1 - Egret 31.5 - A Shallow Draft Cruiser

This is about building a sailboat, in our back yard in Charlottesville, Virginia where I live and sell real estate for a living. The Reuel Parker Egret 31.5 is a "Sharpie" which was a very popular style of shallow draft working or fishing sailboat in the latter half of the nineteenth century in the US.

Why Shallow Draft?
L. Francis Herreshoff explains this choice as follows:  "It is quite befitting in these hard times that more should be written about the good little ships developed by Commodore R.M. Munroe of Coconut Grove, Florida.  Certainly the boats designed by the Commodore are among the best examples of American shallow draft cruisers, and the reason for it is that he entirely disregarded  the racing measurement rules which have influenced and spoiled most yachts.
"I use the word "yachts" instead of "racers" because unfortunately during the last hundred years the sailing yacht in most cases has imitated the racing yacht. It seems that yacht designers as a class are prone to copy the extremes that have made other yachts notorious and, as draft for many years was not limited or penalized, yachts became deeper and deeper. Also during most of Commodore Munroe's life waterline length was the principal factor in measurement, so that from 1890 to perhaps 1910 most all sailing yachts of any class were shorter on the waterline and deeper than was desirable for any reason except for racing. While it is true that others occasionally designed sailboats that were long and shallow, it is likely that no other man designed so many that were entirely free from the influence of measurement rules; so today, when most all existing yachts are spoiled in hull proportion by past measurement rules, and ruined in sail plan by the present ocean racing rules, it is refreshing to study the good little ships designed by Commodore Munroe.
"There is no doubt that the boats, or little ships, developed by Comodore Munroe were strong, long-lasting and economical to build. They could be beached with little danger of injury and were the easiest in a sea way of any small craft ever built..
"At the present time (1952) the cost of most all yachts and boats is beyond the value they may repay in pleasure, so these shallow, inside-ballasted little ships of small sail area become at this time perhaps the only real sensible craft one can contemplate.
"The life and work of Commodore Munroe should be of extreme interest to those who want to cruise in both shallow and deep water. Perhaps there is no need to mention it, but most presentday cruisers cannot go in shallow water and should not go in deep water if comfort is desired."

What is a Sharpie?
Sharpies are a type of hard chined sailboat with a flat bottom, extremely shallow draft, centreboards and straight, flaring sides. They are believed to have originated in the New Haven, Connecticut region of Long Island Sound, United States. They were traditional fishing boats used for oystering, and later appeared in other areas. With centerboards and shallow balanced rudders they are well suited to sailing in shallow tidal waters.

Sharpies first became popular in New Haven, Connecticut, towards the end of the 19th century. Although their origin is unknown, it has been said that they came into use as a successor to the dugout log canoe and derived from the flatiron skiff. These sharpies were typically used for oyster tonging and evolved to suit that work. They grew in popularity because they were easy to row, cheap to build and fast under sail.
Varying in length, the 24–28 ft one-man boats usually had one sail, while the larger two-man boats which were around 35 ft were rigged with two sails, as cat-ketches. They had leg-o-mutton sails with sprit booms on un-stayed masts. The larger boats had three mast-steps; one at the bow, one amidships and one in between. Typically, in the summer, two masts would be stepped: one at the bow and amidships. In the winter, when heavier winds were expected, a single mast would be stepped in between. Their hulls were narrow with a large sheer and low freeboard. At the ends you will find a plumb bow with the heel of the stem sitting just out of the water and a round stern. The centerboard was long and shallow as was the balanced rudder.

The sharpie type migrated south and west to other regions where shallow water prevented deep-draft vessels from operating, including Chesapeake Bay, the Carolinas, the Great Lakes (Ohio) and Florida.
Although most sharpies were rigged as a leg-o-mutton cat-ketch with free standing masts and sprit booms, larger versions - especially those found in the Carolinas and Florida - used stayed gaff schooner rigs which included a jib.

Commodore Ralph Munroe's Egret
Sharpies were introduced to Florida in 1881, when Commodore Ralph Munroe brought the 33-foot New Haven style sharpie, of his own design, Kingfish to the Miami area of Florida. Perhaps the most famous of sharpies was the Commodore's Egret design, now immortalized in plans available from Wooden Boat magazine. Commodore Monroe designed Egret in 1886 and had her built on Staten Island and delivered to Key West. Egret was unique in that she had higher, flaring sides than the typical sharpie and was double-ended. This meant more stability as she was loaded and the ability to run before a following sea without waves breaking over the stern. These attributes contributed to behavior that led the Commodore to call the Egret a "sharpie-lifeboat".

The following is taken from Ross Lillistone's "Wooden Boats" blog:

Profile of Egret drawn based on research by Jon Wilson (Woodenboat Magazine Founder), with input from Bob Baker, Maynard Bray, Dave Dillon, and Joel White. Image courtesy of Woodenboat Publications.

Lines Drawing of Egret. LOA 28' 2" LWL 22' 8" Beam 7' 2" Draft 1'. Courtesy of Woodenboat Publications.

Egret was designed by Ralph Munroe to act as an ambulance, mail boat, and water taxi for the early residents of Biscayne Bay in Southern Florida. Here is a short description in Ralph M. Munroe's own words;

"The difficulties of beach travel being thoroughly realized, and the Weather Bureau having established a telegraph line to Jupiter, it seemed imperative that something in the boat line superior to any of the existing craft for this work should be obtained. So in the summer of 1886, to replace Kingfish, I had built at Brown's the 28-foot double-ended sharpie lifeboat, Egret, very strongly but lightly constructed. She drew eight inches, and had only fifty to seventy-five bricks, laid under the floor, for ballast. She was fitted with all the appurtenances needed to keep the sea in almost any weather, and if necessary to be put on the beach without harm. That she fulfilled all requirements until the first road was opened the older residents can testify." (excerpted from The Commodore's Story by Ralph Middleton Munroe and Vincent Gilpin - Historical Society of Southern Florida)

Like many others, I have found myself under the spell of Egret's superb lines, which could be described as a cross between a sharpie and a dory. Her swept-up stern and distribution of buoyancy put me strongly in mind of our Australian Surfboats, so the combination of the three hull forms gives her a wonderful pedigree.

Australian Surfboats in action. They share full forward sections, substantial flare, and fine, raised stern sections with Egret. This is not surprising as both were designed or evolved to deal with the same conditions.

This is a superb photo of an Egret built in the mid nineteen-eighties by Graham Ero for Robert Jones. (Photo by Ray Egan, courtesy of Woodenboat Publications)

This is my favourite Egret photo, showing her character very well. (Courtesy of the Historical Association of Southern Florida, scanned from Reuel Parker's excellent book, "The Sharpie Book")

Ross mentions Reuel Parker, and it is he who designed the sharpie I am building in my back yard. Reuel has designed and built a number of boats over the years, and sailed them, so his boats tend to be on the practical and they are also beautiful. He has designs for boats from 17 - 70 feet on his Parker Marine website and he has built a few sharpies of various sizes, from 17 - 46 feet. Here are images of Reuel's design for his Sharpie 31.5 which I am building.

Reuel Parker from his The Sharpie Book:  "In the summer of 1886 Munroe designed the double-ended 28-foot sharpie Egret, specifically for running the shallow Florida inlets and handling the rough Gulf Stream offshore waters in almost any weather. Egret had a deep, narrow bottom and very flaring topsides, and might be considered to combine some of the best qualities of the dory with those of the sharpie. She was built at Brown's on Staten Island, and brought by Mallory boat to Key West, where she distinguished herself in many ways, including transporting the mail from Palm Beach to Miami in all seasons." Later in this book, Reuel says "Commodore Munroe's Egret is truly in a class by herself. She is widely acknowledged to be the most seaworthy of all sharpies, and I personally believe she is."

In Reuel Parker's Design Commentary he writes the following:  "Many naval architects in the past century have been fascinated by Commodore Ralph Munroe's Egret design from the 1880's. Both Howard I. Chapelle and Joel White designed versions from which numerous examples have been built. When I wrote THE SHARPIE BOOK I designed my own version and added it to the ranks. But clients over the years have asked for larger versions, which led me to design 33', 36' and 39.5' models of this remarkable vessel. I even have a 45' version in my notebooks, which will be a long-distance cruiser, with partial outside ballast like the 39.5. And in the interest of MAXI-TRAILERABLE boats (no slip/no boatyard), I designed a 38' version in early 2007. She has a 10' beam and 6' 1" standing headroom. In early 2011 I designed a 31' 6" EGRET with trailerable beam of 8' 6". She has two layout options, four rig options, headroom of 5 feet, and draft of 14 inches.

"In addition to having remarkable seaworthy properties, the Egret type allows more headroom than is available in any other sharpie of her size. Another application of the "what goes up, must come down" law of nature is that a boat that has a lot of hull and superstructure above the waterline must have matching keel area and ballast down below the water. This is true particularly for sailboats, so that they neither tip over nor blow sideways. To achieve standing headroom in a flat bottomed boat, either the hull and/ or cabin trunk must be quite high, or the hull bottom must be quite low, or both. The obvious solution to a high boat is to make it big, so that it is no longer proportionately high (usually over 50 feet for a sharpie). A less obvious solution is to make the flat bottom narrower than usual, and give it plenty of rocker (fore-and-aft curvature), pushing the middle portion considerably deeper in the water. As this transformation in hull shape takes place, the vessel becomes closer in form to the dory.

"Egret is the first well -known hull of this type. Commodore Munroe sailed her in all weather for many years in south Florida a century ago, including in storms on the Gulf Stream and running breakers on bars through inlets. Munroe dubbed Egret a 'sharpie lifeboat.' Contemporary designers such as Phil Bolger and Jay Benford have designed many successful boats having elements of both sharpie and dory hull models; these are sometimes referred to as "shoreys."

"Certainly the combined features of sharpie and dory produce an excellent hull type, retaining qualities of speed, seaworthiness, light weight, dryness and reasonable stiffness after initial heeling. Because the bottom is deeper in the water, the flaring topsides can be higher, creating a dryer, more comfortable, more seaworthy hull that can include more headroom in a smaller size than any true sharpie hull can afford.

"In addition to the properties of seaworthiness and headroom, the hull type is inherently easily-driven. It requires less horsepower (whether engine, sails or oars) to propel than any hull type except the canoe or kayak. This makes the type ideal for short-handed and single-handed sailing. It also means less expense in sails and engine. Yet the hull form is shallow-bodied and is ideal for gunk-holing and sitting on the bottom, and is faster and lighter than other types of the same length. The only disadvantage is that there is (obviously) less internal volume and carrying capacity than in heavier, deeper hulls of the same size; but the answer is to simply build the size Egret that suits your needs."

2 - Modifications in Design

I am going to modify the design of this sharpie somewhat. The cockpit is large, and without an outboard well, even larger. So, move the cabin back a couple of feet. Then, of course, the mizzen mast is where the companion hatchway is supposed to be, so, make it a yawl.

I asked my friend Stanley Woodward (Stanley built among other boats, Moccasin, designed by Phil Bolger, which is a shallow-draft yawl) what he thought about this.

A short note about Stanley and Moccasin taken from Phil Bolger's book, The Folding Schooner:  "Stanley demanded headsails (he's a demonic sail-carrier; I vividly recall beating out of a narrow inlet in his old Belasarius with a huge mizzen staysail taken in and reset every tack.) I suggested the log canoe topsail as more appropriate to the unstayed mast and more effective as well. He liked that, but in addition to the jib and later, the masthead reaching jib-cum-spinnaker as well. I never knew him to carry anything away and expect that he'll always take in that balloner just before the top of the mast would otherwise break off. She can set over twelve hundred square feet of sail and should be a great spectacle reaching in light airs.

Moccasin

So, Stanley took out a pencil and drew up what he felt might work right then and there on the trunk of my car. Lots more sail and a much more flexible sail plan here.

Stanley Woodward's sketch of Egret 31.5 as a yawl

Reuel Parker drew up this plan as a yawl with a sprit boom  mizzen.

Yawl Sail Plan with Sprit Boom Mizzen

Yawl plan and Inboard Profile

This plan has a plank bomkin similar to the bowsprit with a bobstay for reinforcement. This sail plan has the mizzen with a sprit boom leg-o-mutton sail. It could also be Bermudan but, according to Reuel, the sprit boom leg-o-mutton sail should allow a flatter sail shape (no lift), when reaching or running. This yawl version has more sail area, is a somewhat more flexible sail plan than the ketch, has a slightly smaller cockpit and larger interior making room for a wet locker. Here is a quote from Reuel about the rig which he had originally thought would have a Bermudan mizzen:  "I also drew a second Yawl sail plan with a sprit boom mizzen option (best for single-sheet point, and eliminating the need for a vang)."

A Bermuden mizzen has the advantage of being easy to reef, whereas with the sprit boom rig, this seems more difficult. Reuel doesn't believe there will be need to reef, but I'm in favor of it, although don't have any experience compared to him.

I asked Reuel about making this version with a raised or flush deck, and his response was "I don’t think there would be a great advantage to a raised deck on EGRET, although it has been done. My boatbuilding partner Bill Smith put a raised deck on LAHOMA (28’er), and it certainly made the interior larger. But that was a very moderate modification (low). With the high cabin height on your EGRET, a raised flush deck would be quite high, and you would lose your side decks for going forward. You would have to crawl over it carefully in any kind of seaway. It would also change the cockpit coaming arrangement (not much of a problem), and the round cabin front would be eliminated in lieu of a flat front, with the cabin sides extended forward slightly (like my Sea Bright 33 and 36). But the weight consideration is a problem also, again because EGRET is somewhat tender and sensitive to weight above LWL."

3 - Construction: First Phase - 2012 & 2013

September 2012 - Who knows how long this will take. In any case, you have to begin, so the first thing is a strongback or frame to hold the boat pieces while they are being bonded together. The strongback and the framework around it which will support the roof or hoop house to protect the boat while it is being made. The 2x6 supports of the strongback are buried in cement.

Another view

Beginning of hoop house

And, with ends and a roof

 Then, the boat building can begin.

Scarfed, ~34 foot long "longitudinals" being glued together from 12 or 16 foot length stock, beneath the bulkheads

The scarfing jig used to prepare the scarfs

The longitudinals are 2 x 4's or 1 x 4's or 2 x 10's, 12-16 feet long joined lengthwise to make single piece boards about 34 feet long. These pieces are then joined from stem to stern along the bulkheads. This forms the framework for the boat.

Longitudinal chines and plank keel clamped to bulkheads

Somehow, these must all be joined to the inner stem and stern posts which are just pieces of treated wood which look like fence posts. It takes some figuring.

Chines bolted & bonded to inner stem (treated pine)

Preparing breasthook and inner stem connection. This will be at the bow-deck connection, it's upside down.

Bow, sheer clamp, breast-hook connection joined

Basic framework of boat. Looking at inner stem.

Next are some details of this framework.

Detail of stern knee

Another view of stern knee

October 2012 - Once the framework of bulkheads, longitudinals and inner stem and stern are all joined, the topsides can be attached to this framework. The topsides are half inch plywood, scarfed on, one after the other.

Two scarfed half-inch marine plywood 4 x 8 sheets, ready to glue to the frame, from sheer clamps to chines.

Each piece had to be fitted, marked and then scarfed to fit in place perfectly; one after the next. Once each piece was ready at both ends with the scarfs fitting well, it had to be epoxied in place, that is held tightly in p[lace while the epoxy set up. The top and bottom could be screwed easily into the chine logs and sheer clamps to be held in place while hardening. To get the vertical joint where the scarfs overlap, I used two 2 x 4's, one on each side (waxed paper underneath) clamped at top and bottom and screwed where the clamps wouldn't reach.
I'll digress here about screws. I have tried a few types, star drive stainless deck construction, coated deck screws, silicon bronze screws, drywall screws, and a few others. To screw together the 2x4's on the two sides of the panels, I found that 4 inch deck screws worked OK, but you have to be careful the near side 2x4 doesn't rise away from the panel it is up against. 
Generally I found the construction stainless and to be useful, and almost always removed them after the epoxy hardened; gluing the two layers of the bottom together, of the sides to the chine logs and sheer clamps, deck to the deck beams and so on. 

Construction stainless screws from Lowes

I tried the silicon bronze screws for various applications, but found that the drive didn't drive them very well unless the hole was almost completely pre-drilled. They are very beautiful and don't oxidize, so if you have or want to leave them in, it is a good choice.

Bronze screws

The screws I found the be the most useful by far are some made by Screw Products. You can see from the image below that they have a long un-threaded portion near the head which keeps them from holding the piece you are attaching away from the beam or chine log or other piece of plywood you are attaching to. This is very helpful! Also, they enter into the beam or chine or whatever very smoothly, and don't tend to ride up initially as the other screws do, often maligning the piece you are attempting to attach somewhat. 

Below, you can see the outside 2x4 "clamp" which is screwed (with 4 inch deck screws) to an interior one, pulling the two scarfed pieces of plywood together very tightly.

Second topsides piece glued in place

Above shows the space where last piece of topsides will be put

Last piece of topsides attached

Double layer bottom, each 3/8th inch, last piece of second layer to go

13 Jan 2013 - On it goes - sweet

Topsides & bottom on, outer stem will cover topside edges & inner stem

Outer stem has been placed over inner stem and port side wale plank is being glued

Dynel Cloth Covering

April 2013 - The entire hull is covered with cloth, two layers on the bottom and three layers at the chines.  I put a few monel staples at each end to hold the cloth in place. Concave curves  in the surface are a problem as the cloth doesn't stick to the wood well. Then it was coated with clear (no thixogens) epoxy. It took fifteen gallons for the first coat. You have to really press it hard to saturate into the wood.  A few places where there were concave curves had to be ground out and re-clothed and re-coated. No big deal, there were only about four places, and most were the size of a grape or an apple. Two were the size of a banana.
 After the first coat of clear epoxy, it is mostly like auto body work or drywall work, put on epoxy mixed with thixogens with a ten-inch drywall knife, fair it and sand it and put on more and do it again until it looks pretty good. I found talc to be the most economical "thixogen" and ended up using about 30 pounds of it mixed in with the epoxy. Sanding, re-coating and more sanding... Three or four coats of thickened epoxy were put over the first clear coat with the drywall knife, sanding and fairing each time. Until it looked like this:

Ready for priming

Ready to prime with Awlgrip 545. Cloth has been covered with three or four layers of epoxy and sanded after each coat. Most of this was done with 80 grit paper using my 8 inch Makita circular sander, then a final once-over with 100 grit using a six inch  random orbital sander.

Primed hull - 2 coats of Algrip 545 Primer

Two coats of primer covered it well, an hour or so apart, more sanding with a 6 inch air sander and 150 grit paper to smooth it out, then getting the area where the topsides and boot stripe will be really smooth with 220 - 320 grit. The 6 inch air palm sander was very good at this.

Water level

I used a bucket and a twenty-five foot clear hose to draw the water line and boot top on the hull. Reuel suggests putting the painted water line three inches above the actual water line, so I did that. Here it is ready for the boot top to be sprayed on.

Boot top area ready to paint 

Boot top and bottom paint are on, frame to roll it over is in place, all ready to get it upright. Just need a dry day during the week for the crane to get in and out. It has been raining all the time, so, we are still waiting.

Roll Over Time

After a week of rain, on the 28th of May 2013, we take a chance on scheduling the crane to help with the roll-over. The worry is that the crane may not be able to get back up the hill after completing the job. Here follow a few photos of the rolling over process. We used two small 12 volt winches attached to a couple of trees to pull and belay the hull as it is rolled over. We had dug a hole for the bow so it wouldn't touch the ground.

Carlos hooking up the first frame to the spreader bar held by the crane

Getting ready to pivot on the beam

Half way there

Almost on the ground right side up

The crane, almost made it up the hill. He backed down, and we put about six inches of wood chips on the tracks and then out he went on the next try!

4 - Construction: Second Phase - 2013 & 2014

April 2014

Lots of work, but not too many photos. With the hull is completed and it is now right side up, so, she is ready to be completed. This means the deck, cabin, centerboard, cockpit and coach roof, tiller, masts....

First, I sanded the hull interior smooth. Then filleted and glass-taped the bulkheads to the hull sides. This is time-consuming, first pass is filleting using really thick mix of epoxy and talc applied with a "Glad" pastry bag,  smoothed to shape with a piece of one-inch PVC pipe. Then cover with the 3 inch fiberglass tape, smooth this over with a coat or two of epoxy and talc. Then sand smooth by hand. This reinforces the joints between the plywood bulkheads and plywood topsides. I also filled in the bottom between the plank keel and the chine logs with 2 by pine or fir so there were no crevices for water to sit in the two anchor compartments, one fore and the other aft.

Once this filleting step was done, I painted the entire interior with a diluted epoxy sealer two or three times, to the point of rejection. The product I used was especially designed for this, E Bond 106 Polyamide Epoxy Coating from E Bond Epoxies in Ft Lauderdale. It has an extended pot life which you can extend longer by keeping left over mixed product in the freezer. So, now if water gets into the bottom of the boat, it just sits there on top of this coating and doesn't moisten the plywood. The entire interior will also be painted with Sherwin Williams two part Tile Clad epoxy paint once each part is completed.

Centerboard is constructed. The basic frame is 2x6's glued on edge. Then a hole is cut for the lead ballast and first layer of plywood is put on one side, the three 50-lb weights inserted and epoxied in. Then a layer if 3/8 in ply over that, then one more layer of ply on each side. Shaping to a foil profile as you go.

Three 50 lb weights inserted

Gluing up centerboard

Putting Dynel cloth on centerboard

The centerboard trunk was pretty quick to make and install. I made the two halves one with the end posts in place, coated them with Dynel cloth and epoxy, then two coats of Awlgrip 545, then two coats of Blue Water Marine Copper Shield 35, a hard modified epoxy bottom paint, then joined them and made one last fillet at this joint and painted that joint. Next, I cut the hole in the floor of the cabin again. It had to be wider than I had thought as the trunk extends through the floor to the very bottom of the boat.

Looking aft - Cabin ready for Centerboard

Putting Dynel cloth on interior of Centerboard Trunk

Trunk half primed and painted

Slot in forward bulkhead and bottom for trunk

Scribing the Centerboard Trunk bottom to fit flush with bottom of hull

Centerboard Trunk installed

The trunk was made longer on the bottom than needed, then scribed, taken out and and cut and then epoxied to the floor of the hull. This joint will be finished on the bottom when the boat is lifted to install the centerboard.

Cabin and Coach Roof

The cabin sides and coach roof beams took forever. Mostly because I didn't know what I was doing and thought this through and experimented many times before cutting the sides of the cabin where they meet the roof. Here is the beginning of this process.

Looking from the bow, above

And again from the front, below

In the photo above, you can see on the right, the 12:1 vertical scarf in the half inch plywood where the curved front portion will be attached. You can also see the fore mast partner where it joins the main deck beam.

The bulkheads toward the rear of the cabin were only four feet high, so I extended them higher using a sine wave cut rather than just a straight joint. You can see this in this photo of the cockpit and cabin with the coach roof beams in place. The hole for the companionway hatch entry is quite large. One reason is that the ceiling of the cabin is low, about five feet, so, when cooking or working in the galley, if you leave the sliding hatch open, you can stand up - and also have a nice view.

Notice the darker color the E Bond 106 gives the plywood interior. This photo is quite a bit further along, the coach roof beams, deck beams and centerboard trunk having been installed.

The deck beams were made mostly of ash and the compound cuts where they connect with the sheer clamps and  trunk carlins could not have been done without my Japanese hand saw I purchased at Lowes.

Sawing an ash deck beam

Bow deck stiffener with screws which will hold it

Mast partner and screws

Half beams for deck. Laminated coachroof beams on floor in background.

Below, a photo of laminating the after part of the cockpit coaming. I used some cheap ~3/8ths ply from Lowe's for this as Better Living, where I have bought all of my marine plywood, wasn't able to get any 1/4 inch marine plywood.

Laminations - after end of cockpit coaming

Below is the same, but more finished. These laminations were scarfed with the main part of the coaming, 12:1, twice; as the main coaming is two layers, one layer of half inch plywood which extends from the cabin sides plus an additional layer of 3/8" plywood from the cabin back to this joint.

Same, but more finished

In the photo above you can see the rear mast partner (no hole made for the mast yet the tiller post will also go through this) the deck beams, carlins for the rear hatch and the after deck stiffener. 

Below is the coach roof with the interior ceiling of 3/16 inch plywood from Lowe's having been installed center to center on the beams and then 1 1/2 inch Dow board insulation epoxied between the beams and to the interior ceiling and being flush with the top of the laminated coachroof beams. I reinforced the joint where the cabin side meets the coachroof by putting a 1 1/2 wide piece of 1/2 inch plywood between each two beams and another strip of 1/2 plywood about two inches wide, tapered at the bottom, around the sides even with the top edge. 

Coach roof - ready for top lawyer of 1/4 inch ply

Close-up of roof with insulation in place

 Next will be the quarter inch plywood roof epoxied to complete this "sandwich" roof.  Below is a detail of the centerboard lifting compression post. There will be a sheave at the top for lifting the centerboard.

Compression post for lifting centerboard

Detail of mortise on top of post

A brief interlude here as Mary Ann and I are moving from our home northeast of town into Charlottesville, so the boat has to have a new place to be completed. Below, she is being readied to be lowered on to Gil Roberts' equipment trailer.

Carlos helping to ready the hull for trailering - hi tech

Arrival at my brother, Piers' home in Somerset, where we grew up, and my mother, Nichiko, lived for thirty years. Below is a photo of the Sharpie Nichiko arriving at her new home where work can start again.