Coamings coamings coamings...and rudder

After about 10 days off for the holidays, it's good to be back to work on BELLE!  The coamings are now cut & fit, I'll be removing them for sanding and varnishing shortly.  Here's how it went:

With the coamings rough cut to shape/size, I steamed the forward end in a propane-fired steambox.  No need to steam the aft end since there's not much bend there.

The two coamings are clamped in place to "set" overnight.  I first did one side then, about an hour later, did the other side releasing the forward overlapping end about an inch.

I made a pattern for the aft ogee (I guess that's what you'd call it) so I'd be able to accurately reproduce it on both sides.

Next I removed the coamings and, after quite a bit of fussing to get the bevels right, got one side to fit nicely against the temporary 2x4 jig (shown here clamped through the mast hole).  I then made the final oak forward post (back fastened to the deck) and fit the second coaming to that.

Meanwhile, I managed some progress on the rudder.  The tiller will fit through a slot between the cheeks that are here being test-fitted.

This isn't a very good photo--enjoy looking at all those tools on the foredeck!--but it does show the two coaming cut and fitted at last.  I left the post a bit long, so now I'll cut it down before fairing the tops of the coamings.  With all that done...the whole thing comes off!  A coat or two of varnish off the boat, then the coamings are reassembled in place with regular ol' screws and bedding compound.  No epoxy, thank you, a future boat builder will thank me if/when the coamings need repair or replacement!

That's it for now.  Alas, a sad note, wonderful cartoonist Ronald Searle died a few days ago.  Sharp-eyed readers of this blog will have noted a couple of references to the Molesworth books he illustrated (Geoffrey Willans was the author).  He will be missed here at BELLE World Headquarters.

I wish you all a terrific 2012.