The molds are made in multiple sections. We do this because there is so much curve to the shape of the boat. If we were to try to make one of the sides of a mold using a single board, you can see that the board would have to be very wide in order to get the shape out of it. Also, the wood is strongest when the grain runs in the about the same direction as the sides of the piece. In places where the shape turns, you would end up with a section of wood where the grain runs towards the side of the piece. This is called "short grain" and it's very weak. So, the solution here is to make the molds out of short pieces that run more or less in the direction of the grain, and then attach them together using pieces of plywood called "gussets." You can see Jason attaching gussets in the photo above.
Here's one small segment of the mold as it's getting planed to final shape.
We get nice looking offcuts from making these sections. It's a shame to waste them.
So, we don't. Woodfish... it's what's for dinner.
And one by one, the molds are coming together.
For those out there who have built boats themselves, we are leaving the edges of our molds square, rather than beveling them. Beveling takes a good amount of time, and if you're not bending the frames directly on top of the molds, the gain is minimal. We'll be bending ribbands around the molds and the laminated frames, and bending the frames to them.
Karl has been working on laminated frames and floors. Here he is shaping one of the floors.
The floors will sit on top of the keel form the link between the frames that go up the sides of the boat, and the keel running along the center. Here's a finished floor, sitting on a painted floor.
The frames are attached to the floors with carriage bolts. We'll only attach the laminated frames to the floors at this stage of the game since they are the only frames that we've shaped at this point. The other frames will be steam bent in place later on. Here's one of the laminated frames attached to its floor and all set to go.
Jason has also finished gluing up the sternpost knee. This is essentially a huge triangle that will brace the joint where the sternpost attaches to the keel.
That'll get cleaned up and shaped later.
David has finished thicknessing the keel and found that he needed to attach a little chunk of wood to the side, called a Dutchman, to increase the width a bit. No, I don't know why it's called a Dutchman. Some folks call it a graving piece, but that's a term that most properly refers to a wood patch used to replace defective or rotten wood. And just in case you didn't know, the word Dutchman is also used to express disbelief, e.g., "If she's seventeen, I'm a Dutchman!"
And you thought this was just going to be a progress report, didn't you?
Anyway, here's David, hard at work on the angelique keel prepping the spot where he'll glue the Dutchman to the side.
I've been working on getting the shape of the stem / fore keel just right. Here I've taken a thin, light-colored batten and used it to connect points that are exactly 3 1/2" from the inside face (in this picture, that's the bottom) of the fore keel. Since the fore keel is exactly 3 1/2" in some places, this assures me that I get the right shape and thickness in one fell swoop.
It also gives me a "don't plane below this" boundary along the forekeel.
Next, I use a pattern made from the profile view (the side view) of the lofting to act guide me as I shape the outer face of the stem / fore keel. This starts by tracing the shape of the pattern along the side of the stem / fore keel. This doesn't give an absolutely accurate line to plane to, however, because the laminate is not straight sided. It curves from a thin stem section to a wide fore keel section. Holding the pattern against this curved side introduces some slight error, so I use the traced line as a general indicator of where I'll be planing off large or small amounts of wood.
Once I've gotten close to the shape I want, I lay the pattern up on top of the laminate and use it to guide the final shaping.
You can see that the laminate is already close to the shape of the pattern, but closer inspection shows where it still needs work.
(note: that dark opening below the top layer of laminate and the next layer isn't a deep gap, it''s just the shadow created by the overhanging upper laminate)
The gap between the pattern and laminate needs to be closed up. The process is simple; look for areas where the pattern is touching the laminate, decide if that point is what's keeping the pattern lifted off of the laminate somewhere else, take a few small shavings off the laminate, fit the pattern again, repeat. It's slow, careful work. It's important to get this right, because the cost of messing up this part would be catastrophic. The schedule and cost of the project would go right out the window if this were messed up, and a lot of work would stop while everyone waited for a new part to be built.
But, hey, no pressure.
It's coming along, and should be ready for tracing the final side-to-side shape on it in a day or 2.