Making a lead ballast keel

I wanted to get a couple hundred pounds way down low in the boat since I am building the boast larger than the plans show. It will be considerably more buoyant and so will need the extra weight to sit down on her designed water line. Also this should help in giving a more comfortable and stiffer ride. Anyway I scored some lead in the form of large ocean type fishing weights ranging from 20 to 35 pounds each. I had a total of 168 lbs worth. I made a form in the shape that I wanted out of MDF (medium density fiberboard) and painted the inside with waterglass (sodium silicate) to help keep the molten lead from burning it up. Then I melted the lead in a large pot over the burner from my turkey roaster and ladled it into the form. Now I have this thing that weighs more than I can pick up sitting in front of my shop. Hopefully soon I can get a couple of strong young backs to help me get it into place on the boat so I can bolt it into place.

Melting the lead

The lead has been poured into the mold.

I used my router to flatten the surface of the lead casting.
Now all I need is some help to get it into place on the boat.
The slot in the middle of the keel is for the centerboard to pass thru
when it is lowered.

Painting the hull

started the finishing process on the outside of the hull. This is the first coat of primer and then sanding and then more priming and probably more sanding and...... It will end up a shade of green on the bottom but I haven't decide which one yet.

The unpainted strip on the bilge are there because after I turn it over, I will add some bilge runner for a little added protection in case I get into some shallow water. The sheer strake is unpainted because there are some rub strips that still have to be installed there as well and they will be painted after that happens.

The Whiskey Plank!

Not being much of a whiskey drinker, I celebrated the hanging of the whiskey planks today with a beer. Now I got a lot of filling and sanding to do. Oh boy, not my favorite part.

More planking.....

Well I have only to do the whiskey planks and the planking will be done. Then on to sanding and fairing and getting the keel and outer stem done. then more sanding and priming before I can flip it over and work on the interior.

Learning to use the misery board!!!

My wife and I took a little break and went up to Washington state for the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival last week. We had a blast looking at all the boats and talking to some of their owners. My wife also had some old school friends from long ago that live in PT so we hung out with them and got nice tour of the town and surrounding area. It really seems like a nice place to own a sailboat and I hope to take mine back for a visit after it is finished.
Well needless to say, after coming home from the festival I am enthusiastically back to work on my boat. I got a couple more planks on today and have just four left to finish up the hull. Here are a couple of the latest views

Well I finally got around to doing some more work on the boat. After working out of town for a good part of the summer I would like to get the hull planked up so I cn turn it over and get it inside the shop for more fun this winter. I have been trying various methods of spiling the planks and this one seems to work just fine for me so on we go. Almost halfway done with planking.
Notice also Sharkey the attack cat doing her best to deal with the summer heat.

Starting the planking (it'll take a while)

Here the garboards are one. Lots more to go!