Steve Tarry

I was making progress until I broke a bone in my left hand and suddenly couldn't grasp anything with enough force to hold it. It's better now, but I lost months of good-weather building time. Sigh... Well, spring is coming, at least here in the northwest where winter never actually arrived. Svenska Flicka will yet float! Fintan, we're going to be in your neighborhood this summer -- what must I see as a tourist of that part of Ireland?

Adla, you are an inspiration. Tell me, though, all you glass experts out there... What do you do with the bits of fabric at the bottom of the photos? Do you wrap them around while things are still wet or trim them off once things get hard and cover the edges when glassing the top? If so, are they difficult to trim? I've never done glassing and this step (as Barry suggested) does have me a bit concerned waaaayyyy in advance of need.

I hope to get there for one of the three days, but the 7th is a work day and the 8th may be a "Camelot" rehearsal. Perhaps after rehearsal or on the 9th. Who knows... if I miss a Labor Day launch, maybe it'll be me at the Oly show next year?

Well, after a winter of lethargy, too much performing, and a chilly garage I attacked the Svenska Flicka again this past week. First, a whole lot of clutter had to be removed from the hull bottom as it seemed to have attracted every object that came in the house without an assigned home. After that, I attached the transom and dry-fitted the deck in place. Good grief, it actually looks like a boat. Right now, it's time to do some minor cutting and fitting and making of small parts, then the whole thing can be glued up and the sides put on. Maybe Labor Day is not an impossible launch date after all.

Ah, so you were a techie. Actors love techies; without them, we'd be in the dark. "Remember me, in light!" Opening went well, but I napped much of today away when I wasn't walking the dogs and my fat self. Now, it's off to the theatre again. When do I build this boat?

Booger sure does look Rottie, but what boat is that?

Dave, you impress me. "Screw your courage to the sticking place" is the Old Actor's attempted completion of the the line that begins with "Friends, Romans, Countrymen..." When I did the show in '64, the "Screw your courage" line got a great laugh because everyone in the place knew that it was the wrong next line and a million miles from "Lend me your ears." Neither of our preview audiences has even slightly giggled. Have we become that ignorant of the classics in the last couple decades? Guess so. By the way, the line is from Lady MacBeth when she's trying to get her hubby jacked up enough to kill the king. I did the role of the boy's father before but I'm the girl's father this time, without near the makup I had to wear the first time around. What did you play?

Ah, Dave is a veteran of the show, I see. Well, "Never Say No" and "Radish" are both mine, but as much fun as they are, I'd still rather be farther along with the boat than I am. I've had cut-out pieces all over one garage bay since early September and I'm still not 3-D! The deck is assembled, the bulkheads are ready, the mast box is waiting impatiently, and the box behind the cabin bulkhead (custom built to accomodate a wide-bottomed buddy of mine) is just sitting in the cold. Shoot, even the transom is cut out and ready. All I need is a couple hours in a row when I can screw the bloody thing together. Oh, well... After 11/30, my time is mine until "Camelot" in the spring. Anyone want to bet that I miss my 9/1/04 launch date?

Well, I have survived the rehearsal process and "Fantasticks" opens tonight for a month-long run. Please, someone remind me not to do back-to-back shows again. Between losing all my evenings and the building principal actually expecting me to show up for work and teach, there hasn't been much time for the boat. And now, there's still snow on the ground that hasn't melted from last week... By the way, how cold does it have to get before the resin glue just won't set?

Sorry for the outburst. The English-teacher part of my brain just exploded.

Okay, here I was with parts cut out and not too far from going 3-D and school and show started simultaneously. I have three more weeks of "Odd Couple" performances still to go, and on Tuesday I start rehearsal for "The Fantasticks." When is this boat going to get built? By the way, it strikes me that installing the steering mechanism would be easier before the sides go on. Is that totally impractical in the scheme of things?

Yeah, Ray's right. With 3/8", the trick is to get it to lie flat!

As I read the plans, the top of the forward bulkhead sets right against the deck panel joiner which runs from side to side. The mast box then abutts the bulkhead on the forward side, right beneath the panel joiner, forcing a cut through both the deck and the joiner for the mast to fit into the box. Wouldn't it make as much sense to make the mast box a bit longer to match the bulkhead and use two shorter panel joiners on either side of the mast location, or would this weaken something on some way? Maybe I'm just looking for shortcuts. We open "Odd Couple" this week and school opened last week, so I've done darn little boat building and am perhaps just tired and cranky.

Oh. I figured it was just a turtle.

I must be incredibly lucky. Not only is Inga parking her Subaru out in the weather so I can have half the garage for boat construction, but she helps with the construction and was the one who really urged me into doing this whole thing. Weird, huh?

You can remove the 'Hawks from that list right now. The O-line is shot with Walter Jones holding out, Terry on suspension, and a couple guys hurt. Hell, the Seahawks haven't really been in contention since the Nordstrom family sold to Ken Bering.

For what it's worth, I'm moving the bulkhead forward and enlarging the cockpit by eight inches, like Cap'n Jake. We're never going to overnight in the bloody cabin anyway; who'd feed the animals if we stayed out all night, after all? Unlike Jake, though, I'm going to keep the tool box/seat full size, and with a lid that actually opens.

Research and writing are two of the things I teach, my lad, so if you need anything, just e-mail me. That 3,000 word paper is nothing. Hell, I can't clear my throat in less than 50,000, and I have four wordy novels and a couple of degrees to prove it. After all the help and encouragement you guys have given me, it's nice to be able to return the favor, or at least offer to do so.

Oh, Frank, don't frighten me more with notions of launch ramps -- I've never trailered anything in my life and I'm terrified of the launching experience. I think I'll rig the Subaru for towing, instead of my truck. At least that way, I'll have all-wheel drive to get me out of the water. On the other hand, most of the local put-ins are slings rather than ramps. That may be my salvation. But is it possible to hoist the mast and connect the rigging after the boat is in the water?

Knowing how everyone likes pictures, here I am sitting on the actual bottom of Svenska Flicka mounted on the actual keel, doing my impression of Leonardo DiCaprio, give or take 30 years. [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]

Everything came out right and I just trimmed the side joiner panels and dry-fitted the bottom in place on the keel. Barry was right when he said to trust that it would bend into place. There's not a gap underneath it that won't be cured by the screws pulling it down snug. I suppose you want pictures of this to prove it too, huh?

McFeeley's is interesting, and I suspect the square drive has its advantages, but they're still pretty proud of their product and price it accordingly. I've found an outfit in Oregon called GatelatchUSA and they have pretty good prices. Anyone know of them?

Okay, so I was halfway into glueing and screwing the bottom pieces to the panel joiners when it occurred to me (brilliant fellow that I am) that I had everything wrong side to. Luckily, the glue hadn't set up and the screws backed out and the problem was solved with a wet sponge and some drying time in the sun. The bottom is standing on edge in the garage bay now, next to the keel and cradle, waiting for the side boards to be trimmed off and the stringers to be attached. I am equally on edge, and angry at myself for a near-fatal error to nearly forty bucks worth of plywood. Guess that teaches me to be in thoughtful mode and not in panic mode, just because there's plastic resin getting more set by the minute. Is this the stupidest thing anyone has done in boat construction or do I lose the prize to someone else?

Tacoma Screw has the best price I've found locally, but they're still double what I can get on the web. Looks like I may have to do some plywood cutting while the UPS people try to find me out in the woods.

No guarantee on our boats looking like John's, but that's show biz. Or boat biz. I was just at BMO yesterday and they happily let me walk back into the stacks and pick out what I wanted. Though I walked out with two boards wider than I'd needed, at their prices I'm still ahead of the game. As to hay, we have a feed store in Orting and one just down the street from BMO, though it is in Sumner by the time you get there. What octane hay do you need?