A long needed update 10/3/09

Its been awhile since i've last posted any text, so its about time. Looking back on the pictures up on the site, its clear that a lot has happened, specifically, the launching of the boat. Before that, we spent the week working under Alfie, as Brendan, Drew, and Dave focused on the new tender they're building. With Alfie, Oliver and I were busy installing cleats, winches, and blocks around the boat and on the two masts and booms that arrived during the week before the launching. We also installed and secured the pulpits and the stanchions around the boat. Small teak blocks needed to be made specially for each stanchion and pulpit base. The sail track for the spars was screwed on and on thursday the crane arrived to step the main mast. Only weighing roughly 130 lbs, it might have been possible to step it under human power, although its length would have been awkward to handle. The mizzen on the other-hand, was easier to step with two people then a fourteen foot dinghy's mast.

Oliver and I gave the deck a final sanding with 120 grit to remove the rest of the dried glue, and any scuff marks left in the deck since it was installed months ago. Then the clouds came and spurting rain over the boat, which revealed the most beautiful colors in all the wood throughout the boat.

Meanwhile, Alfie was busy installing as much PVC plumbing as he could.

The launch date, needless to say, was a spectacular event. It was held on Saturday, September 12 and under light rains three beautiful speeches were given, and she was christened first by Bill Eddy, an interim minister with some boat building experience of his own, and finally by Sandi Holland with a wonderful smash of a champaign bottle. Once in the water and with the crowds departed, we really got to stand back and see the boat in the water and although she float a little high in the bow, we were all very happy.

That monday, I used my boat to tow the MC-30 through the bridge and out across Nantucket Sound to Alfie's pier in Nantucket. Everything went smoothly and she is resting safe on Nantucket where we continue to work on her, putting on the finishing touches.

Since the launch date, I had a feeling that the project of recording the work done to STARRY NIGHT was complete. But it is not. It has been a lot of work updating this site, but it has been satisfying to me over the last year, and I will do my best to get a few more updates in until she is sailing under her own power.

-WEEK 50 PHOTOS- Spars Arrive, Cleats Go On, Christening The Boat

Brendan's hand drawn lettering up for placement.

Oliver works on installing the bow cleats.

The product of my work on the main sheet winch, blocks, and cleat.

On Tuesday afternoon, the main mast arrives from Orleans.

A detail of the Main Mast.

"STARRY NIGHT" gold leaf lettering by Brendan.

Alfie spends a couple weeks with us teaching us how to install the mast hardware. Here he installs the head with the LED lights.

Stepping the Mizzen mast, an easy task for 2 people.

Readying the Main Mast for stepping.

Alfie's fancy feathering two blade prop.

Baxter brings in a crane to lift up the main mast...though it only weighs roughly 130lbs.

Stepping the Main.

The main in and secured with temporary line stays.

Alfie works on splicing in the thimbles in the wire stays for the main mast.

She is now a yawl.

With the booms rigged, Alfie shows Oliver the placement for the centerboard pennant blocks.

On Friday, Alfie installs the Tiller and the rain washes the deck down.

Saturday afternoon, September 12, the crew of PBW, designers of the MC-30 for a photograph.

She touches salt water for the first time.

And rests safely at the dock at Pease Boat Works, with the boatyard in the background.

On Monday, I help Alfie tow the STARRY NIGHT to Nantucket.

Rounding Brant Point.

The Last Shot Of The Week. After a year of building, she rests at Old North Wharf in Nantucket.

-Week 49 PHOTOS- rudder, centerboard installation, masts arrive!

The rudder with some fresh bottom paint.

Here are the chain plate bases with a teak pad underneath.

Brendan opens up the holes for the chain plate rods.

Theres the rod sticking up without the base on it.

The stuffing box for the tiller attachment.

The final installation of the centerboard.

I went around a filled in some deck caulking, like this aft section.

And these spots with tape and wax paper over them.

Here is where the centerboard pennant comes through the cabin sole.

A custom made exhaust pipe for the engine.

Alfie made this tiller out of black locust with a heavy duty bronze fitting.

A simple sapele plywood base for the head with bolts set in with g-flex.

Its friday and the mizzen mast and booms arrive!

Here I am holding up the mizzen boom for scale.

Alfie designed in a angelique head for the mizzen mast for strength.

The Last Shot of The Week. Here is the mizzen mast center, boom to the left, and main boom to the right.

-Week 47 & 48 PHOTOS- two weeks, many photos-

Dave's beautiful work on the rudder.

The finished companionway ladder.

Here it is getting installed in the boat.

Here is the rough centerboard laminated with Ipe that Brad is building.

Dave closes the door on the rudder and prepares to clamp it shut.

A little shim I built for the bow cap rail.

The first coat of Cetol on the Locust rub rails.

The decks get covered with heavy construction paper before the finishing process so that nothing gets spilt on the teak.

A quick shot of the MC-30 poster that I designed for PBW to bring up to the Maine Boats and Home show last month.

Here are the companion way hatches with stain and cetol.

Meg shows us how to stain the mahogany.

Here is the mahogany with the stain on, before cetol.

Drew begins to apply cetol to the mahogany.

After Oliver and I take a week of for a cruise on the IMPALA, we return to an empty shop.

And a beautiful looking boat on the railway:

While we were gone, the topsides were finished, all brightwork as well.

The water ways were painted.

And the coach house roof as well.

My first project upon returning was adding deadwood to the section of lead ballast that was removed to save weight.

The rudder installed and sealed with epoxy.

Here I begin to kerf cut the deadwood.

And chisel it out.

Here is Brad's rudder, covered in a clear coat of epoxy.

The deadwood installed and sealed with epoxy.

Oliver worked on making the stanchion base blocks and here he installs them with natural bedding compound.

The Last Shot of The Week, the centerboard is finished and painted with E-paint bottom paint.

- Week 45 & 46 PHOTOS- making the companionway hatch, cap rails.

Here, you can see the two 'dutchmens' that I added of Teak inbetween the teak decking and the bulwarks.

Brendan's beautiful work on the sliding companionway hatch.

Brendan fits the lid for the hatch.

Here are the details of the hatch.

a box of shiny new winches showed up this week.

And brendan began coating the companionway hatch

The mahogany boards that I turn into some sawn cap rail sections for the curvature back aft.

Here they are traced, cut and fitted before any scarphs or shaping.

The final product, clamped and glued.

A detail of the middle scarph joint.

Installing the cap rails, Brendan flexes in the scarph on the full length rail into the aft section that I made.

A detail of the cap rail at the bow.

This is where the full length cap rail joins the aft section. Notice the bedding compound on the left, no glue for these.

The aft section rounded over and bunged.

nearly 100 bungs for the cap rails were put in on Thursday.

Brendan uses a little bit of G-flex to hold the bow pieces together.

The Last Shot of The Week. A detail of on the the aft sections I built.

-Week 43 & 44 Write Up- bulwarks, rub rails, lead ballast, cockpit coaming, etc.

During week 43, we attached the cedar bulwarks to the Wana base. This was actually easier then it may seem, because we used large wood screws all the way through the cedar to tie it into the Wana, with a healthy schlep of glue to tie it all in. The tops were left tall, but were cut down by Brendan with the jig saw, then final tweaking with the power planer and hand plane. Brendan installed the chocks, both the Lignamvitae in the stern and the bronze in the bow. He also managed to install the cockpit coaming and cut out the cockpit locker hatches.

Oliver and I did a lot of sanding, focusing on the waterways and adding a fillet of thickened epoxy with fairing compound to assist the water flow. This was sanded again and two layers of clear epoxy were rolled onto the waterways.

The next week, Dave begun working on the centerboard box, making insane templates, and drilling out holes in the 7500 lbs of lead ballast that is now sitting outside for the keelbolts.

After Oliver and I milled out the Locust for the rub rails to spec, Brendan passed them through the table saw at an angle to get the classic sweeping herreshoff shape. Oliver and I had a bear of a week getting those installed and were happy when they had bungs in them. The Locust is so strong and hard that it was impossibly to bend them into shape, hold them up to the boat to spile, etc, that we had to make a jig out of plywood in order to find the shape of the sheer of the boat.

We managed to get a little work done on the mahogany cap rails, milling them out to an inch thickness, and ripping them to two inches. Then, while they still had right angles, we cut the ornate scarphs in them that will be seen when varnished.

Brendan meanwhile spent a good deal working on getting the bronze front piece installed. He had to hand make certain pieces to get it all to work, and even had to trim off some of the bronze on the chocks with the metal working jig saw.

A very productive two weeks.

- WEEK 44 PHOTOS- Ballast work, rub rails, etc

Dave removes the centerboard trunk to take measurements and make a jig for fitting the lead ballast.

this is what the bilge looks like without the center board trunk.

Brendan hands off the Locust rub rails to Oliver and I to put in some heavy hand sanding with 40 grit.

Dave shapes the lead ballast.

And begins drilling some keel bolt holes.

Here is the scarph for the mahogany cap rails.

Dave drilling the centerboard pin hole.

A detail of the hole through to the other side.

Cap rails glued up and ready to sand.

The sanded finish.

In preperation for the locust rub rails, oliver mixes up a batch of natural bedding compound.

Here, we have begun to fasten the locust rub rails in place.

With the bedding compound cleaned and bungs in place, it looks pretty nice.

Brendan works on installing the bronze bow chocks and bow fitting.

Another view.

The Last Shot of The Week. Brendan cleans up the glue from the bow section.

end of JUNE into JULY time lapse clip

- Week 43 PHOTOS- Prepping Bulwarks, Locust rub rails, cockpit coaming, etc.

The MC-30 lead ballast arrives at the yard.

A detail of the scupper on the port side.

All Bulwarks are installed and faired.

Here is the silicone bronze bow fitting.

Alfie and Brendan discuss the waterways and chock fittings.

The four Aft chocks are made by Alfie out of Lignumvitae.

I got the doors open for a profile shot with the bulwarks on.

Brendan cuts out the cockpit hatches with a jigsaw.

Voila.

A detail showing how the cockpit coaming corner post is held in.

Brendan prepares to glue and fasten the mahogany cockpit coaming.

And here it is finished.

Another view.

Where the two edges meet at the aft port side.

A detail showing the coaming attaching to the coach house.

Two layers of clear epoxy were laid in the waterways and inner bulwarks.

The Last Shot of The Week. Bulwarks are installed, locust rub rails fitted, cockpit lockers cut, and coach house coaming installed. A big week.

-Week 42 Write Up- Sanding the Deck, making and installing the Bulwarks

This week started out by dusting off the random orbital sanders and sanding the teak deck down with 36 then 80 grit to remove the mess we left with the caulking guns. Once all the black stuff was removed, a beautiful result was shown; the finished teak deck.

Brendan finished his forward hatch and Oliver and I milled out the Wana I cut up a couple weeks ago to create the base for the bulwarks. They need to be full length, so we scarphed together two 20 foot sections. And sense the shape of the bulwarks change as the shape of the hull changes, there is a compound bevel throughout the 40 feet of Wana that constantly changes to accommodate for the shape of the sheer. Oliver did a wonderful job of shaping these with the power planer while I milled out the Cedar for the bulwarks.

Brendan was busy making a complex jig for laminating the cedar bulwarks around the aft section because of the severe shape. Once that was finished, we laminated up the two sections and Brendan shaped them to fit and scarphed them together.

The Wana was installed on Wednesday, glued and fastened to the deck. Thursday was spent shaping the Cedar bulwarks. Since the shape of the sheer changes, and it would be difficult to bend the Cedar into place, a lot of shape had to be cut into the wood using the jig saw, block planes, and finally the file board. Three sections of bulwarks were scarphed together to fit the length of the boat, and then scarphed into the laminated sections at the stern.

At the end of the day friday, the port side bulwarks were shaped and installed with glue and fasteners.

In other news, Dave drove the lead ballast to the shop so we could take measurements. Alfie brought over the silicone bronze bow piece. And the rudder stuffing box arrived. In the mail are the bow and stern pulpits.

Lots to do.

-Week 42 PHOTOS- Sanding the deck, installing the bulwarks.

We begin the week by sanding the caulking in between the teak deck.

It really makes a difference...

And cleaned up easily.

Here the whole boat is sanded from 36 down to 80 grit.

A detail of the bow section.

Another perspective.

Laminated cedar for the aft bulwarks.

Brendan explains how to shape the changing bevels in the Wana bulwark base.

This shows the blocking used to clamp together the bulwarks.

Here, we fit the forward section of Cedar for the bulwarks.

A detail of the Cedar resting on the Wana base at the bow on the port side.

The Cedar laminate for the aft section.

Brendan trims it down on the band saw.

The Last Shot of The Week. Brendan scarphs the two aft Cedar bulwark sections together.

-Week 41 Write Up- Teak, Caulking, Wana and the forepeak hatch

The last of the teak planks where glued in on Monday, and Oliver finally got to join me in the laborious and uncomfortable task of sanding the glue in between all the teak seams so that the black caulking would get a good bond.

After the seams were sanded, we applied almost 80 tubes of caulking to them, making sure to wipe with acetone to remove the teak oils first. The caulking job was easy, I used a pneumatic caulking gun while Oliver struggled with a battery powered one, then switching to a manual one. It took a solid day to get all the seams filled. A putty knife was used to press the caulking down into the seams to try and reduce air pockets, although we do expect some.

Brendan worked on building the forepeak hatch, which is almost finished and looking very nice. At the end of the week, Oliver and I had a chance to begin milling out the Wana for the base of the bulwarks. Working on these bulwarks is the next large task for us.

After that, we have the centerboard to build, as well as the rudder, the installation of the rudder post, the companionway hatch, and many pieces of hardware that needs to get installed. We are narrowing in on completion, but still have a lot of work to complete.

I will be sure to let everyone here know of a launch date as soon as I am made aware of one.

-Week 41 PHOTOS- finishing touches on the deck, applying black boat life to the seams, milling Wana

Oliver installs the last teak planks.

Brendan working on the forepeak hatch.

Another angle.

After sanding the seams we applied black caulking.

It took a solid day to fill all the seams and about 80 tubes of caulking.

What it looks like before it is pressed into the seams with a putty knife.

Working up towards the bow while brendan works on the forepeak hatch.

Heres Oliver squirting in the last of the goop.

...and spreading it out.

Alfie stops by on Friday with the rudder posts and talks with Brendan about the forepeak hatch.

The Last Shot of The Week. Oliver and I begin milling out some Wana for the base of the bulwarks.

-Week 40 PHOTOS- finishing the teak deck, lazarrette

Finishing up the teak planks aft between the lazarette and cockpit.

A detail of the teak wrapping around the coach house.

A detail of the nibbing in the foreward king plank.

View forward looking aft.

Forward looking aft.

A view from above, narrowing in on those planks.

My aft section almost complete.

My last piece of teak to place.

And place it I have...

View aft looking forward, all teak finished.

Another view.

Brendan fits the lazarrette hatch.

The last shot of the week. All but 3-4 teak planks are glued in place. 1/3 of the seams are sanded out and she is really looking nice.

-Week 40 Write Up- Finishing the teak deck, starting the hatches

Well, we're not quite finished with the teak deck, but close enough to put it in the title. As of 5pm on Friday afternoon, Oliver just has 3 planks, each a foot in length to glue on. To stand back from the boat and admire the two weeks or so work on gluing down the teak to the deck, it feels nice to revel in the beauty it adds to the boat.

At the end of the week, after finishing the aft section that I was working on, I began to sand in between all the seams of all the teak planks with 40 grit to eliminate the last of the glue build up that we missed.

During the week, Brendan was busy in and out of the boat. Tying up some loose ends, he trimmed some bungs inside and spot varnished areas that needed it. Then, he built the hatch for the lazarette, aft, and had it gluing by Friday.

A pretty easy week to summarize. Also in news; the mast lady in Orleans has begun construction on the masts and booms. The lead keel ballast arrived and is ready to install. Alfie is brining the rudder post over on sunday. And we have a mountain of boxes of various wiring, port lights, plumbing, and other toys to start installing. As well as building the bulwarks. Stay tuned...potential launch date, first week in August. Pictures will be up by Sunday.

-Week 39 Write Up- Lots of teak, plumbing, Dynel, and exterior trim

We came up a little short of our goal to finish the deck by Friday. But we are damn close. Oliver and I went at the deck all week and after we had put on the last of the full length planks, we were able to split off into different sections: Oliver taking the bow, and me at the stern. This way we could work at double the time. Although now that the planks are smaller, they need much more custom attention to fit them around the coach house, the hatches, cockpit, and lazarette. As I worked in the stern, I shaped all the planks that hung off the end of the boat to follow the shape of the stern. Then I made a mold out of plywood in order to make a solid teak plank in sections that wrapped around the stern. This was pretty tricky and took me most of a day to finish, but the result looks wonderful. Then we just plugged away at the teak planking, trying to get on as many as possible in a day.

Brendan, meanwhile, worked on installing some thru hulls for the engine exhaust and others to Alfie's specific specifications. Instead of using a bronze thru hull, we are using a very thick PVC type of thru hull, which wont rust, fade, or wear, and is just as strong. Brendan also installed the exterior mahogany trim around the coach house. He covered the coach house roof perimeter with 6 inches of fiberglass cloth and epoxied it down. After fairing that and applying a couple skim coats of fairing compound micro balloons, he was able to fair the raised edge of the cloth into the roof. The roof was also coated in epoxy to soak in before it was covered in Dynel cloth which will take the place of canvas as the surface of the coach house roof.

As you all may have realized by now, the project is taking longer then originally expected. I think this is usually something to expect with such a large custom project like this. We havent talked much about a launch date, and I dont want to let anyone down, so just stay tuned and as a date comes nearer, I will let you all know. Thanks for checking in and sorry for the late posts, I am living aboard IMPALA at the moment, without internet, so it is a little more challenging now to update on time.

-Week 39 PHOTOS- teak decking, dynel cloth, and plumbing

Here is where the teak planks hit the king plank in the stern, ready for glue.

Here they all are together, glued and held down.

Brendan and I rolled on some fiberglass cloth around where the coach house roof meets the coach house.

My aft section, cutting away the excess teak to follow the shape of the stern.

The finished product.

I made a mold for the curved stern teak sections.

Here they are after being cut, sanded to shape, and glued down.

Here is a nice subtle detail of where the teak plank intersects with the coach house.

Another detail of the other side where some custom fitting was needed. Oliver did a beautiful job here.

Oliver's bow section really coming together now.

The last plank where it joins the coach house is only but a sliver. Here I am scribing with a 3/16" block to get the correct shape.

Here is my little sliver plank dry fit in place.

After it is glued, it came out pretty well and finished off the starboard side of the boat.

Here is the thru hull for the engine exhaust.

A detail of the stern section where the planks pass by the cock pit and hit the lazarette.

Here, I nib the planks into the king plank in the stern. Where the pieces are so small, I can fit many at a time before I need to glue.

Brendan covers the coach house roof in Dynel fabric and epoxies it down.

Brendan installs the exterior mahogany trim.

At the end of the week, Oliver is almost finished nibbing in the foreward king plank.

The Last Shot of The week...and I am almost finished with the stern. Another day or two and the teak will be completed.

-Week 38 Write Up- Interior hand holds, Coach House Roof, and Teak Decking

This week, Oliver and I focused primarily on the Teak Decking. Brendan stuck around with us for half the week showing us how to cut nibs into the king planks using a very sharp chisel and to help figure out a system for fastening the teak deck planks. After that, he let Oliver and I loose and we laid down plank after plank. It is a little tricky and is definitely a two person job, at least as long as the planks stay full length. We have 15' and 10' planks and we space them specifically to stagger the butt joints where they meet. The first plank was difficult because it had the most bend in it as it followed the shape of the sheer. As there was nothing to clamp against with this first plank, we had to create a system of screwing down blocks that we could wedge off of. After the first plank, however, we could use a clamp to pull in the next plank to the one previous. After the teak is wiped down with acetone to remove the oils and help the glue stick, we lathered both the hull and plank with G Flex and then bent and held it into place. A series of blocks are then used to hold it out board and down, given a 3/16" space between it and the previous plank, which is held consistent by using plastic 3/16" spacer blocks. By the end of the week, we had installed mostly all of the full length planks, which puts us nearly half way down.

Brendan, after getting us situation, worked on cutting and fitting the mahogany hand holds that I had just varnished. He got those installed with G-flex and bunged. He also put another puff coat of paint on the coach house roof. Then, he installed the coach house stringers and we helped him on Friday to install the coach house roof, which went smoothly. We used the chain hoists to raise it over the deck and after dry fitted it and making sure everything was going together correctly, we lathered the perimeter of the coach house and the stringers with a generous amount of 5200 and laid the roof down. Then we fastened it with wood screws and cleaned up the mess.

With the roof on, it gives you a whole new perspective on the interior. It with the interior of the coach house painted, I think it will bring in a lot more light, especially considering thats where the light enters the boat from the port holes. I can stand up fully in every area of the coach house and at six feet tall, thats not too bad.

-Week 38 PHOTOS- Hand holds, coach house roof, teak decking

Here is a nib in the king plank being chiseled out and with the help of a forsner bit, removed.

A clamp in the foreground helps bend the plank into place as we screw the blocks that hold it down.

Brendan and Oliver discuss how the nibs are looking.

Our trash barrel after one week of putting on teak.

A detail showing how the planks meet around the lazarette trim.

Brendan cleans up G-flex after he installed the mahogany hand holds.

A nice detail of the hand holds.

The bow section.

Late in the week, we dry fit the painted coach house roof.

And laid down some 5200 to secure it.

After cleanup on Friday, Oliver and I got a chance to relax down below.

The Last Shot of the Week. Coach house roof is on and rough trimmed, and nearly half of the teak decking is down.

-Week 37 PHOTOS- interior and exterior coach house moulding, coach house roof and the first teak planks

Three layers of 1/4 " plywood is dry fit for the coach house roof

Setting up a fence on the routing table for the interior mahogany trim.

The beginning of what will become the interior mahogany hand holds.

After some help from Brendan on the table saw, this is the finished (sanded) result.

The coach house roof comes off after being glued together and gets some paint.

The lazarette and cockpit get trimmed in Teak.

The king aft king plank gets glued down.

As well as the fore king plank.

Brendan gets a couple coats of paint on the interior.

My first real varnishing job. Here are the mahogany hand holds.

Brendan trims out the coach house in Teak.

Here, he shows us how to chisel nibs into the king plank.

Prepping the deck with G-Flex for the first teak plank.

The Last Shot of The Week. On goes the first teak plank. Remember, no fasteners here, just those blocks you see holding the planks down.