Special guests

 We had some special guests in the shop today.  The TNR (Truro North River ) 4H club came for a visit and a tour of the shop. We had about 16 kids and adults come and take a look. The weather predicted was pretty crummy so some folks may have had a hard time coming out. That just opens up an opportunity for them to come again another time! The kids are involved with everything from woodworking to painting and scrapbooking to woodsman competitions and animal husbandry. I even overheard something about computer work. An amazing organization and a great bunch of people.

We want to say thank you for their gift of the 4H woodsman touque and the beautiful belt buckle.  It is fantastic and Warren will wear it with pride. We can't wait to see your woodsman competition this year and cheer you on. Thank you all for coming.

Checklist

Happy new year.
Yesterday we were able to do some work in the boat shed so we fastened on a plank and glued plugs in bolt holes and Warren put a bevel on a new finishing plank.
Today we:
Glued mast bands- check
Sanded 40 deadeyes, ready for varnish- check
Finished pattern for wheel hub, ready to be molded and poured in foundry- check.

We're  supposed to have a bit of a snow storm here tomorrow  (it's January in Nova Scotia, we will have snow) so we're probably going to varnish the deadeyes and then plow the driveway. 

Tonight we'll roll some oakum and dream of spring. :)

New Year

On this last day of 2015 we are able to look back on a great year working on Lena Blanche. We got so much done this season and are happy with the progress so far. We look forward to a winter working on components for her in the basement and installing them in the spring and then getting her even more launch ready when the nicer weather comes.

Happy New Year to you all. We wish you all happiness, health and peace for the coming year. God Bless your homes.

Thanks for following LB's progress

Warren and Andrea

It's Christmas time

It's getting toward that time of the year again when we all hunker down and get ready for the colder weather.  Brrr. To me it's never a particularly inviting idea. However,  in the midst of all this Brrr dom is Christmas ,which I like. I don't really care about the gifts and stuff but I really love the way that  everyone makes a special effort to make time for others. Family is so important.
Anyway,  enough of that.  We have been busy.  Bet you thought we had packed up for the year, didn't you.  Nope.  We had a couple of things to do in the house.

We put in a wood stove and built a new table for the kitchen.  Our original table was huge and we get tired of climbing around it. This one is perfect. 

We also have been finishing up the last plank on the boat- since we finished the deck beams. That looks fantastic.  Today we made 21 mast hoops for the main mast. The hoops attach to the mast and the sails to raise and lower them. We have the wood cut and planed to do the rest of them as well.

We have a list as long as your arm of things that have to be done over the winter.  Should be a good one.

We've been celebrating with our friends, Evan and Nick Densmore,  as they are completing their vessel Katie Belle to get it ready for its maiden voyage to the Carolinas in the new year. We wish them good luck and smooth sailing.  Way to go, guys.

Have a safe holiday season.

Work and pleasure

Special thanks to Zane Fanning  (a distant cousin and close friend) for coming to give us a hand today in the shop. We had him climbing over beams and ducking under head bumpers all afternoon and he was good humoured and hard working through it all. He also took some photos of us in the shop  which I will put in a later post.
We also had our friend and neighbour,Don Groves (facing in coveralls) stop in for a catch up on the progress.
We're back to work today after going to the launch of schooner Katie Belle in the tidal waters of the Shubanacadie River yesterday.  There were about 1000 people there to watch her slip into the water. A beautiful vessel and the guys sure had to know what they were doing in that fast flowing river. Can't wait to see her all fitted out with masts and sails.

We acquired the hawse pipes for the vessel last week when we went through the varied possessions of a collector of all things, Mike Parsons. We were invited to tour his yard and found these great pipes and made a deal for them on the spot. They will be perfect. We had a fantastic time travelling back through the decades (he has items from every decade) with him and his lovely wife, Val. 

Whew!

Officially got all of the deck Frames finished today. All of the full and half beams are in and bolted. They look fantastic  (to me anyway).

 Hard to tell but when you're sitting inside the vessel the beams are rounded like they are all converging toward a hub. It's an amazing sight. I could sit  there all day- but then I wouldn't get anything done.

We're going to put the last plank on now before we finish the deck.  It will be oak plank and the covering board will also be oak. 

We want to congratulate friends of ours, Evan and Nick Densmore, (cousins) who are launching their 80 foot schooner this coming Tuesday in the Shubanacadie  River. A beautiful vessel built by 2 fine  young men. Long may she sail, safely.

More deck Frames

 Finally an update this month. It's sure been busy. These are some of the half beams that are going on the main cabin.  They will be all double beams with  threaded rod through them for added strength.

 This is a angle gauge- yes, surprisingly homemade. Haha. It extends for the length of the half beam and both ends are adjustable for the angles of the clamp and the cabin side.

 Under the deck beams looking forward.

 Under the deck beams looking aft.

 Tried to get a good shot the whole length of the vessel but it's difficult when you can't get further from the boat.

 These are the carlins for the  main cabin. They are  27 feet long. Thank goodness for chain falls.

This pic was taken tonight. We are so excited about how the vessel is coming together.
As always we would love to hear from you if you're following our progress.