LaHogue, launched by James Laing on 16 July 1855, for Duncan Dunbar. At 226 feet and 1152 tons under deck, and rigged with double fore and main top-sails, single topgallant sails and royals. It was the largest vessel built in the North up to that time.
Temerity, launched by James Laing on 22 August 2007. At 11 feet 1 inch, 3 foot 10 1/2 inch beam, 5 inch draft, and plans to be rigged with a gunter mainsail post graduate school. It was the largest vessel built in his parent’s garage up to that time.
Let’s put this in perspective: First off, Sir James Laing was a ripe old man in 1855 and LaHogue represents a lifetime of achievement. While Temerity was launched on my 25th birthday, Sir James Laing launched LaHogue while staring death in the face at … 32 years old.
Well, how about the fact that Sir James relied on centuries worth of ship building wisdom passed down from generation to generation, working entirely with lumber, know-how and hand tools. All I had to work with was the full resources of the Internet, uniting a global community of modern-day boat builders (and of course all of the power tools money can buy … not to mention epoxy and plywood).
At the very least, I’m willing to bet that he had help …
Sometimes you’re just beaten, fair and square … my boat doesn’t even have cannons! More pictures here.
Here we have the final, run-off poll to determine the name of my boat. You’ll notice two new names:
Temerity (tuh-MER-uh-tee) is an English word which means something like “unreasonable or foolhardy contempt of danger”. I think it has both a feminine and nautical ring to it, plus the meaning is pretty great. It gets my vote.
The Vigilante was a suggestion by Steve. I always thought the etymology of the word had something to do with love, but I’m not finding that anywhere. Maybe I’m just thinking of that crappy band …
Well, first off, that last post was a bit hurried, and I didn’t fully (or at all) explain the various names and why they may or may not be good names for a boat. Joe was kind enough to point that out, and explanations will follow in this post. Also, I didn’t describe any of the photos posted or what various challenges I had to overcome. So I went back and edited the previous post so hopefully it is a little more informative.
I’m waiting for the epoxy to cure on my planking stock, so I thought now might be a good time to post an update about my progress. As I mentioned, the boat is now entirely framed, with only a few minor details to take care of before I can plank her. However, first things first. The boat is in need of a name, and I have only a few ideas … most of which are sort of dorky. So I’m soliciting you, the users of the Internet, to help divine a name:
(Please note that the poll results only update every hour … also, I voted for “Magpie” twice before I figured that out …)
If you select “Other”, please give your suggestion in the comments. Continue on for a whole mess of recent photos, along with some brief explanations: Continue Reading »
