The rudder

Since we are using the Tiki upgrade package for the original Narai Mk IV plans, our rudders are lashed. (Everything about using the Tiki-style lashed beams and rudder is included in the various design improvement packages we got from James Wharram Designs.

Clamping and tying the rudder into position

The rudders are lashed with cord (I'll update with the name of the cord once I find the package!) in sections, as you can see in the photos. Ultimately the holes will be epoxied.

For us the lashing is one of the most exciting parts of the boat. We've carried this design idea along into hatch covers, too.

Lashed into place. Note the three sections, and the holes drilled through the rudder post. 

Lashing close-up. The design upgrade is silent on size and type of rope for this task. Trevor's main concern is  to balance strength of rope needed against the weakening of the rudder post that occurs with the drilling of holes.

Trimming the posts

Stem and stern posts were trimmed today -- first with the skill saw for the glass, then (gulp) with the chain saw.

More excitement today, too -- hanging and lashing the rudder. Updates tomorrow!

The stern post, with the glass cut through

In process at the bow.

The deed done.

Bulwarks and a rudder

Ever more boatlike, this lovely boat looks!

The bulwark is installed all along the outboard edge, and on the inboard side at bow and stern. (No bulwark in the middle, where the deck is.)

And the rudder! The first step was clamping it into position.

Beam chocks

Goodness, it has been a long and eventful time since I posted.

You can see the lashing strake in this photo. (We can't see it in real life any more, except in a tidy pile in the boat shop, since Trevor has removed it in preparation for painting.)

With cabin top nearing completion, things are looking distinctly more boat-like.

Beam chocks. Note lovely purpleheart hatch combing, too.

The beam chocks are vertical-grained Douglas fir, which we acquired at Coastal Pacific Forest Products.

On top of the chocks there are additional pieces.  I lack the vocabulary to name them, but I can tell you they are the pieces through which the alignment pins pass. Or alignment bolts. My vocabulary seems to be not quite up to this part of the project.

Whatever they are called, the picture below shows them in one beam trough. They are made of ipe, an alarmingly-tropical (since not FSC-certified) hardwood from South America, via Westwind Hardwood.  We likely would have used purpleheart for this, but it wasn't available in the appropriate (4x4) dimensions. Ipe is very hard, and this piece needs to be very strong and resistant to wear.

There are even more pieces to the beam installation puzzle, and I don't know what any of them are called! First, there are mahogany pieces that go one on either side of the hull, to lift the beam off the bottom of the beam trough. You can see one in profile in the picture below; you can see its position better in the picture above. And then there are pads that help resist the compression from the lashings. They're two layers of plywood, and you can see one mounted on the side of the hull in the picture below.

No doubt there are official nautical terms for all these bits and pieces. I welcome instruction!

He's back...

... no, not him. Trevor. We resumed boatbuilding this week after a bit of a break, with glorious results.

Glassing the cabin top. Note very shiny already-glassed bow section in the background.

Shiny bow section seen previously, this time with hatch cut away. (It's glass cloth in the picture above.)

Cabin top, glassed everywhere. Deadlights are covered with glass cloth,
which will be cut away while the epoxy is still green.

And finally, the combing for one of the hatches!

And in non-boat-related news, the project manager (Mary) successfully defended her Ph.D. thesis last week. 

Though frankly, I think the combing is a bit more exciting.

Window frames

What can one say about window frames? They provide a base for gluing in the windows, already cut and awaiting installation after the cabin top is glassed.

And oh, yes, gluing them in takes clamps. A lot of clamps.

More cabin top progress

Much progress has occurred. Inside the hull, there's primer in many places. There's a new shelf in the chart room, various packing pieces intended to brace things that go outside, and other details. Up at Trevor's shop, there are finished gaffs, and a ramp with all the woodwork done.

And the cabin top is now glued in place. And so are all the window frames. None of this shows quite as much as other more dramatic stages -- but we do have the all-important photographic evidence of progress. And hey, more to the point, a hull that is moving towards completion.

The wide, curved pieces are temporary supports built to support the cabin top stringers.
Yet another thing that will save time on the second hull.

Bits of plastic in place to keep the stringers from getting glued to the supports.

The cabin top is two layers of 1/4 inch (6 mm) ply.

With the cabin top in place, it was time for an exciting step -- cutting out the hatch so we don't have to slither in through a narrow gap.