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Gallic fishing boat St Gildas

I follow (watch) your build log... and, I love small fishing and trading boats!
I have it on watch too but it didn't show up in my notifications. Thought it had been quiet. But it is nice to see all the updates I missed! Very good progress. The fishing booms are so cool!!

((Is it bad I want the gruesome details of how to get a ship in the stand? lol -- debating on when to make a stand for the Oro Jackson ))
 
I have it on watch too but it didn't show up in my notifications. Thought it had been quiet. But it is nice to see all the updates I missed! Very good progress. The fishing booms are so cool!!

((Is it bad I want the gruesome details of how to get a ship in the stand? lol -- debating on when to make a stand for the Oro Jackson ))
DD, thank you for your interest and your kind words.

Turns out that the best time to get the ship in its permanent stand is as soon as you discover the kit stand is rubbish with parts that don’t match the plans. But if you miss that point, then as soon as possible after the hull is complete and before you start adding deck furniture, masts, and the like. Once you’ve added anything that sticks above the rails, it becomes exponentially harder to turn the boat upside down to fit or otherwise attach pedestals.

And since you asked….

In this case, because this boat has so much deadrise (the angle between keel and the waterline), it needed to be secured to the pedestals to prevent it slipping out the back. I had some very long, narrow screws for that, but the heads were to big to fit through the threaded inserts needed to screw the pedestals to the base. But getting the holes on the keel spaced perfectly for the small screws to exactly match the holes drilled in the base exactly aligned without being able to screw anything together turned out to be a wicked pissah. I couldn’t simply measure equal distances along the keel and base because of the deadrise angle, and since I already had masts and sails on her, the precision measurement involved—particularly of drilling holes at just the right angle—once the trigonometry was done proved near impossible. But once I got all that just right, the threaded inserts had managed to worry the holes in the pedestals loose enough as to no longer hold the pedestals securely to the base once screwed down.

All that is a long way to say that had I planned ahead better, I would have saved myself much frustration…
 
Preliminary rigging of the fishing booms is done, but everything still needs to be snugged down.
IMG_5825.jpeg
I was 100% right in not securing the staysail yet. I’ve moved that thing constantly while working on the other rigging.

Not so obvious in the photo, but the booms really have an amazing visual effect. Can’t wait to get the hooks and lines on, although I still haven’t answered the question of where to tie them off.

There is a rail on the bulwarks that would seem to be a logical place, but I don’t think it’s got the structural integrity.
IMG_5826.jpeg
The plans don’t show this being used for anything so it’s only glued on, but the kit wood is so soft and splintery, I don’t know if it will hold up to having seven fishing lines belayed to it.

I’m considering adding a brass bar to the top of the rail cap as a belay for the fishing lines.
 
((Is it bad I want the gruesome details of how to get a ship in the stand? lol -- debating on when to make a stand for the Oro Jackson ))
Not bad at all. Wanting the gruesome details is part of the fun. Getting a ship into its stand can feel like performing surgery on a sleeping dragon — tense, delicate, and with a real risk of knocking something off.

Here’s the general approach:
• Make the stand before the rigging jungle begins. Trying to wrestle a fully rigged ship into a cradle is a shortcut to heartbreak.
• Test-fit the hull early, even before final planking if possible. That way, you can shape the stand to match the keel or hull curve.
• Line the stand with felt, cork, or foam. Something that grips gently but won’t scratch.
• Once you're happy with the fit, mark the position, remove the ship, glue the supports, and let it set before bringing the ship back in.
• And finally, do not do it when you're tired. Ships can smell fear. ;)

If it goes smoothly, you’ll feel like a master shipwright. If not, at least you’ll have a story to tell.
 
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