The deck has now been laid and although it still requires finishing it is well underway and should be completed tomorrow.
Today we have also been fitting the thwarts, I shall refrain from cracking some diabolical joke about having been thwarted at every turn, but it has seemed that way. Although having spent a great deal of time striving to fit the thwart (pew, seat, bench, what you will) to the planking with ever increasing levels of frustration and scrapped paint, Mike our tutor strolled over and leant on the side of the boat and muttered the words we all dread to hear 'Ah, Yes, Well!' he then told me the simple way to do it... They get fitted tomorrow!
We also fitted another substantial structural member today in the shape of the quarter knees, which I think I had explained were somewhat complicated and required considerable work on Ben's part to make fit properly as they are required to support the mizzen mast.
So we press on with only a couple of weeks left and quite a lot still to do, including painting the outside of the hull which we will have to do while she it still on the keelway, this will involve lying under the boat to paint it, which we are not looking forward to, so this will be the last early night for the rest of the week while I do lots of preparatory work making good and filling and sanding.
There is also one remaining coat to go on the inside of the hull but I shall put that on when we have finished the majority of the internal fitting which does do some damage.
Bye for now...
