Pelican on the hunt

shanty boat project

This shows the stern frame of the hull right side up in the foreground. The center frames are upside down in the background.

Afternoon sail

I took my wife, my friend Jacob, and his wife Lauren on a sail about a week ago in Winyah Bay (so far my only sailing grounds). Just as we left the landing a storm started building behind us. We managed to stay just in front of it, though we caught a bit of a drizzle. Then, as when the storm cleared it took the wind with it. So, we rowed back most of the way, Jacob on one oar and me on the other. My 8 foot oars are at least 6 inches too short, probably an entire foot too short. This makes them perfect for two oarsmen rowing side by side with one oar each.


I have taken the boat out about 5 times thus far and I love it. It really has been fun. I'm looking forward to a day long cruise. I have also decided that I want to build another set of masts out of aluminum. This will save my back when stepping and unstepping the masts. These solid spruce ones
are cumbersome, but they do work.

Launched!!!

wood for next boat

A client gave my dad these cypress beams. They are 10" x 10" and were 22' long. I cut them into 9' lengths and plan to resaw them into 1/2" x 6" planks for my next boat. There won't be enough good wood in them for the entire boat, but it'll get me started.

more delays

I was expecting to get my sails in the next couple of days but it seems the loft made the wrong sails. They made a set for the BRS 15 and my boat is a BRS 17. Hopefully I can get a full set in 4 weeks instead of 6. And, the designer is going to try to come up with a sail for me to use until I can get a full set. This will at least get me on the water and in the mean time I can fix a few minor things and do stuff like finish off my oars.

Out into the sun, masts stepped, exciting!!

It was very exciting to see the boat out in the open with the masts stepped. You can see that the foremast is raked and the aftermast appears not to be. They both should be. Both masts also have some curve to them (unintentional). Another issue was the boat trailer. My friend Ashley and I raised the front of the boat on the trailer and made some other adjustments and hopefully the boat will go on and off without hitting the fenders. Still more work to be done but getting closer to launch every day.

Countdown to launch . . .

My sails SHOULD be arriving in the next couple of days along with a couple more pieces of hardware. I have finished painting the boat and started installing the hardware. I hope I can finish the hardware tonight.

My cleats you can see port and starboard on the stern and centered on the foredeck. I think they look nice unpainted on the turquoise.

So far I installed the gudgeons for the rudder, the cleats and the seat hatches and hinges.

I also installed the oarlock sockets but one of the screws on the port one broke off inside the gunnel so I had to take it off and clean the bedding compound from it so it before it cured. I still have to get the broken screw out which won't be any fun.

Not your typical gay bar

A human interest note:

Some local characters at the marine railway and old fish house.
















They are just buddies from what I understand.

interior white finished, first coat of turquoise/teal

Foredeck and thwarts installed

Bottom finished, boat turned and put on trailer, and oars roughly shaped.

The boat has been progressing pretty well this month. I managed to get 3 coats of paint on the bottom and I am happy with the finish. You can see imperfections clearly, but I had always intended on a "work boat finish."




I got some help from my friend Jacob, his dad Larry, and Larry's buddy Richard. Richard is about 4 feet 31/2 inches tall and Larry about 7 feet tall, and neither is very strong.

First we lifted the boat inside the shop, turned it up on it's side, and carried it out to the grass, with much moaning and groaning. Jacob was yelling at his dad, "Man up!" "Grab it and growl!"

Once we got it to the grass I took a minute to admire my work. I think it looks damn good with the paint on it.







Next we picked up my second hand boat trailer, turned it sideways and carried it through the shop door. The reason I'm going through all this trouble is: 1. I want to set the boat down on something that is not going to mar the paint; 2. I need to adjust the trailer to fit the boat and doing this inside the shop keeps me away from the gnats; and 3. I didn't really think it would be that difficult with 4 people.





Finally we carried the boat back into the shop and set it down on the trailer. Well, ole Sasquatch decided to give Willow the side that needed to come up the highest. So, we ended up rubbing the topsides on the steel fender of the boat trailer. So, I have some nice scratches to touch up.

It's not a big deal really because I am painting the interior the same color and have to touch up the transom and stem later anyhow.




I'm getting anxious to launch the boat.

































Here are some photos of the 8' spoon blade oars I made from cypress. The pictures don't show them very well. I'm not going to finish them completely until I launch the boat, that way I can make any necessary adjustments.

First coat of paint

I put the first coat of Rustoleum Marine Topsides Paint on Sunday. It's good to see the boat in a uniform color.

Bottom almost ready to paint

I put the second and last coat of epoxy on the outside of the hull this afternoon. The other day I fitted the keel and glued and screwed it on. I countersunk the screws and then filled the holes with thickened epoxy today before coating it all with epoxy. I will need to sand the filled holes once it cures. I probably ought to give the keel a second coat of epoxy too before I paint.

I bought a gallon of semi-gloss Rustoleum marine paint and one quart of bright red.

I also cut the pattern for my oars and cut the oars to their rough shape. Hopefully I'll have some photos of them next time. I think their going to turn out nicely.

My first boat

This is the best photo I have of the first boat I built. I'm ashamed I don't have one of her in the water. I've christened her "No. 1." She's a Sam Devlin Peeper, about 12', oars are cypress. She rows well, but I want something more substantial that I can stand up in and flounder gig from. I have a design in mind and probably have all the lumber I need to build it. I'm gonna finish Pelican before I get into that though.

Mast tube glassed and glued, hatches completed

I glued the kingplank in and installed the mast tube through it, gluing it at the kingplank and gluing and glassing it to the mast step. It seems plenty strong.











I found stainless steel piano hinges at my local hardware store. I don't know what quality of stainless they are, but I bought a 6' piece anyway and cut two pieces for my seat hatches. I got these fitted to my satisfaction and then removed them for epoxy sealing.








You can also see here the drain holes I drilled through the transom. I have two brass tubes to install after one more coat of epoxy in the holes.

Painted masts, turned hull again, installed last seat tops

I painted the masts with some Rustoleum latex paint I had kickin around. I think it was left by the previous homeowners. You can see clearly that the tops of the masts are dissimilar.










This shows the mast tube being dry fitted with the kingplank in the forward compartment.












This is a good picture showing the interior with the forward seat tops installed. You can also see that I put the first coat of epoxy on the interior bottom and up to the sides.











I think I took this photo to show the shearline. I like this view. I can't wait to see it fair and painted.