Day 13. Snowy Saturday

Day 13

Andres with chisel while Cole Blogs

When I signed up for boat building I didn’t know what to expect.  The first few days where much different then normal school, as it was a much more hands on experience.  Instead of picking up a pencil and writing, I’ve been measuring lengths and cutting wood. While not only learning about the parts of a boat, and how to construct one, I have gotten to use and experiment with power tools, like the router, lathe, sawzall, etc.  Our three main rooms, the garage, the dining room, and the basement house certain tools, each specific to the work in that room.                                                

The garage is where the boat is, and most of the power tools.  It’s always a smart idea to grab a pair of eye protection or earplugs before you go in.  Most of the sawing happens in the garage; with so many power tools working at the same time the power often shorts out.  A thin layer of sawdust seems to hover in the air, coating your hair with dust.

Our Fearless Blogger

The basement, aka the dungeon, is where the spars are. The spars are the wooden beams of the boat.  The mast, gaff, boom, and bowsprit are all types of spars.  They hold the sails up. The smell of epoxy is noticeable from the top of the staircase, and the loud noise of the power planer almost always seems to be coming from there.  We call it the dungeon because the basement is dark and musky. This house was built almost a century ago, the basement staying the same since it was built.  The walls are made of stone, and cobwebs cover the ceiling.                                                                        

Final Paint before a bathtub launching.

The dining room is definitely the most calm. As I write this, I’m sitting at the one small table in the middle of the room.  The table is covered in small tools, from the several different sized hand planes to the electric power sander.  A light country melody is always playing on someone’s phone.  The smell of superglue seems to drown out everything in this room, from the model boats being built. The small models are a dinghy and a Muscongus Bay lobster smack, covered in a layer of green and black paint.                                                                                                                                      

This course has been a great change from my normal school routine, I’ve gotten a chance to learn a new skill, and broaden my view of craftsmanship.  This is something I would love to continue.  This course is a completely different aspect on life; wooden boat building is like an internship.  (Cole Millington)

Side deck supports nearly finished.

Tommy bites nails, tools and screws!

Preparing for Pirates.

The perfect ribbin!

Connor continues to bring the spar into round.

Taking shape.

Henry with the biggest chisel we've seen to date.

Is that Mr. Haile skipping rope?  It's not all work after all.