Sunny deadwood

Until working around Dave and Dan, I thought Deadwood was a television western. Well that's true but apparently it's also the name of wood that serves primarily as filler between other aspects of a boat's structure. And that's what the guys are working on in the pictures here.

The funny thing is that this deadwood, particularly the piece being worked on at right, has such a vibrant colour. It really sticks out on a day like this when the temperature is back above freezing but everything is that dull gray that tends to characterize Nova Scotia from December until April. Doesn't look dead at all, does it?

Ballast keels arrive

The sun is back out today but it's been a challenging week for getting work done outside. There were snowstorms Monday and again on Wednesday. It drove even our most hardcore guy (i.e. Dave) to work inside by the stove.

Still we managed to get the two ballast keels on site. You can see one of the 11,000 lb. mommas in the photos here. Bear in mind that the keel as shown at right has been flipped upside down. You can certainly get a good sense of how things will fit together.

Squaring off the lower stem

Happy New Year!

We enjoyed a bit of time off over the holidays. Not too much though. Dave wanted to take advantage of a few mild days, and some not-so-mild ones, between Christmas and New Year's, the latter arriving with a big snowstorm here.

When not able to work outdoors, Dave and his gang were busy lofting frames and making patterns.

There's something very special about the moulding loft. Just a few months ago this was nothing more than a large empty room on the third floor of our waterfront warehouse. Now it's like Mission Control but without all the technology required by NASA. It's here that Dave has laid down the lines from the half-model on which these two schooners will be built. The lines are drawn full size so that patterns can be made for the fabrication of frames.

At times, the loft has an almost church-like reverence. I think you can see it in the photo above. And of course, if things go off course, the language may well include a few terms that a minister might use!