Small stuff and otherwise

Whaleboat number 2 headed up to Mystic yesterday to highlight the ISM contribution to the Morgan whaleboat project.  Six completed whaleboats will be present at the WoodenBoat Magazine show at Mystic Seaport this weekend.  Whaleboat number 1 is still in the water outside the windows of WoW waiting for her turn for oohs and aahs next month.  Meanwhile, the shop is busy with lots of little stuff -- small boat maintenance projects, a few last minute repairs to Suzy; and one big project -- making two more sets of spars for the whaleboats.

One of the ISM whitehalls, originally built by the kids at Rocking the Boat some years ago, and used extensively by them, needed some work on her skeg.  She had suffered mightily in her youth being dragged (literally) through the streets of New York City to reach the water.  Lee worked on reefing the old caulk in preparation for recaulking, and replacing the worn aft end of the skeg.

Whitehall "Culture" gets a skeg repair and new caulk.

Lee joints an oak board for the Whitehall skeg repair.

Another small boat built in the shop last year, a Bevins  skiff, is being repainted in bright Manayunk Academy school colors by summer staff, Julio and Dan.  She will definitely be the most vivid boat in the basin this summer.

A very vivid hull color.

Newt spent much of the day working on the installation of gaff jaws on the whaleboat gaffs.  These are steam bent, shaped and riveted to the spar in the traditional manner.

One gaff jaw side, shaped, drilled and ready to install.

A perfect fit.

Jeff and Charles worked on a whaleboat mast, first tapering a 25 foot long 6 inch square douglas fir timber to the plan dimensions, later to be lined out for planing to 8, then sixteen sides, and finally to be rounded and sanded smooth.

Chalk line snapped to give proper taper.

Jeff finishes one side with the world's scariest circular saw and all his fingers.

The mast-to-be and its off-cut.

Charles straightens an edge with the 22 inch jack plane.

 The next step in the mast build will be lining the timber out to eight equal sides, and then planing to those lines.