Friday, July 24
The last day.
If you ever get a chance to come to the school here, take it! This has to be one of the coolest things in the world to do. It is just too much fun. The school is very well run. Rich and Kim do an excellent job. It is amazing that they are able to get the quality of instructors that they do here at the school. I get amused at Rich; he appears be the guy who fell of the turnip truck yesterday. He rides, anytime he gets a chance, around on an old tractor here. He is mostly dressed in jeans and tee shirts. But when you really look at what he is doing there is a different person. He is at the school everyday. There are no holidays when school is in session. He knows everything that is going on and knows everyone’s name in the classes. When you look at the numbers, it is large operation and they do an excellent job.
My instructor Geoff Kerr, the Maine boat builder, who lives in Vermont is a great instructor. This is the 2nd time I have taken a class under him. Each one has been a great learning experience. There is so much to learn about building boats, it is hard to get it in just one course. I would highly recommend taking one of Geoff’s courses. Not only is it a great learning experience but you just have “fun” with Geoff.
Of course the last night is lobster night. Because of the miserable weather, they actually said it was a summer “Nor’easter”, we had the dinner in the shop. None of the instructors remember ever having to move the dinner inside. We consumed great quantities of food and beer. Great fun was had by all. We had to say good bye to our new best friends and pack bags for the trip home.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Miss Babe of the Day
Thursday, July 23
Today we worked on parts. My task was to build one of the spars. Most spars are tapered. You take a square piece of wood and cut it to shape on two sides and plane those sides smooth. Then you cut the shape on the other two sides and plane them. That gives you a square tapered stick. From there you start and you plane off the four corners and make it eight sides. Then you cut off the corners and make it 16 sides. You continue the process until you get 1024 sides and you call it round. Actually about 16 sides you can start sanding and get it rounded out. I must admit that I love to plane boards. With a very sharp plane and some nice wood, you get this curl of paper thin wood that shoots out of the top of the plane. It is a very “Zen” thing to do. After about 5 hours, I had this really cool pile of shavings about ankle deep and an aching back. We are starting to add the parts to the boat. The centerboard trunk is installed. The inside rails are installed and we are starting to make bulkheads. The centerboard and rudder are finished but it takes some special hardware to install them so I doubt they will get installed. Today if the weather will permit, we will pour the lead in the centerboard and rudder. This is the first boat I have ever seen with lead in the rudder.
We had the big drawing yesterday to see who gets to take the boat home. I was the only one who did not participate. Delta just doesn’t like to check thru a boat as baggage. The process is that any member of the class can enter the drawing. There are two requirements if you win. First of all, you have to pay for the materials used to build the boat. For this boat, that is about $2,000. The second requirement is you have to get the boat out of here. They have a lot of boats here that are used in classes. There are about twelve to fifteen in storage buildings. If every class left a boat here to pick up for a couple of weeks the place would be total overrun with boats. Will was the big winner. He is in the process of moving to Baltimore and starting his first job. He has visions of lazy summer afternoons in the inter harbor with “Miss Babe of the Day” sailing around.
Today we worked on parts. My task was to build one of the spars. Most spars are tapered. You take a square piece of wood and cut it to shape on two sides and plane those sides smooth. Then you cut the shape on the other two sides and plane them. That gives you a square tapered stick. From there you start and you plane off the four corners and make it eight sides. Then you cut off the corners and make it 16 sides. You continue the process until you get 1024 sides and you call it round. Actually about 16 sides you can start sanding and get it rounded out. I must admit that I love to plane boards. With a very sharp plane and some nice wood, you get this curl of paper thin wood that shoots out of the top of the plane. It is a very “Zen” thing to do. After about 5 hours, I had this really cool pile of shavings about ankle deep and an aching back. We are starting to add the parts to the boat. The centerboard trunk is installed. The inside rails are installed and we are starting to make bulkheads. The centerboard and rudder are finished but it takes some special hardware to install them so I doubt they will get installed. Today if the weather will permit, we will pour the lead in the centerboard and rudder. This is the first boat I have ever seen with lead in the rudder.
We had the big drawing yesterday to see who gets to take the boat home. I was the only one who did not participate. Delta just doesn’t like to check thru a boat as baggage. The process is that any member of the class can enter the drawing. There are two requirements if you win. First of all, you have to pay for the materials used to build the boat. For this boat, that is about $2,000. The second requirement is you have to get the boat out of here. They have a lot of boats here that are used in classes. There are about twelve to fifteen in storage buildings. If every class left a boat here to pick up for a couple of weeks the place would be total overrun with boats. Will was the big winner. He is in the process of moving to Baltimore and starting his first job. He has visions of lazy summer afternoons in the inter harbor with “Miss Babe of the Day” sailing around.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Whiskey Plank
Wednesday, July 22
We got the final plank on today and flipped the boat over. It was fun. Geoff got all the other classes to come watch as we popped it off the molds, lifted it up and carried it out of the shop. Everyone had their camers taking photos. It was like walking down the red carpet to the Wooden Boat Oscars. We took it over to a grassy place set it down and rolled it over. Then we picked it back up and marched it back into the shop for fitting out. There has been a guy from the New York Times here doing an article about the school and our class. He took a bunch of photos. We might show up on the front page in the next couple of days.
The last plank is traditionally known as the whiskey plank so we all had a toast with a drink of scotch after the last plank went on the boat. I am pretty sure this is completely against school rules. We quit early today and joined Geoff on his boat for a sail around the harbor. The coast here is so different from our Gulf coast. It is just beautiful.
We got the final plank on today and flipped the boat over. It was fun. Geoff got all the other classes to come watch as we popped it off the molds, lifted it up and carried it out of the shop. Everyone had their camers taking photos. It was like walking down the red carpet to the Wooden Boat Oscars. We took it over to a grassy place set it down and rolled it over. Then we picked it back up and marched it back into the shop for fitting out. There has been a guy from the New York Times here doing an article about the school and our class. He took a bunch of photos. We might show up on the front page in the next couple of days.
The last plank is traditionally known as the whiskey plank so we all had a toast with a drink of scotch after the last plank went on the boat. I am pretty sure this is completely against school rules. We quit early today and joined Geoff on his boat for a sail around the harbor. The coast here is so different from our Gulf coast. It is just beautiful.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Stepping back in time
Tuesday, July 21
We put on 2 more boards today with one left to go. We took the rest of the day to add other parts to the boat. One of the best things about taking a course here is learning how to correct mistakes. We had a true learning experience today. Geoff came thru and show us how to correct a board already glued on the boat. I am sure after you do all of this for a while it becomes second nature but it far from that now.
Last night I went and got some culture. I went to the local Library for a lecture. They had a standing room only crowd. Of course, you need to remember that the building is about half the size of the one in Pell City. You live here without television, cell phones and internet. The library has a lecture series and the ladies clubs gather for meetings several times a week. It is not uncommon to see a tractor parked outside of one of the buildings. The locals meet at the store for coffee in the morning and in the Pub at night. Most of the people walk to the store and pub, so there is a lot of pedestrian traffic. No one locks their cars or houses. It is like stepping back in time 70 or 80 years. Maybe that that is the thing that keeps so many people coming back to the school.
I will try to get more photos of the boat posted. It is really looking like a boat now that the mistake was corrected.
We put on 2 more boards today with one left to go. We took the rest of the day to add other parts to the boat. One of the best things about taking a course here is learning how to correct mistakes. We had a true learning experience today. Geoff came thru and show us how to correct a board already glued on the boat. I am sure after you do all of this for a while it becomes second nature but it far from that now.
Last night I went and got some culture. I went to the local Library for a lecture. They had a standing room only crowd. Of course, you need to remember that the building is about half the size of the one in Pell City. You live here without television, cell phones and internet. The library has a lecture series and the ladies clubs gather for meetings several times a week. It is not uncommon to see a tractor parked outside of one of the buildings. The locals meet at the store for coffee in the morning and in the Pub at night. Most of the people walk to the store and pub, so there is a lot of pedestrian traffic. No one locks their cars or houses. It is like stepping back in time 70 or 80 years. Maybe that that is the thing that keeps so many people coming back to the school.
I will try to get more photos of the boat posted. It is really looking like a boat now that the mistake was corrected.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Boat for sale not cheap
Monday, July 20
More planks today. We put three more planks on each side of the boat today. We have the keel, centerboard, outer stem and skeg ready to go on as soon as the planks are finished. There are 11 planks on each side and we have 9 of them on so tomorrow should be last day of planking. The planks are looking good there is one that has a little bit of a strange shape on one plank but it the same on both sides of the boat so I assume it is the way it supposed to be. It is amazing how much of the shape of the plank is done strictly by eye. Geoff calls them the money edge. It is what you see when you see the boat and makes you want to spend the big money to buy one. In case you are interested in purchasing one, the boat we are building sells for $25,000. It has about $4,000 in materials and the rest is labor.
After dinner Will, Tim and I went harbor touring. We went to Center Harbor home of Brooklin Boat Yard and Benjamin River home of Doug Hylan. There are so many pretty boats it is just hard to take all of them in. There are a lot of very large, very expensive boats and a lot of small expensive boats. Doug has a very nice office on piles over the water. Just enough space for him and his stuff. He wins the award for the coolest office on the planet.
More planks today. We put three more planks on each side of the boat today. We have the keel, centerboard, outer stem and skeg ready to go on as soon as the planks are finished. There are 11 planks on each side and we have 9 of them on so tomorrow should be last day of planking. The planks are looking good there is one that has a little bit of a strange shape on one plank but it the same on both sides of the boat so I assume it is the way it supposed to be. It is amazing how much of the shape of the plank is done strictly by eye. Geoff calls them the money edge. It is what you see when you see the boat and makes you want to spend the big money to buy one. In case you are interested in purchasing one, the boat we are building sells for $25,000. It has about $4,000 in materials and the rest is labor.
After dinner Will, Tim and I went harbor touring. We went to Center Harbor home of Brooklin Boat Yard and Benjamin River home of Doug Hylan. There are so many pretty boats it is just hard to take all of them in. There are a lot of very large, very expensive boats and a lot of small expensive boats. Doug has a very nice office on piles over the water. Just enough space for him and his stuff. He wins the award for the coolest office on the planet.
Monday, July 20, 2009
The great rescue
Sunday, July 19
Today I did nothing, and I didn’t start that until 10:00. Doing nothing is quite unusual for me. I guess once a year is about enough. There is very little to report about nothing.
Well maybe I could write about the great boat rescue. Tim and I had walked down to the dock and were admiring the boats on their moorings. There was a visiting sailboat at anchor, a very nice S&S yawl. It was well worth some admiration. I noticed that it didn’t seem to be in the same place as it was a few minutes earlier. It is not unusual for boats to swing at anchor, so I didn’t think much of it. I looked back a few minutes later and holly crap that boat is dragging anchor headed for the school’s boats and the rocks. Rich, the school’s head master, is getting ready to take his is boat out and I yell that there is a boat dragging. We spring into action! Rich’s son, another guy and I get into the school launch and the mission begins. By the time we get there the rig of the big boat is tangled in the rigging of one of the school boats. The other guy and I get on the big boat and Rich’s son gets in the school boat. Luckily, the big boat has keys in the switch. Rich’s son and I get the rigging free and the other guy figures out how to crank the engine. I head to the bow and think oh great an electric windless (a motor to pull the anchor up with) because there is a big ole chain on this boat. I push the button and nothing. Well crap I have to pull it up by hand this is not going to be fun to pull in a 100 foot of chain. So I get to work dragging chain on to the foredeck. About 3 or 4 good pulls Rich’s son yells and said the anchor is free. What, I don’t have but 20 feet of chain on the deck. I look and the anchor is dangling just above water line. The SOB’s have put out 20 feet of chain to anchor in 20 feet of water! No wonder they are dragging. What kind of idiot is this, obviously someone with a lot of money and absolutely no sense about how to sail and anchor. We motor to a mooring and secure the boat. And so, the great rescue ends.
The remainder of the day was spent watching grass grow from a comfortable chair on the porch.
Today I did nothing, and I didn’t start that until 10:00. Doing nothing is quite unusual for me. I guess once a year is about enough. There is very little to report about nothing.
Well maybe I could write about the great boat rescue. Tim and I had walked down to the dock and were admiring the boats on their moorings. There was a visiting sailboat at anchor, a very nice S&S yawl. It was well worth some admiration. I noticed that it didn’t seem to be in the same place as it was a few minutes earlier. It is not unusual for boats to swing at anchor, so I didn’t think much of it. I looked back a few minutes later and holly crap that boat is dragging anchor headed for the school’s boats and the rocks. Rich, the school’s head master, is getting ready to take his is boat out and I yell that there is a boat dragging. We spring into action! Rich’s son, another guy and I get into the school launch and the mission begins. By the time we get there the rig of the big boat is tangled in the rigging of one of the school boats. The other guy and I get on the big boat and Rich’s son gets in the school boat. Luckily, the big boat has keys in the switch. Rich’s son and I get the rigging free and the other guy figures out how to crank the engine. I head to the bow and think oh great an electric windless (a motor to pull the anchor up with) because there is a big ole chain on this boat. I push the button and nothing. Well crap I have to pull it up by hand this is not going to be fun to pull in a 100 foot of chain. So I get to work dragging chain on to the foredeck. About 3 or 4 good pulls Rich’s son yells and said the anchor is free. What, I don’t have but 20 feet of chain on the deck. I look and the anchor is dangling just above water line. The SOB’s have put out 20 feet of chain to anchor in 20 feet of water! No wonder they are dragging. What kind of idiot is this, obviously someone with a lot of money and absolutely no sense about how to sail and anchor. We motor to a mooring and secure the boat. And so, the great rescue ends.
The remainder of the day was spent watching grass grow from a comfortable chair on the porch.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
They only sound good after 8 beers
Saturday, July 18, 2009
FOG! Fog is what Maine is famous for and we had plenty of it all day. We started the day off with rain and fog and ended up with just fog.
There were no classes today. This is a pretty quite place so other than Carol cleaning the buildings and the shop assistances cleaning the shops there wasn’t much happening. Generally, Saturday it is a good day to use one of the boats and go sailing but there was this thing call FOG. The school has about 12 or 15 different boats for your use. If you were wanting to figure out what type of boat you wanted this would be a cool place to come and sail the whole fleet. As a mater of fact, there is a course that allows you to do that for a week.
I made the trip to Ellsworth about 30 miles away to get into cell phone range. Carole and I rarely have time away from each other. We probably have many more days when we spend all day together. I have a new favorite song, the main point of the song is about being in love with your best friend, which sums up our relationship. After talking long enough to make my ear tired, it was 30 miles back to Brooklin.
Most of the day was spent working on some drawings that need revision the week I get back. I found a quite corner which was an easy thing to do, plugged in my Ipod and started work. Nothing like getting a few billable hours when you get a chance.
Randy and I went to the Brooklin Pub for dinner. It is in the same old house as the Brookin Inn restaurant and Brooking Inn B&B. You have to know the Pub is there to find it. The entrance is thru the woodshed in the back of the building. The door is about 5’ tall and the hallway is about 6’ tall. Then it down some non-code steps ducking to miss low beams into the basement. There is a bar with about 10 stools and 4 tables so one might say it is cozy. Of course, others may describe it in less kind ways. While we were eating our burgers three local guys show up with instruments and set up to play for the night. They were playing some fun music with a little blue grass, protest music and other stuff mixed in. I think if we had stayed for about 8 more beers they would have sounded really good.
FOG! Fog is what Maine is famous for and we had plenty of it all day. We started the day off with rain and fog and ended up with just fog.
There were no classes today. This is a pretty quite place so other than Carol cleaning the buildings and the shop assistances cleaning the shops there wasn’t much happening. Generally, Saturday it is a good day to use one of the boats and go sailing but there was this thing call FOG. The school has about 12 or 15 different boats for your use. If you were wanting to figure out what type of boat you wanted this would be a cool place to come and sail the whole fleet. As a mater of fact, there is a course that allows you to do that for a week.
I made the trip to Ellsworth about 30 miles away to get into cell phone range. Carole and I rarely have time away from each other. We probably have many more days when we spend all day together. I have a new favorite song, the main point of the song is about being in love with your best friend, which sums up our relationship. After talking long enough to make my ear tired, it was 30 miles back to Brooklin.
Most of the day was spent working on some drawings that need revision the week I get back. I found a quite corner which was an easy thing to do, plugged in my Ipod and started work. Nothing like getting a few billable hours when you get a chance.
Randy and I went to the Brooklin Pub for dinner. It is in the same old house as the Brookin Inn restaurant and Brooking Inn B&B. You have to know the Pub is there to find it. The entrance is thru the woodshed in the back of the building. The door is about 5’ tall and the hallway is about 6’ tall. Then it down some non-code steps ducking to miss low beams into the basement. There is a bar with about 10 stools and 4 tables so one might say it is cozy. Of course, others may describe it in less kind ways. While we were eating our burgers three local guys show up with instruments and set up to play for the night. They were playing some fun music with a little blue grass, protest music and other stuff mixed in. I think if we had stayed for about 8 more beers they would have sounded really good.
It followed me home Carole
Friday, July 17, 2009
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. Wait someone has already used that line. Today was a good day and for a lot of people at the school it is a sad day. Most people are finishing their courses today. They are saying good-bye to there new best friends. I have always been a student of group dynamics. It fun to watch how people come together here. You see someone who arrives at the school totally lost, not knowing a soul and at the end of the week, they are friends with everyone here. It is an amazing thing to watch. I have even seen a few tears shed as people say good bye.
Of course, my class has another week to go so we aren’t crying about anything yet. We got a lot done today. We got six boards fitted and glued on the boat. Our project is beginning to look like a boat. You can see the shape of the bottom and begin to get a feel for the way the finished boat will look. I think this is going to be a beautiful boat. I have strict instructions to not let it follow me home. Boats do that you know. You just drive by one and it just falls in love with you. The next thing you know you look up in the rear view mirror and it is behind your car.
I am actually quite tired we worked hard all day without much rest. I was ready to quit about 3:00 but Geoff set a goal and we had to go until we met that goal or is was no beer. It is not a good day unless you work hard enough to enjoy a beer. We finished just in time for the 5:00 bell to ring.
Friday night is also lobster night. With a large lobster, clams, corn on the cob, salad, etc. for dinner. It is a BYOB with plenty of the second “B” around. They actually do a very good job with the lobster dinners. Of course it is very hard to mess up a Main lobster. When Carole comes with me, it her favorite part of the week. On previous trips to Maine, she has had lobster for every meal.
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. Wait someone has already used that line. Today was a good day and for a lot of people at the school it is a sad day. Most people are finishing their courses today. They are saying good-bye to there new best friends. I have always been a student of group dynamics. It fun to watch how people come together here. You see someone who arrives at the school totally lost, not knowing a soul and at the end of the week, they are friends with everyone here. It is an amazing thing to watch. I have even seen a few tears shed as people say good bye.
Of course, my class has another week to go so we aren’t crying about anything yet. We got a lot done today. We got six boards fitted and glued on the boat. Our project is beginning to look like a boat. You can see the shape of the bottom and begin to get a feel for the way the finished boat will look. I think this is going to be a beautiful boat. I have strict instructions to not let it follow me home. Boats do that you know. You just drive by one and it just falls in love with you. The next thing you know you look up in the rear view mirror and it is behind your car.
I am actually quite tired we worked hard all day without much rest. I was ready to quit about 3:00 but Geoff set a goal and we had to go until we met that goal or is was no beer. It is not a good day unless you work hard enough to enjoy a beer. We finished just in time for the 5:00 bell to ring.
Friday night is also lobster night. With a large lobster, clams, corn on the cob, salad, etc. for dinner. It is a BYOB with plenty of the second “B” around. They actually do a very good job with the lobster dinners. Of course it is very hard to mess up a Main lobster. When Carole comes with me, it her favorite part of the week. On previous trips to Maine, she has had lobster for every meal.
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