This last Sunday a friend, Peter, who has years of sailing experience arrived. I rigged Abi Gale with a gaff rigg, spirit boom set up. We had a very light on shore wind and launched her from our little beach on the Columbia River. It took Peter a minute or two to get situated, and…
Category: Ladybug Wheelbarrow Boat
Abigail E – Dagger Board, Oar Locks
This last week I got to spend two days on the 3 plank lap strake rowing/sailing dinghy. The first day I constructed the dagger board trunk along with the dagger board itself. That same day, I also completed her construction by building the two sets of oarlock mounts. I disassembled and epoxied all into place….
Abigail E – Coming Close
This last week, I worked on the boat for only a day and a half. The summer run of Chinook is in along with a strong run of summer steelhead. So I had good luck fishing with my friend John onboard “Rachel.” One of the days we hooked 8 salmon and steelhead and lost all…
Abigail E – Wheelbarrow Boat, More Freeboard
This last weekend was a busy one, I took “Rachel” out with a friend and we caught two spring salmon – 1) 30 pounder and 1) 8 pounder and 1) 10 pound Steelhead. The best part, it was sunny and beautiful out on the Lower Columbia river. There’s lots of run off this year, the…
Wheelbarrow Boat – Finished!
April 29, I added the 4th coat of varnish on both boat and oars. She is now complete!!
Wheelbarrow Boat – Sanding and Varnishing
April 28, today I built the set of oars. After building them, I completely sanded the interior of the boat and varnished her. I also varnished the oars.
Wheelbarrow Boat – Clear Vertical Grain Fir Oars
April 27, yesterday I disassembled and reassembled the entire inside of the vessel with epoxy. Today, I started the process of building a set of clear vertical grain fir oars. I first ripped them and then ran them through the table saw turning the shaft into an octagon, then put them on the lathe and…
Wheelbarrow Boat – Inwales & Interior
April 24, Happy Easter He has risen indeed! Today my wife and kids were in Texas for a wedding. I got to stay home and finished the interior of this little vessel. As you can see, it’s a little different than Harry’s. I installed inwales because I build oarlock mounts out of scraps of hard…
Wheelbarrow Boat – Wheel Housing
April 23, I probably took 3-4 hours sanding to get most of the epoxy off and the wood fair for sealing and varnishing. It best to sand when the inside of your hull is bare, no obstructions! Then I put together the wheel housing and installed the wheel. I also built the 4 knees and…
Wheelbarrow Boat – Hurry Up and Wait
April 22, today’s another hurry up and wait kinda day. I cut the gunwales and mixed up some epoxy and wood flour to a honey consistency and clamped them into place. Then I mixed some more epoxy and wood flour and filled all the gaps in the interior of the boat. This is very important…