Getting warmer

Four weeks to go but we're getting there gently. Battens in and painted, insulation in and will be taped off today. Raised roof glued up and ready for epoxy and glass sheathing and the hatch arriving this afternoon.
Lots of real work too though, so we'll just keep going, step by step.

When will I see you again

Having made the steering bench for the tug 'IJssel' and screwed it together I took it to the wheelhouse to check its fit.
I should have known not to make it at a right angle to the back panel of the house; this is a boat after all.
A little adjustment with a couple of wedges and I could measure the angle that looked right.
3 degrees - now I'm stuck with a song in my head for the rest of the day.

Keep calm and carry on

A lot has happened in the last six weeks.
Right now we have the IJssel, a lovely little tug with a magnificent 2 cylinder Brons diesel, in front of the shop.
She came for a folding steering bench and a cupboard down below but the first job was to repair the mast that broke on being lowered for the bridges on the way through Groningen.

Job done, onto the next

That's what it says on the boxes of MaxFast screws we've been using and that's the way it is here.
Wrapped up one day early and right on the agreed price. Next.

Finishing up

Quite often the list of last little jobs has to be completed in a hurry before the next project begins, taking away the fun to be had in all the little finishing bits and pieces.
On the 'Gina' I've been enjoying myself, with enough time to pay attention to the details and happy that I can spend my working days playing with wood.

Sawing a tenon

Em had designed a Harry Potter bookshelf for her woodwork class at school. But then it had to be made. Tenon and mortise, dark and light wood, she hadn't made it easy for herself.
Yes, you can bring it to the shop but I'm not going to do it for you, I said.
So she sawed her own tenons, drilled and chiselled the mortises, we glued the tricky bits together then she took it back to school to finish.
I'll post the finished work when she brings it home.

A tight corner

Being a ship's carpenter means you can skip the yoga classes.
Here I'm fitting and placing the last closing pieces under the stern deck aboard 'Gina'. Difficult parts to fit without the added excitement of being in a slippery sided three foot high space. Will look good when it's done though.
Having said which it'll probably look like it should and no one will think about how difficult it might have been to make.