Stem to Stern

We've been doing lots of laminating lately.  Laminating is the process of gluing together many layers of wood to make a thicker piece, or one specifically shaped to your needs.   Cody has built the stem of the boat- which goes on the bow, as a continuation of the keel.  It's very thick and very heavy, and will be the foremost point of the hull.  

The stem on the table, getting sanded and prepped to install.  

The stem in place.  We'll cut off the stair-steps on the top of the stem, and attach the keel piece, which you can see above the stem in this photo...    

Like this!  

The stem, with the top planed flat and glued to the first piece of the keel lamination. 

In this photo, you can see the keel piece we installed last night.  It runs along the spine of the boat, and is the first of four layers of lamination.  The frames are much more rigid now- and being inside feels more like an enclosed space than it did before.  

Cody, clamping the keel piece into place.  The whole underside is coated with epoxy, and at each frame there is a thicker, stickier coat.  When we apply the pressure of the clamps, we want to see epoxy come oozing out the sides, proof that we've got enough in the joint.  It's a messy job.  

It may be a messy, sticky, dusty job, but it sure is a beautiful one!  

With every piece we attach, every step we complete, the boat comes more into focus.

I find myself daydreaming of turquoise waters lapping the sides of the hull, as we lay at anchor in some tropical lagoon...  but then reality comes back to me as I shake sawdust out of my hair and the orifices of my face.  We've got a LONG way to go until that is even a remote possibility. 

For now, we just attach one piece to the next, and keep dreaming.