Jim September 21st, 2007
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.
Jim June 30th, 2007
Well folks, I think I had mentioned that my goal was to have the boat on the water by the first week in July. Unfortunately, it looks like we’re going to miss that deadline by several weeks. The reason? Mismanagement.
My sister, Pam, has been bugging me to write about her contribution to the boat project. So here it is, in total: Two Saturdays ago, Pam appointed herself “supervisor” of the boat project, and then promptly fell asleep in a chair not far from where I was working on the boat. She did wake up briefly, and was able to successfully measure out the location for the screws in the sheer strake, but then decided that this type of work was far too hands-on for someone from the managerial class like herself. So, now the boat is behind schedule. It is amazing that a project, which was only briefly managed, can suffer so badly at the hands of mismangement. Such is life, I suppose.
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Jim June 2nd, 2007
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.
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Jim May 12th, 2007
First off, I would be remiss as an Internet citizen if I didn’t start off by saying: 0×09F911029D74E35BD84156C5635688C0.
Apparently the above number is copyrighted (?), and now that I might’ve broken the law, it is time for an apology: I’m sorry I haven’t been more diligent in keeping this website up-to-date. My excuse isn’t a very good one, but life stepped in the way. It seems with all the busyness that Spring brings, I’ve hardly had time to work on the boat, let alone write about my progress. Furthermore, I’ve been in a stage where the work I have done isn’t very visually interesting, so the pictures all look the same. I will post more soon, but here’s a photo of the boat, framed up … which happened around Easter (sans epoxy, due to the cold weather):
Also, if you’re looking for something interesting to read, I highly (like bold AND italics highly) recommend checking out my good friend Steve’s website.
Jim March 21st, 2007
Quick report on last weekend’s building activities: I finished and mounted the transom, and put the cleats on the temporary frames. I started the fore and aft bulkheads, but due to lack of screws, I didn’t finish. Instead I ordered a small fortune worth of stainless steel screws from Jamestown and Bolt Depot to remedy that problem, and they should be arriving today. (Fun fact: when buying screws for marine use, you might want to consult a scale of the nobility of metal in saltwater.)
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Jim March 12th, 2007
Shop class presents an image of stasis that runs directly counter to what Richard Sennett identifies as “a key element in the new economy’s idealized self: the capacity to surrender, to give up possession of an established reality.†This stance toward “established reality,†which can only be called psychedelic, is best not indulged around a table saw. -Matthew B. Crawford in The New Atlantis
Construction on the boat has officially commenced! Last weekend, I entered the shop on Friday night and didn’t exit until Sunday evening, outside of tending to my necessary life functions (you know the ones …). Here’s the play-by-play, which I’ll try to make as interesting as I know how:
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Jim March 2nd, 2007
If you look at a calendar, you’ll discover that February 28th is officially Lumber Day. Well, you’ll only discover that if you happen to look at my calendar. Surprisingly enough, Lumber Day was not on my employer’s calendar either, but I was able to take a floating holiday (buoyant holidays?) and head out to the yard.
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