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Skipper's Boat-Building Blog |
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Wheetabix & porridge 
Okay, now that I know the boat is going to hold together if I want to sail it in a hot spring I got on with the never-ending shelves.
I asked for chipboard for this but the wood yard talked me into 'Smart Ply' which is like making shelves out of 'Wheetabix'. I won't
be using that again. Oh well, live and learn. I've got the same stuff for the building stock only that's 18mm thick instead of 12mm.
It looks much more dense than the 12mm sheet and more like good old chipboard so, at least I think that will be okay. I don't really
care, I'm just having lots of fun with power tools at the moment.
The sofa-bed, table and work bench which were evicted from the build side of the garage were finally taken away by a charity shop this week so the other side has now got a bit more space too. The final piece of clutter (2 boxes of bits & bobs I wasn't brave enough to dump) can now be moved into the other side for sorting, stacking and (probably) dumping. 
I've run off a copy of the plans for the 3.8m dinghy now. They really are very good. Radoslaw obviously understands that there is no point
making a drawing if it does not tell others how to make your design. 'Well, obviously!' you may think but, I have found that many
draughtspeople manifestly do not realise that. Incidentally, the word processing software you can see on the computer in the picture is
'Open Office' and comes thoroughly recommended ... by me! Whilst these excellent plans will help me to get the job done properly, they can't make me into a boat-builder and that's why I also bought Jim Michalak's book. And right now I'm using it to find out about glue. 
Jim talks about 'Weldwood'. 'Liquid Nails' & 'P L Premium'. Apparently the first is not waterproof, the second doesn't go off hard
and the third is said, by others, to be just right (but messy). Overall It seems that Jim comes out in favour of epoxy resin but
warns that it is messy and a little dangerous if not handled correctly. So, I think I'll look at epoxy resin and, making a selection
from the back-up options in a similar way to Goldilocks choosing porridge, I'll find out more about this 'P L Premium' stuff.
In the news today from the BBC: Concerns grow for the fate of refugees within DR Congo, as European diplomats arrive to try to end the civil conflict. Also in the news: Archaeologists have unearthed evidence of the campsite of a marooned sailor who is said to have inspired the fictional castaway Robinson Crusoe. Index ----- | |