Haba haba hujaza kibaba
Little by little, a little becomes a lot
Swahili proverb
11 days in and the hull is finally taking shape.
For the naysayers and armchair warriors I feel the need to clarify that Chris and I are working on the boat one morning each fortnight. So time slows and we get to appreciate the seasons as they slide by. Still this is a labour of love, for the moment. Just the act of going to the shed, opening up the container, sniffing the residual resin and seeing before us a structure that we built and now resembles a floaty thing, is wondrous indeed.
No movement yet on the dome protecting us from the weather so we rely on a solid $20 blue tarpaulin and a plastic sheet to protect our infant yacht from the inclement weather.
There is a leak. Its persistent and defiant of all attempts to silicon it shut. I used to race offshore in a 30′ yacht and there was a similar leak just above the skipper’s sleeping berth. No matter how much silicon was applied over the seven years or so that I sailed her, never once did I not wake up with a huge drop of water slamming me between the eyes.
So we box on…
Today we took the opportunity to check that the boat remained level across the hull. The long slats stitched together have a tendency to favour one side and twist if the stitches aren’t tightened evenly.
The chalk from our initial construction is still plainly visible on the wood. We’ll have to remove that at some point prior to fibreglassing.
Even the smallest detail is a work of art in the hands of Chris. Here you can see the copper wire threaded through the two slats and twisted tight with a pair of pliers. Such little things can really bring you joy. I do confess though, once you’ve reached the bow of the boat it becomes super frustrating and the joy dies a little.
After admiring her form then levelling the hull by tightening stitches we pulled dublduck out of the container and set her on the ground. This was the first time we could see the size and begin to picture how cosy our voyage to Alaska was going to be. We then upturned the hull and placed her back in the container for the next part of the build – applying the glue. Not today though.