Day 9. Midway. Bottoms on and Spars Begin

Nick using the power planer.

Mr. Saunders is quality control

The spar starts to take shape.

Epoxy twins

            Today our goal was to glue on the bottoms of the boat, but needs a lot of preparation to achieve the goal of the day. We began by splitting the fewer number of boat builders with Eliot and Ravi grinding down the jigs on Boat X. As for the “Reef Runner”, the other boat, they are very close to having their bottom epoxied to it.

With the bottoms glued to the frame these things are starting to look more and more like boats.  With this is mind the rest of the class is working on making the spars for the masts, which surprisingly looks like a long process.

Quality control by Andrew

Kimball#2 and I started to round the edges of the spar.  I can only imagine what it is going to look like when it is complete. The hard work from these past few days has definitely shown us we can get this done.  Nick Vas

At last bottoms on!

First attempt. It's upside down!

A special visit from Marie Ranfos.

There we go.  Nice work Ravi and Eliot.

Reporting From BBN (Brooks Broadcasting Network), the Boat Building Group is in for another treacherous day of work. Splinters in fingers, dust in eyes, and Jackie causing accidents on Great Pond Road, Brooks is battling the weather conditions that Mother Nature presented them. With snow falling from the sky, most members arrived on time. With Dickie overalls and plaid flannels Brooks Boat Builders are ready to work. The first task that presented was evening out the sides of the Optimus Primes. With few malfunctions, Here I am Elliot, JorLAX Makin, T Brittle Britt, and me sanded and planed down the sides to create a parallel line from side to side. Meanwhile, the rest of the group created spares for the boat. Working with difficult math ranging from addition to division, Kimball numero dos, William Platt, Nick Vas, Theo P, and Caroline Burke created the perfect spare, carefully utilizing the tools, crafting them to perfection. Next, the group featuring JorLAX Makin and T Brittle Britt began apply the epoxy, which would then be followed in by delicately placing the bottom of the boat in position. 

Everyone working!  A nice snowy day to be inside.

Day 7 and 8 Wood Turning and Spars

This Morning Ryan and I went with Mr. Grant to the lumberyard to pick up more wood and brushes to apply the epoxy. While we were out Mr. Saunders, Andrew, and Nick began cutting out pieces of marine plywood for the bottom of the boat. Meanwhile Graham, Abby, and Sarah were using the router to cut down the sides of the boat and also using planes to shave down the sides so we can begin to apply more epoxy. Jory, Tyler, Eliot, and Ravi were finishing up the first round of epoxy application. After an extensive morning of cutting, gluing, and cleaning we went off to lunch.

Epoxy and cancer dust as Graham likes to call it.
Don't worry we're using breathers.

Theo

More rudder action.

An inverted belt sander.  Improv style.

Sometimes a good knee is the best clamp!

Theo, Mr. Grant, and I took another trip to Jackson Lumberyard in Lawrence this morning. We bought 2 2x2x12 pieces of wood and other tools we needed like paintbrushes and screws. When we returned to school, the sides of the boat were cut down and finished and Tyler and Jory were applying the epoxy to the other side of the boat. Tomorrow when the epoxy dries we will use the router again to cut down that side. The next step in this boat building process is to cut out the bottom of the boat so after taking measurements, Andrew used the skill saw to cut it out. When we returned from lunch, the rutters were cut out and Nick spent the afternoon sanding it with the power sander. Outside on the big boat, we vacuumed the inside and began working on putting in the centerpiece. We got a lot done today and we are all looking forward to tomorrow.

Ryan Miles

Vas free-hands the belt sander.

Day 6 Epoxy Stringers and Sides

Graham is pledging his allegiance to the class

We walked into Classroom 103 this morning to be greeted with two boxes of Dunkin Donuts goodies. Graham debriefed us on the plan for this morning, which included gluing the ends of the boat onto the stringers with epoxy, and flattening out the frame of one of the boats by adding more weight. The torque from the stringers was twisting the jig, so more weight was needed to counter the force. We grabbed a few cinderblocks before beginning the epoxy work. Willie and Ryan mixed a solution that was pasted on to the ends of the stringers before Tyler and I screwed the end boards on to make the epoxy stick. Matthew Thomas (The Man, The Myth, The Legend) was a vital member of the team. Before lunch, we began to craft the sideboards of the Opti out of marine plywood. Ryan used a circular saw with a laser guide to make sure he was cutting along the rounded edges of the board. At the same time, Theo began making the rudder. In the afternoon, we applied more epoxy to the rails and glued the sideboard onto the boat. It required a ton of clamps, but the job was completed. It is finally beginning to look like a boat! Tomorrow we will put on more of the sideboards and finish the rudder. 

Ryan mixes the epoxy carefully.

Jory Makin

Meet Russ Fox, a new friend to Brooks boat building. Thanks, Russ, for the help

Safety first!

Theo and Mr. Grant designing the tiller. A bad hair day for Mr. Grant

The first glued piece

Ryan uses the laser guided circular saw with great care as the marine plywood is thin and costly.

Theo and Mr.Grant continue the tiller saga.

Because the marine plywood is so thinRuss helps steady it as Ryan carefully cuts out the side piece.

Theo and the tiller

Ravi style

Jory style

Mr. Saunders and his jig saw make fast work of this this marine plywood.

Epoxy is messy work and can cause your hand to turn blue

Many clamps, then some more clamps.

A boat with a side!

Todays Bloggers Andrew and Jory

This morning I stumbled into the room to a fantastic surprise of donuts that Mr. Grant had very generously brought in. We were also joined by a new addition to the crew. Russ Fox works with Graham on Fridays and he is around today to be an extra guiding presence. Today’s focus has been on the actual assembly of our boat that will float in the water rather than a jig. Abby and I cut out the bow and stern pieces that we attached to the stringers. This completed the boat shape and everyone is very excited to see the boats taking form. We have to take precautions using the epoxy that creates a very strong bond between the pieces of wood. We wore breathers and had to very careful to only have the epoxy on either the wood that will eventually be part of the boat or the tape which epoxy does not stick to. After the epoxy is applied we used a thickener and finally set the bow and stern in place. In the afternoon we fared the side stringers to level off where we would eventually epoxy into place the side panels. To fare something is a new term for me that means to shave the wood so it is flat. To ensure that the side panels stayed in place we attached more clamps than I have ever seen before. There must be close to thirty.  

Andrew Kimball

Willie working on rounding the rudder using a belt sander clamped to a sawhorse.

Russ and Ravi put the final cuts on the stern plywood.

Eliot glues on the bow of the first boat on the right.

Meanwhile the Lucie, our 19 ft. Lobster Smack, is getting some much-needed attention from Matt Thomas and Ryan Miles who are working on the centerboard and the rudder assembly.

Ryan and Matt with tools of destruction! Or, they're sanding the centerboard.

Brass bolts ground down and banged with a hammer so they can't unscrew.

These respirators are totally legit.