Of Boats, Bandsaws and Blood...

I did a bit more on the boat today. The first step was to put the tent up, then make sure the wind was not going to send it into the marshes. Ropes and old beer barrels (full of water) took care of that. That was where I had my first accident. Pulling on one of the guy ropes, I put my foot into a hole my dog had kindly dug earlier, and fell backwards onto a large tree branch. Result? a very sore patch on my back, and, I am pretty sure a hairline crack to one of my ribs....That was two weeks ago, and it's still sore.

Today, I have been working on building a working platform. The boat has a flat bottom, which is going to make it easier and quicker to build. Because my knees and my back aren't happy to bend so much anymore, I am building the platform two feet off the ground. I'll have to do some work under the boat too at some stage, so need a bit of space under there.

I am building that flat bottom boat the RIGHT way up. So I have to fibreglass the plywood panels before assembly. My reasoning is that I don't want to build up-side down, then have to hire cranes to turn the boat the right way up. I am trying to use my brain here....

Here is a picture of the burgeoning working platform. This is only half of it at present. It will be 10 metres long when completed. The tent is 4 metres wide, and the boat is going to be 3 metres wide, so not much space on the sides. The left side is against a wall so I am putting the platform nearer the other side as I'll be able to open the sides to work on the side of the boat.

The platform has to be horizontal and flat to make it as easy as possible to build the hull as quickly as possible. I am working on a way to be able  to lower the hull closer to the ground when it's built, again without using cranes or expensive equipment. Archimedes (or whoever the guy is who said he could move the earth if only he had a lever long enough) is going to be my friend!

The platform is 2 feet high, the main beams are 8 feet apart, the top has 2  2"x4" on the pic. This is as far as I got before darkness and my bandsaw stopped play....

This is what happens when you get distracted and loose concentration for a second while you're using a fast piece of machinery. That's where the Blood of the title come in!

A trip to the hospital later, a nice bandage put into place by a very nice nurse, with the free advice not to move said finger, or get it wet...for seven days....arrrgghhhhhh.....

Anyway, I still got my finger, but it hurts a bit tonight. Stupid clot!