Night Moves

 

I think Bob Seger had something else in mind when he penned Night Moves.  In my case, I just had to work a bit late and found myself in the dark with the time change and all.  Makes for a nice shop picture anyway.

I just started fabricating the centerboard trunk for the Pelican new build.  The plans for the boat are a bit lacking in the ‘normal’ boat plan detail, so I just have to do much of the placement by eye, but it’s working out fine.  Here, I have the centerboard cut out and the slot cut.  I’m setting up the headledges (solid wood uprights fore and aft of the board), and will take measurements for the plywood sides, cut them out oversize, and fit them in place.  Just in case you don’t know what a centerboard is, I’ll try to explain it.  It’s really just like a hinged underwater wing that counteracts the sails sideways force.  It’s typical on small boats that sail in shallow waters or are trailed to their waters.  It can be stowed up in the trunk so it doesn’t protrude under the boat whenever you want.

Here’s another homemade tool for your viewing pleasure.  It’s a poor man’s slick (sort of).  A slick is basically just a really big chisel with a long handle to give you good control.  It was used like you might use a power plane today, for trimming and paring long edges or surfaces quickly.  The real slick has a broad flat bottom (I resemble that remark) and is quite heavy to give some momentum to your cuts.  My slick doesn’t really have all that, but it does have the long handle that gives you much more control and leverage when trimming a sheer clamp for example.  Mine is made from an old beater Stanley 2″ chisel that I cracked the old handle from and made a nice long oak to replace it.

Have fun driving home in the dark every day!