Attaching The Bottom

Before the bottom could be attached, it was necessary to fair the frame, bulkhead, and the battens that give the bottom its shape. Once we had that completed, we dry fitted the bottom with clamps and screws this required several attempts to get he bottom just right.

It was than time to epoxy the bottom in place. Several small containers of the mixture were made up so the process could move quickly and smoothly. We started at the bow and attached the bottom as we moved aft. We did the starboard side followed by the port.

When all that was in place, we attached the Chine piece.

Now it really looks like a boat!

FAIRING

Monday was a day of fairing in preparation for attaching the bottom and sides of the boat. The slideshow at the left will give you a sense of the activity. We also attached the two inwale that will define the sheer of the boat. The CNC was used to cut out the frames and bulkheads however, a fair amount of handwork is required to fair the shape of the boat. It was necessary to enlarge some of the notches to support and bend the inwale. Two pieces of Douglas fir were used to allow for bending and strength. Our last task was to cleanup all the shavings and dust from the fairing operation and than epoxy the two pieces tougher and install the inwale in place. We used many clamps p to hold the two pieces in place and to help in bending with out breakage. Next week we will be install the bottom and sides however you can clearly see the Marissa taking shape.

Attaching the transom

With the knowledge gained last week, we were able to make progress with all of the battens and have than securely in place. The transom was installed. The boat has really begun to take shape and we are looking forward to attaching the bottom and sides next week. See photos on the left.

Bending

From Student Photos

Most of our time on Monday was spent on detail work and attaching the forward bulkhead and frame #1 to the stem. This slide show will highlight our activities. The work moved forward slowly as we problem solved attaching the battens. At the end of the day we had successfully attached the bulkhead and frame #1 and were able to give additional shape to the boat by bending battens in place

Winner of Design Challenge

Designer Graham Byrnes designer of Marissa was just announced as winner of the Wooden Boat category. More to follow after Graham speaks in about 15 minutes. Part of Graham's slides used during the talk can be found here. Of interest was the number of entries which were 73 total from 16 countries and 19 states. This is truly great recognition of Graham's ability and talent. Thanks to Professional Boatbuilder Magazine and Wooden Boat Magazine for helping move the industry towards efficiency and sustainability. It is the industry and consumer, both present and future, who will benefit directly.