bow chock shaped and sanded.  Ready for installation

Starboard chock has been rough cut.  Shaping is a multi-step process.

With frames in place, attention is turning to the installation of thwarts.  Before thwarts can be fitted, the thwart risers must be installed, and Bruce, Steve, and Jeff worked on that task.  

Steve oils newly installed port thwart riser.

Starboard thwart riser is clamped in place, ready to be fastened.

Once the risers have been done, the boat builders can turn their attention to measuring and installing the thwarts.  Aside from providing the crew with places to sit, the thwarts are essential to the structural stability of the boat.  They provide stiffness, and to enhance that function, they are fitted with knees that connect the thwarts to the sides of the hull up to the gunwales.   The knees are steam bent on a jig designed for that purpose.  Bruce, Newt, and Carl experimented with the jig to refine the steam bending process for thwart knees.

Bruce and Newt bend a knee on the knee shaping jig.

Work continued on the hull of the L. F. Herreshoff Meadow Lark, Suzy.  Jeff has fitted his new keel sections, and fastened them in place.  He also fabricated a new chine section to replace a rotted one, and that too was fastened in place.

Jeff beds the keel chine with Sikaflex.

Suzy's hull is due for a new paint job, and to get ready for that, thorough hand sanding is necessary.  The two Johns worked on that tedious, dusty, but essential task.

John sands the hull.

Meanwhile, Bob was engaged in galley repairs.  The galley will get a new top to replace the existing one, which is failing.  The old one will be used as a pattern.

Bob cleans up the old galley top.