Most people not building a boat are impressed with boatbuilding. The truth is it's really a series of small steps to get to the finished state. And when I say a series of small steps, I mean thousands of them. There's some art to it. For example, hand me a pencil and paper and hand the same to Michaelangelo and you'll get very different results. But overall, building PocketShip isn't something that's beyond the reach of most do it yourselfers.
If there's any risk, it's not trusting the manual and not trusting your own skills. The manual assumes some level of boatbuilding and sailing and is exceptional, especially compared to other manuals on the market. I know, I've seen them. Don't know how to loft? Too bad, you can't build 3/4 of the boats out there. It doesn't go into every little detail all the time. It just assumes that people are going to do the right thing. And if someone is going to step away from the manual and do things like laminate accent boards and install more than two lift outs, then it's something you gotta figure out on your own by trial and error and then finally just doing it.
An example of what I mean is how to build the lift outs. The manual doesn't say, for example, that you need to put cleats on the floors so that the lift outs have something to sit on. It also doesn't say that you should be careful not to put the backing plates where the floors are. Nor does it say that you want to drill the finger holes a little closer to the floor cleat so you can maybe latch it down in case of knockdown. The manual says none of these things, but an aware boatbuilder understands these things are necessary. It's possible to overthink, for sure, but better to overthink a little bit than to assume things are fine and then have to deal with a maintenance issue or redoing an entire plank.
All that said, there are some significant issues with the manual that's been pointed out before. I plan to compile a list of these when done; I'm sure other builders will have more to add. In the meantime, as I write this, the cleats are curing in the boat and I'm one step closer to ending this phase of the build.
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| This is the underside of the accent boards with epoxy. I'm leaving them like this (not sanded nor varnished). |
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| Top row are backers for the lift outs. Bottom row cleats to attach to the floors to support the lift outs. These are drying after getting some epoxy. |
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| Cleats get epoxy'd onto the floors. These will serve as little sitting areas for the lift out boards. These will be primed and painted. |
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| Cleats get epoxy'd to bulkhead 7. |
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| First set of backers go on. Hope it still looks good when in the boat. The green tape marks where the floor is - you don't want to put a backer there. |
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| Lift out between floors 3 and 4, right in front of the centerboard trunk. These are small strips of ash, which make excellent connectors. I used a few 1/8" drill bits for spacing. |
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| Bit of a heart wrenching thing. Cutting fingerholes in the lift out. |
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| And... cut! Forstener bit cut pretty well. This had a scrap backing behind it which is why there's some light colored wood. |
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| Fingerhole for the front lift out. I originally was going to do two holes but didn't like the way that looked. It took a long time to perfectly center the hole here, but thankfully it's centered. I applied a roundover to all the holes and then lathered on some epoxy with a gloved finger to seal the new wood. |
The end is in sight. I've been pushing to
get this done so I can finalize the wiring and get the decking down.
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