Category: Boats

Here is what my husband has produced after one week of intensive boat-building. What doesn’t show are “dry” fittings and re-fittings of parts and pieces before each piece is permanently glued in place. And until the planking goes on the outside it can be hard to see the boat taking shape. The bow is on the left of this shot.

This is what our boat will look like when it’s all grown up. Different colors, but the same hull. It is estimated to be only 30-40% complete by the end of this week when the class ends. My husband is at the higher end of this range because he’s built the mast, some of the fittings, and has prefinished some of the wood. He will still have to paint it and fit out the interior decks and veranda. But at least it won’t entail a daily commute to Port Townsend.

Today is the first day of my husband’s two week Scamp Camp at the Northwest Maritime Center in Port Townsend. In the back of the car above are some of the pieces of the Scamp sailboat that my husband has prefinished as part of the build. This was the second of two trips he made to the Maritime Center to deliver parts and assist with setting up the shop for the class. More parts will go with him this morning as he arrives for the class.

Above is a puzzle joint on one of the pieces of the boat-to-be. It’s how NC (numerically controlled) routed plywood panels are joined together.

If you’re remotely interested in this boat-building class, click here to go to a webcam that’s set up above the workshop classroom. If you get a darkened room remember we’re on Pacific Standard time. There is a partially built Scamp in the foreground of the camera’s field. This is what the other piles of lumber are attempting to become. I’ll visit the class late this week and post some shots of where the boats are at the halfway mark.

You may know that I’m married to a boat person, the kind of guy who has inventoried and identified most of the boats in most of the yards we’ve driven past in Sequim and other locations across the Olympic Peninsula.

Dear Husband is registered for a “Scamp Camp” starting on March 4th in Port Townsend. In the course of two weeks he will substantially build a 12 foot Scamp sailboat. He’s already built a mast, blocks, and cleats. Above is the latest phase, lumber for the build. This is our Scamp to be. It’s toward the bottom of a pile of about 12 sheets of mahogany marine plywood. Instead of locating his own quality wood and cutting it himself, he elected to buy a lumber package offered through his class.

The parts are precisely cut with an NC (numerically controlled) router with more precision and less waste. He has removed the precut pieces to finish before the class, which should result in a better finish overall and put him ahead of the game. That is, of course, if the cold and damp abate enough for the finish to dry, but that’s a different story.

This is a convenience you don’t get with raw lumber: named parts. It’s an extraordinary luxury for us to approach building a boat doing so many things “right.” I could fill volumes with stories of the lost puppy boats that have landed in our lives, the ones that had so much promise with “just a little work.” If you are a boat person, you know exactly what I mean. If you aren’t, well, I suppose you can consider yourself blessed. At the very least you probably lead an uncluttered life.

We’ve not had good weather for being out-of-doors and my husband and I have taken to indoor pursuits. Although he’s promised for months (really, I’m not exagggerating) to build a countertop desk and improve my office work space, the first priority is to finish current parts and pieces for the Scamp boat that he will build in March. It makes him happy and they’re things he needs. How can I complain?

If you’re not of the mariner persuasion, you’re looking at running rigging blocks above, on the left, and cleats on the right. The cleats, for securing ends of rigging or mooring lines, are fashioned from hickory.

Here’s a closer look at one of the running rigging blocks, mocked up to show more of what it will look like as a finished product. The blocks are for ropes that control all the moving parts of the sail rig. These parts are made from mahogany. The blocks and the cleats will be finished with epoxy and marine spar varnish.

What do I do as an indoor diversion? Well, maybe I’ll show you tomorrow.

If you follow this blog you may recall that last September I posted some photos of the Scamp sailboat in action at the Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend. My husband bought plans at the festival to build a Scamp and I promised occasional updates on progress of the build. The Scamp above is one on display at the festival.

The Scamp boat is a project of the Small Craft Advisor magazine based in Port Townsend. “Scamp” is an acronym for Small Craft Advisor Magazine Project and the magazine owns the rights to the Scamp. In addition to selling the boat plans, the magazine also sells pre-cut kits for construction and co-hosts “Scamp Camps,” classes to construct the boat under the direction of the Scamp designer, John Welsford.

After studying the boat plans and looking at his growing list of questions about its construction, my husband decided to turn his back on the time honored, stereotypical male practice of not asking for directions. . .he signed up to attend the third Scamp Camp this coming March. A month or two ago he attended a mast-building class with members of the first Scamp Camp (a second one was held in Michigan in November). In the meantime he has been constructing some of the parts and pieces that will go on the boat.

I’ll see if I can gate crash the Scamp Camp and take some photos of the work in progress. In the meantime, stay tuned. I’ll see if my favorite boat builder will permit me to take a shot or two of what he’s been working on.