Goofing off a bit

It's been a full month since my last posting.  I realize that sounds like the beginning of a confession, but it is not.  I have not made much progress in the past four weeks, but I have had some fun (we spent an enjoyable week leaf peeping and sightseeing in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia), I did some domestic chores (patched a ceiling, cleaned out the garden, raked some leaves) and I actually did some work on Lagniappe, besides. 

I also lost a few days when I "had" to replace my trusty old bandsaw which I have been wanting to do for several years now.  A pot metal casting that adjusts the angle of the upper wheel snapped. The saw lasted me far longer than I had any right to expect, so I could not really complain about shoddy Taiwanese workmanship.  I bought a Rikon 14" model 10-325, (also made in Taiwan, by the way) that has a built in riser giving it a height capacity of 13", and a 1.5 hp motor.  So far, it is a joy to use.

My boatbuilding activity, such as it has been, involved the skeg construction mostly.  The skeg is very simple in concept, but the work is made much more difficult because of its weight and my confined workspace.

Skeg on its side, showing centerboard slot

I finished gluing up the 5 inch by 5 inch segments, and scribing and cutting the curve where it joins to the keel.  As noted in an earlier posting, I simplified my life a bit by building the centerboard slot into the glueup.  I will still need to cut the slot through the keel.  

Aft end of skeg, glued but not shaped

Forward end of skeg before shaping

I lowered the skeg onto sawhorses for shaping.  It will taper to 2" at the stern, and about 1.5" where it joins the outer stem.  I shaped it using my power plane followed by a belt sander.

Aft end of skeg planed and sanded (Downward curve is an optical illusion)

I have a bit more shaping to do, and will cut the slot through the keel before re-positioning the skeg and bolting it to the hull.