To Part One
To Part Two
Okay, time to paint again. I did some masking and then borrowed
my buddy's paint rig again. Three coats of Glidden porch paint
went onto the boat's interior. I also painted numerous other pieces,
including the rudder head and hatch covers.
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Masking and prepping to
paint |
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How about some color for that cockpit? |
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More graphite for the kick-up rudder head |
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And, then paint |
While the interior paint cured, I covered it with plastic and
worked on my decks. I'd run out of marine ply and had to substitute
in ¼" mahogany ply that I could find locally. This
step turned out to be pretty time consuming, as I had to build
a mainmast tube, foredeck stringers, side deck structure, etc..
I also had to cut, steam and bend in a coaming splash guard. Then,
the four-lamination mahogany gunwale could go on. Note: Four laminations,
times three scarfed pieces per lamination, per side of the boat
equals lots and lots of sawing, planing, shaping and sanding of
some pretty expensive, unforgiving wood. (Sorry, that sounded
like whining.)
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Fitting the foredeck ply around the mainmast
tube |
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Glassing the decks |
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This coaming should keep the cockpit a little
dryer |
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Laminating the complicated gunwales |
This is the part I'd been hoping to get to. I could now work
on the boat's brightwork and trim. The photos below depict a score
of fun projects. Exposed wood is African mahogany coated with
multiple coats of spar varnish. The tiller is ash and mahogany.
At this point, the schedule had gone completely out the window.
June arrived and the boat was now ready to be rigged. Once the
masts were stepped, I was able to install running rigging and
various control lines. Everything is color coded and all lines
and fittings were oversized. Double the masts; double the lines.
The Lapwing is named "Blue Peter" and now sports graphics
applied in vinyl. I built the sprits from fir closet rod and applied
epoxy, paint and fancywork.
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The shear strakes now carry paint and graphics |
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The boat's website is displayed here. Also,
notice the stainless boarding step. |
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To protect the spars' paint, fancywork was
applied to the sprits |
On July 26th, Blue Peter heads to the lake for the
first time. Winds were light and she ghosted along without a care
in the world. 352 days after the project started, almost exactly
one year, Lapwing #5 is afloat and sails like the mighty ship
that she is.
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Blue Peter on her new trailer |
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The signal flag "Blue Peter" that
will fly from atop the mizzen mast |
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Splashing the boat. Hey, she floats! |
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Under sail |
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Ghosting along in light winds |
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The picture says it all |
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Kevin Nicolin taking photos from his Core
Sound 17, Jubilee |
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My crew for the day, friend Travis Votaw |
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The happy skipper |
I've only sailed the boat once, but hope to get her out again
this weekend. So, I can't tell you much yet about how she sails.
I need to have her out in heavier winds to really learn her. I
did, however, stand on the side deck and try to knock her over.
She was surprisingly stable and stayed on her feet. She's not
tippy and didn't seem tender, but I'll learn more about her over
the next few months. I'm guessing that her light weight and sleek
hull will make her a rocket ship.
The project was a ton of fun, but clearly represented an enormous
amount of work. The Lapwing turned out great and I'm very glad
that I opted to go this route. I may possibly be tempted to build
again someday, but I'm betting that I've retired as a boat builder.
I wanted a good "adventure boat" and I think I now have
one. This boat should give me many years of fun and provide me,
my family and friends with all the adventures we can handle.
For more details on this building project and our ongoing adventures,
visit Blue Peter's website at www.svbluepeter.com.
Fair Winds
John Turpin
Edmond, OK
s/v Blue Peter
*****
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