Today was spent doing the rounds of the suppliers for the new build and other jobs

Today the main job of the day was to go to the company's suppliers for different items, such as tables and chairs and notice boards for the Essex Country Show. Going to one timber merchant for wood for the stem of one boat and then off to another timber man to get the local timber for the new dinghy and some oak and larch for another boat. Then off to another suppler to get some leather for a newly restored pair of oars and the leather for a restored bowsprit. So it was a long day on the road getting the items together ready for the next stage of the yards' work load.

Then in the morning it is back to the workshop to build some cupboards to put items in for the Essex Country Show and other shows we will be attending over the next few months. 

Getting the keel planned to thickness and other jobs

This photo shows the marking out of the second part of the keel ready to be cut out of the seasoned oak plank

 

This photo shows the keel cut out of the oak plank and before it is planned down to thickness and edges trued up.

 

In this photo it shows the two halfs of the keel having been planned and edages trued up ready for putting on the building stocks when they are made.

 

This photo shows the other work in hand like sorting out the oars for a dinghy and the spars for another boat.

 

 

Other than the new build, there are a number of other jobs to do such as removing old planks out of a classic wooden yacht and an enterprise dinghy restoration to do. A Princess 25 to refit and a narrowboat refit to complete.

 

The first day of the new build of the dinghy.

This photo is of the station mould half patterns that are transfered to plywood patterns and then made into full size mould stations that will form the shape which the planks will bend round to make the hull of the dinghy.

 This photo is of the plan which sets out the thwarts and seats and centreboard case and other interior fittings

 This photo shows the mould station positions as well as the position of the slot for the centreboard.

 This photo shows the plywood patterns for the moulds

 This photo is of the mould stations on the plans

 This photo shows the measurements for thre stem and also the width of the keel and hog and the shape that they have to be on the stocks.

 This photo shows the keel being marked out on a plank of seasoned english oak .

 This photo shows the keel marked out in total in the oak plank.

This photo shows the keel just been cut out of the oak plank and ready for final cutting to shape before planning to thickness.

The new boat starts its life.

On Monday morning the new dinghy takes its first steps to be coming reality. It will take the form of marking out of the keel on a plank of seasoned English oak that was sourced from a local forest. Which has been seasoned for six months and is in just the correct conditon to take the shape of the keel of the new dinghy.

While this is being done the apprentice will start to build the stocks on which the boat will take shape. After this is done the apprentice will start to make patterns for the station moulds which the planks will be bend round. He will also be making the pattern for the lamiate stem as well as the pattern to make the transom and also the stern knee to support the transom on to the end of the keel.

Once the patterns are made then both myself and the apprentice will cut out the moulds from a good quality plywood and once the keel setup on the stocks with the centreboard slot cut out. Then five station moulds will be setup on the keel and the build can then start in earnest.

This new dinghy will be shown at the Essex Country show where people can see how this type of dinghy is constructed and can see the boat builder showing his skills to the people attending the show over the weekend of the 14th to the 15th of September.

The build will be photographed as it goes along on our blog page on our website www.j-starboatservices.co.uk under the heading daily blog and latest news. 

A new start for the Autumn at j-Star Boat Services

This week sees the start of the autumn season at J-Star with the addition of a new member of staff in the position of apprentice boat builder to help with the increase in workload of the company. Also to train a young person in the art of wooden and other types of boat building that is used in modern boat building.

Over the coming weeks and months J-Star will be building a new clinker stem dinghy for a long time client of the company and at the same time teach the young apprentice the methods used to construct a traditional clinker dinghy from plans to the finished boat.

At the same time we will be at the Essex Country Show on 14th to the 15th of September on Stand Demo 10 where people can see the first stages of construction of this new dinghy taking shape.

So over the next few months there are a number of projects underway and challenges both new and old to overcome so these are exciting times at J-Star so watc this space for our daily updates through our blog.