Boat jewelry

Here I fabricate and mount essential hardware.

I drilled a guide hole in this block of wood with the drill press. It's best to get this hole lined up horizontally and perpendicular to the centerline of the boat.

I've drilled the hole through.

I start with 1/2" round bronze rod that I got at Online Metals. Here I'm filing the end flat after cutting it to length with a hacksaw.

I use the drill press as a crude lathe to file the ends round. It works quite well for the required tolerance.

Here is the end result. This will lessen the chance of rope catching or chafing.

I mounted the bitt rod with epoxy. I obtained these fairleads and the cleats on the right at The Woodenboat Foundation. I screwed the fairleads with #10 1 3/4" bronze screws.

I screwed the cleats with 3" #10 screws. I would personally rather have done this with 1/4" throughbolts but it seems difficult to find bronze cleats with 1/4" openings.

Here I'm trial fitting the masts. The mizzen mast is easy to step. The mainmast requires a bit of trial to work out how best to do it. I had to stand on the bow and watch my balance as I raised it high in the air.

I queried the designer to find out how deep to make the hole for the mast step - about 2 1/2". Also it must be big enough so the mast can rotate while resting in the bottom of the hole.

Also, I discovered I needed to plane the mast down a bit to get it to fit in the mast partner.

I finished my portlights by caulking around the edge and bolting down the plexiglass. This system affords easy removal for replacement at some future date. While the appearance from the inside is not conventional it is also not too obtrusive.