This is the End.

            Today, the masts are being painted, as well as the sails being attached.  One of the boats is being prepared to go outside and be sanded. It is being vacuumed and cleaned. This boat already has the seat secured in it, as well as the knees in each corner. The other boat is also being cleaned out and vacuumed. We are taking measurements to cut the sides of the boat, so we can place the seat in the side of boat, instead of on top. The knees are being measured and placed into the second boat. Sarah ~

            The boats are on their way to completion. The first boat is almost ready to be sanded outside. Right now, it is being vacuumed and cleaned along with the other boat. That boat is a little behind, but we are taking measurements to try and dig the seat into the side of the boat. Also, we are making more Epoxy for the boat. Today, the masts and sails are going to be painted. Abby ~

I’d rather finish the boat than blog today.  - Jory 1/24/13

Day 13 The End is in Sight

 

Theo 1/23/13

Today we are applying more epoxy to the inside of the boat. Jory, Tyler, and Ryan are at the head of applying the epoxy on “The Reef Runner,” while Eliot, Nick Vas, and Ravi, take care of “X.” On “The Reef Runner” Andrew and Ryan are epoxying the gunnels to the sides of the boat. On “X” Nick Vas and Ravi are cutting out he spot where the mast step will go and proceed to insert their mast step which is where the mast will be held. Abby and Sarah painted the spars while Jackie and Caroline worked on the sails.

Day 12 The Dog Days of Boat Builders.

Coming back from a day off spent unifying with fellow classmates we made some serious progress. Jory and Ryan came together to mount the dagger board trunk on the “Reef Runner.” Mr. Saunders led Nick, Ravi, and Eliot to secure the gunnels to the sides. These gunnels will serve to protect the boat from any collisions or accidents that we all know Willie would get into. Tyler slaved away on both the ban saw and the table saw. He was cutting out the knees. Each knee has structural importance to the boat. Andrew ~

  

After having two days off the whole Boat Building crew was eager to get back to work. The first project of the day was installing the dagger board into Reef Runner. While the dagger board was being installed, we finished epoxying the middle frame into boat X. The next step was putting the mast step into each of the boats. As we waited for the epoxy to dry on the middle frame, we epoxied the gunnels to the sides of boat X. 

Meanwhile the Reef Runner crew finished epoxying and screwing down the corner frame pieces. While all this work was being done on the boats, Nick Vas #7 was busy putting the finishing touches on both of the masts. After lunch, we were back at it. The epoxy on the middle frame was dry so we were able to put the dagger board into boat X. We also started to cover up the cracks in the boats with fiberglass.  Eliot ~

Day 11 More Glassing

Important calculating going on.

When we entered the class we got right to work.  We put a coat of the epoxy over the fiber glass to create a hard exterior for the boat.  This was a process that required a whole team.  We mixed a batch with 50% epoxy and 50% hardener.  We then applied this to the fiberglass that was spread out across the boat.  This mixture had to be very carefully and evenly spread out across the boat in a clear coat. It takes roughly 2 hours for the epoxy to dry.  Since the room is hot, it dries quicker than it would in colder conditions. Jackie ~

After the epoxy dried on the “Reef Runner” the other half of the class slathered the substance onto the “X”.  Once the epoxy is added to the fiberglass a hard covering is created.  A few touch ups were performed to the boats, but my main project of the day was making the centerboard.  Jackie and I measure the centerboard in a rectangle according to the plan.  It was 42 inches long and 11 ½ inches wide.  From there we had to measure strips of mahogany an inch wide to place at the top of the two boards.  We had to round out the centerboard pieces for the boats.  There were many other projects going on as well, but there’s still a lot to do!

The jig and the boat part ways.

Let us remember this as a landmark in our project…

As the snow melts, and this obnoxiously warm mid January Thursday commences, the troops make their way down to the workshop. 

We are happy to report that the epoxy did its job overnight and the bottoms of the boats are now in place. We removed all the screws that were holding the bottom to the jig and sanded down the edges. After this we flipped the vessel right side up and detached the jig. Let us remember this as a landmark in our project. We now have a stand-alone boat as we move toward the final phase of the project. We are all very excited to see the boat, especially the students who thought that the jig was the boat. 

We are now cleaning up shop for lunch, and will return at 12:30. After lunch, we started to apply fiberglass to the boat, and worked on separate projects for the different parts of the boat. The boats look great and one can only see smiles on this group of youngsters. You stay classy Brooks School, and well see you tomorrow!!!

Cpt. Willie Platt