Day 18, Skin-on-frame rower-sailer. Build time: 5hrs.
Started working on the replacement oars today, 7’2” long this time. I decided to go for a spruce shaft and laminated ash blades. This gives me a light oar that’s tough in the right places without having to get fiberglass and epoxy involved. I did all my shaping on the looms before gluing on the blades, much easier to work this way.
I’ve been working on a faster way to build oars without over-simplification or sacrificing performance and I think I figured it out with these ones. Excited to make another set after these and see how long it takes. Ran into a bit of termite damage and some inopportune rot pockets, so not a perfect set of oars, but I like the character and it’s cool that I knew this wood when it was a floating log in a storm.
Ran out of Z-Spar so I switched to good ol’ McCloskey’s, (which I’m not convinced is that bad of a varnish) and foam brushes this time. Decent results on this coat and not nearly as bad on the fumes. I think it might be thinned with turpentine. Losing my varnishing space tomorrow so 4 coats will have to do till warmer weather arrives. Yes, I am aware I have 3 different varnishes on things now, but this is just a quick and dirty prototype boats, so who cares? Switching to Le Tonk on the next boat so I don’t have to deal with the fumes anymore.
Rains coming so I flipped the boat over, the shape is growing on me.
Ordered plans for the Columbia Dinghy from Mystic Seaport, my next project. I’ll use the other set of oars on that boat instead, maybe.
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