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Frames Done

Ok now I've finished all four of the Frames, the Bow and Transom Bulkheads and two others between. What impresses me so far it's how simple the build is. The next phase calls for me to cut out and butt join the Sides, assemble the Frames in position and then six the Sides. So I expect that any errors or bows in the Frames will show up then. But that's another day, and besides I'm not too bothered if there are a few wrinkles. She's a Pocket. Shanty Boat after all. Costs to this point are about $A200, and side from the outboard, I reckon the biggest expense apart from ply will be epoxy to waterproof below the waterline. I'm reading a pretty fab ebook at the moment called "Houseboat on the Seine". It's about an American artist who is living with his family in France where he builds and renovating a canal boat as a future residence for his family. The author is a self-confessed landlubber  and is doing the build on the cheap, so it speaks to me. Fa
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Painting

Today I began sanding and priming the bulkheads. Unfortunately I tried to save a few dollars and buy a quarter litre of primer. Pffft! I've struggled to paint just the bulkheads before I ran the pot dry. So tomorrow, having realised i need to paint the sides and hull in and out, I will get a 4 litre can of primer. Live and learn!
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Transom Build.

A bit of building today, cut out bits for the final bulkhead. Actually it's the Transom, and owing to the fact that metric 8' x 4' sheets of plywood are really quite a bit narrower, you have to make the transition in two halves and butt them together. So anyway I've done that today and am now waiting for the epoxy to go off.
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Build Log May 24, 2019

I've just been reading an Escargot Builder's Log by Bryan Lowe. BL is now quite a prolific presence on shanty boat sites for a few reasons, one he finished his build some years ago so he has a web history and secondly he seems like a keen communicator having worked as a radio dj. So now at 4:41 am on Friday May 24, 2019, I am wide awake drinking coffee and wanting to write reams about my tiny shanty boat build. So, first the Escargot. Well without fact checking, it's a towable shanty boat home build, with ducking headroom powered by a five horse engine. She's like a bigger brother to Harmonica, just a little longer, a foot wider and nearly full headroom. I first came across the design in an Australian amateur boatbuilders' magazine. At the time I was unhappily married to a woman who would have made my life a misery if I'd undertaken such a build. The fact that she did anyway is a moot point. Anyway, I've fallen in love again, with the local river and the p
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Third Bulkhead Near Complete

The third bulkhead, called "Bulkhead 10" because it's 10' from the bow, is a simple build. Four uprights, more or less the cross members and two small plywood infills. The only timber joins are at the roof beam to upright joins. Next is the final bulkhead, "Transom" ! The Harmonica so far is an easy build.
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Bulkhead Building

Mpre bulkhead building today. Last time I  thought  "Bulkhead 3.5" was pretty well complete, but no. Today I cut out the forward companionway opening and framed it, and cut limber holes. Framing takes a while because all joins have to be cut and fitted. Anyway after a few hours Bh 3.5 was a shot duck. Mext I prepped the framing for "Bulkhead 10". This bulhead is 10' from the bow and fits at the aft end of rhe main cabin. And prepping the timber means that 35x70mm. DAR pine is ripped down its centre line to make 1 1/2" square timber which is required in the Plans. So already Bulkhead 10 is drafted up, needing joints to be marked off and cut before final assembly. Bow and 3.5 Bulkheads in mock lay up.
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Images of the Harmonica

Open plan. Excellent for day touring. Developing the rowing technique, before fitting an engine.
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