Catching our Breath

Part One - Part Two - Part Three - Part Four - Part Five

Well, it's been about a work-week since I started sort of timidly pulling this hapless boat apart. Back then, I only had vague notion of how things should go together. Since then, a great deal of noise, bags of dust and chips, and a few usable pieces have come from what once were beautiful trees.

I thought it would at least be momentarily entertaining to share with you some of the more intricate elements of this prodigious effort. First, the carefully drawn out plan of action. Detailed scale drawings, and engineering studies are all posted in this, the Design Center.

Of course, each prospective employee-skilled artisans all-must answer the timeless question posted above.

Also, this project requires many hours of careful matching and scrutiny of each piece for color, texture, grain figure, and above all, perfection of machining. This small collection has been precisely stacked and painstakingly organized for the next extremely accurate fitting process.

And, quite remarkably, by some chance miracle of prestidigitation, much of this stuff actually has gotten glued, and nailed, and in other manners stuck down in a more or less pleasing fashion.

Until, at the end of the weekend, at the end of the first working week, at least one side of the cockpit is more or less covered over in real wood, and awaiting gallons of varnish and 220 grit.

Oh yeah. Did I tell I've got this really cool idea for bright-finished seating? Contour benches out of cedar staves. Almost next. Just as soon as the engineering drawings get posted, that is.

Strumpet Project - Week Two

OK. I thought it was a really good idea. I've started getting up around 05, so I could get in most of a shift on the latest Frankenböt project before the heat of the day sets in. (It's late January, and our high will probably top 30 today. And, even if it doesn't get really unbearably hot, there is always the need for a mid-day snow plowing.) Anyhow.

Anyhow, this all seems to come with one of those unintended consequences. Maybe you know somebody like this. By about lunch time, I have to admit that I begin to loose interest in climbing in and out of that boat. So, maybe I'll ask the boss for an hour or two off. But, this is what things were looking like before the sun came up today. Still sort of an unexplored cave, up under the foredeck.

And, now, a bit more like the plan calls for-at least most of the way across.

The door fits, pretty well, and swings OK. A whole glob of little sticks shaped, and sanded, and re-cut, and re-sanded, and occasionally discarded. Now, and then, actually glued in place.

The steering and gauge panel has been enlarged. Stuff still to do, but like I say, maybe we'll take a couple hours off. Maybe.

Strumpet Project - End of Week Two

So. What have I learned through all this fuss, and trouble, and expense? Absolutely nuthin'.

I think this is about my 7th Frankenböt creation in the past 4 winter building seasons. Perhaps, by now I'd have learned that it would be a good idea to actually have a plan. Better, to not only have a plan, but follow it. You'd think I would have learned a few other things.

Like, the fact that a bigger boat can absorb an ungodly amount of plywood and glue and lumber and stuff compared to a smaller one. A smart boy like me should have learned something about improving upon my woodworking skills and techniques. Nope.

I still remark to myself, how I just about get something figured out by the time the last board gets cut, or the last piece gets glued on, or something. I think that's why god made boats with two sides. One to practice on. One to get-it-right. S'pose?

Oh yeah. And, another thing that you'd think I would have learned by now. There just ain't no such animal as a one-hour job when you're working on a boat. Can't happen. Heck, more often than not, it takes me more than an hour just to test fit something and make it too small for the hole. Then, I have to decide if I really want it there, after all.

See what I mean about not having a plan?

So. The learning curve is really steep. But, only for people who choose to climb it.

Anyhow. Things are progressing. After about 14 working days, little "Strumpet" is taking on a definite personality. Not exactly the gleaming mahogany and chrome of a legitimate barrel back two-cockpit runabout that I sort of started out to put together. But, I do think I have made her more interesting to look at, than useful to, well, use. And, that was actually one of my objectives.

And, another one was to wrap this all up in less than a month. Maybe?

This is what we got so far. And the lumber is cut and shaped for the rest of the topside appliqué. About a week to have it all on, and varnished. Then, one of those minor things. Shouldn't take more than an hour. Gotta' get the engine running.

Yeah, I know. You'd think I would have learned, by now.

Strumpet Project - Week Two and a Half - Done, for Now

OK. It's midnight on the Wednesday of week three. Give or take, we're ready for varnish. Gallons of the stuff, I'm gonna' bet. That's the plan for the next several days. There's no compelling reason to start doing things the right way, at this late date. So, 'tween coat sanding will probably be honored in the breach a whole lot.

Mostly, the plan is to get things more or less sealed up good enough to haul "Strumpet" back to storage and bring the next-up into the shop for scheduled repairs.

Unfortunately, things are as jammed up around this particular project-boat as they look in the pictures. You see, it's like this. This particular project was not only not scheduled, it wasn't even really thought out. All I was doing was to borrow the trailer for something else. Something else, that didn't happen, as things turned out. But there was a couple thousand pounds of boat crammed onto the cart that is probably only capable of moving about half that. Those casters were so overloaded, I had to push the whole kit and caboodle into the shop with the snow plow tractor blade.

No, I don't quite have a plan for how all that is supposed to assume a reciprocal course. Sure, something will work out.

Anyhow. That's how all this sort of came about. And, now, there sits a really-heavy, but pretty cool, Frankenböt. One, that I believe will be a total kick in the pants. But, in a few more days, she'll have to take her place out in the cold and wait her turn for another appointment in the beauty saloon for "hair and nails."

Please stay tuned.

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