I was yelling at my phone and my house mate came running in to my room. I was trying to tell you that you were cutting into your stern as you so accurately filmed it, of course you didn't hear my plea to stop. As you did it months ago, it makes me realise how I'm involved in what you blokes are doing. I so love this boat and 100% want success for you both. Thanks for all your hard work.😎
The reason I think Spirit is such a beautiful boat is because of the imperfections here and there, showing she was built by loving human hands. I watch other series where everything is perfect - CNC precisely cut pieces, the flawless varnish - and the boats are starting to look soulless. Spirit looks like she was built with enjoyment, and she will be messed about with on the water. Bravo!
Another wonderful therapeutic episode after a hot day steam bending oak ribs for my clinker-built dinghy. A few breakages as expected but I'm making progress. As your films show so well, there is always something to learn with each new step you take, unlike the professionals who have done things many times and have encountered and overcome all the problems. Many thanks, I'll be very disappointed when you have finished!
I just love watching people struggle. It always shows me what mistakes I shouldn't make. Unfortunately it means I make new mistakes that I have to solve on my own. Love the boat and the series.
She is a grand job, gentleman. Is the planking Douglas fir or larch. Being an Aussie, I am not really familiar with UK timbers, although my dear old Mum was Scottish. I have built a few of this style dinghy over the years and with my father over 20. I still have moulds my grandfather used to build 14 foot dinghies. He was a rather prolific dinghy builder in his day along with running his farm and sawmill. Traditionally we used a local timber called King William Pine (king billy) for planking. In recent years, people have wanted a timber called Huon Pine which is famous for being extremely rot resistant. It is very slow growing and is now a protected species although fallen trees can be collected. Some have lay on the ground for hundreds of years and were also hundreds of years old before they fell. Most boat building styles were bought here by the early British settlers and convicts. Cheers and G'day from Tasmania
Would love to see the mathematical scratching posted on how you arrived at the correct amount on keel to remove. That wold have been a video in itself. Loving the journey looking forward to the next project. I was also interested in old mate and his ability to lift after surgery, pleased to see he’s still ticking. From your No1 Aussie fan.
If you fit a pulley to the rear part of the centre plate casing and run your lanyards back though the pulley to a suitable cleat near the tie off leather you halve the effort to raise the centre plate. Awesome work. Cheers
And this is why the dinghy I am making will have a dagger board! I've messed about with folding pocket knives a bit an can say from experience that getting the pivot point in the right place truly is an art form!
Intriguing, a light hull construction with a huge weight centrally that can drop the centre of gravity right down. Spirit should be great fun in a stiff breeze. (just a wee point before you launch: it could be worth getting those screws on the keel-bands completely flush - they could catch, get knocked out of true and cause problems with the keel itself)
Wish I had seen this episode before last nights BBQ Jon. It puts into place all the hard work you two have done to reach this stage of the build. Congratulations to you both!
And just as we were going to launch our spirit and along came the weather gods singing spirit in the sky. Rainy season for 6 months solid. Damn. 😊 Excellent job on taking a piece of wood and turning it into a masterpiece.
Great video, and a lovely boat! What stops the centreplate when it is fully lowered? You might want to think about putting some sacrificial material there to stop the timber getting chewed up. On our wooden Tideway, I set some brass flat bar in the top of the centreplate case for the shackle of the plate uphaul to sit on. Prior to this, the shackle was chewing the wood up.
Thank you! What a wonderful episode. After weeks of monkeying around with the centerboard case on my own dinghy, I can fully empathize with you. I finally got the bugger dry fitted today.
Like your bronze?! builders sign. You both, I am sure, deserve a nice and gentle breeze when you sail away for the first time. Enjoy it and all those journeys afterwards. I am going to miss your videos.
watching you guys struggle with the centreboard brought back memories of when I had to do the same for my Beg Meil. Its ok when the plate is in, its just getting it there. Did you paint it? anyway love the episode and the series. cant wait to see the launch but also enjoy the journey getting there.
I follow your progress with much pleasure and admiration. The thought crossed my mind, would it have been an alternative strategy to slightly cut down the wood of the case at the point where the neck of the centreplate rests in the up position, rather than to grind the neck itself thinner? Would that have had the same effect of allowing the plate retract fully into its slot?
Great work, guys! Really cool to see that centerboard go in. It's amazing what leverage and pivots in the right place can do to make short work of raising and lowering a giant hunk of steel. Question. How are you going to be finishing the centerboard? Galvanize and epoxy paint?
And a thought on the center board pulley. Would you get more lift if you wrapped the dynema counterclockwise to increase the down haul angle to closer to 90°?
