Week 18:  Jan 2-8, 2006
The stem is the forward-most vertical piece of the boat.  Here Harold is drilling holes to attach the two pieces that will make up the stem.  They have been carefully cut to the shape and size outlined on the lofting floor.   The completed stem is then bolted to the front-end of the keel.

Aaron worked on the keelson this week.  The keelson goes on top of the keel with the U-shaped frames sandwiched in between.  It's kind of like an Oreo cookie -with the filling (frames) in between the outer layers (the keel on the bottom and the keelson on top).  Long bronze bolts will go through all three pieces to connect and hold them together. 
 

Week 19:  Jan 9-15
So how do you get the curves of the boat from the lofting floor onto the pieces of wood that make up the boat?

The answer is you use a trammel, batten, and mold.  Say what?  In the picture Aaron is sitting on the loft floor, playing with a pencil.  A batten -long, thin, bendable stick- is attached to one end of the trammel sticks -the short, dark sticks to Aaron's right.  The sticks slide back-and-forth and can be tightened when in position.  In this way, the trammel sticks are adjusted until the batten matches the curve of the loft lines underneath it.  Then boards are fastened together to take the general shape of the loft lines and placed underneath the trammel-batten and the curve is traced onto the board(s) with a pencil.  The board(s) is cut to shape on a bandsaw and presto -you have a mold -or pattern- of that part of the boat! (Click the picture for a larger view).   
 

Week 20:  Jan 16-22
Cutting out new futtock pieces -which go together to make up a frame- seems to be an everyday occurrence around here.  While not a difficult task, it does require concentration. 

For most home projects wood is cut at a 90 degree or "right" angle.  Not so when building boats (Hey, think about it: how many square corners are there on a boat?  Not many because most boats have a curved, hydrodynamic shape).  So of course the sides of the futtocks are cut an an angle.  Well, actually many angles.  If you think of the frames as being the vertical ribs of a boat, the shape of the boat is different down at the keel than it is up by the deck; the bow is generally narrower than the stern.  This means that the angle changes throughout the length of each futtock piece (which is different from every other futtock).  Aaghh! 

Here John carefully feeds the stock thru the large bandsaw while Ben (kneeling) helps to hold the heavy piece of wood on the tilted table.  As the stock is cut, John reads the angels written next to the outline of the futtock and calls them out to Kerry, who continuously tilts the table to the correct angle. 
 

Week 22:  Jan 30-Feb 5
A boat out of water is...well, not going very far.  So since the ISABELLA is being built on land, how is it ever going to get into the water?

The real answer is: gravity, simple machines, and water.  Let's focus on the water this week, and the short answer is that the water will come to the boat. 

The Essex River is a tidal river with about a 9..5' range between low and high tide.  Occasionally -such as this week- the flood is extra high.  As you can see, the extra 2+ feet of water makes a huge difference!  The normally dry shipyard was flooded twice a day -with the water coming right under the keel. 

ISABELLA will be launched on an extra high tide sometime in late spring 2006. 

Week 23:  Feb 6-12
The "topping out" ceremony is a traditional custom dating back to at least the Middle Ages.  By 700 A.D., for example, Scandinavians would hoist an evergreen tree to the ridgepole of a new building.  Symbolizing birth and long life, the ceremony is still practiced by many cultures today, although more out of custom than to appease the spirits.  It is common to see a tree or flag placed on the completed frame of a building or bridge.   

The last of the frames of the ISABELLA were installed this week. 

Asked if fastening the tree to the top of the stem had any significance in the boatbuilding industry, Harold dryly replied:  "Nah, I just had to get rid of the Christmas tree somehow." 
 

Week 24:  Feb 13-19
Stanley Dulong is the main rigger for the ISABELLA and has been rigging vessels since 1936.  Stan is usually at the Museum working most weekdays by mid morning  and knocks off at noon. 

In the picture, Stan is busy swinging the serving mallet around the wire.  The serving mallet keeps an even tension on the marline (small twine) as it is wound around the wire -plus it is a lot faster than serving by hand. 

"Serving" is one of a triad of steps done to the wire in traditional vessels.  "Worming" is laying small twine in the gaps between the strands of the line.  And "parceling" is the wrapping of the line with strips of material (e.g. strips of bedsheet or even electrical tape).  Serving is the final step.  All this covering on the wire protects it from the sun, weather, and corrosion. 

The crew had a "mug up" or coffee break in celebration of .Stan's birthday this week -87 years old and still hard at it.  It's good to have you around Stan.  Many happy returns! 

Week 25:  Feb 20-26
Planking!  The outside skin of the boat is now going on.  The first couple rows of planks are now in place.  Typically, the garboard plank is the first one to be measured, cut, bent, and fastened.  The garboard is the bottom-most plank, next to the keel. 

Planks are added symmetrically:  that is, a plank is added, then the corresponding plank on the opposite side of the vessel (and normally from the bottom up).  If one side of the boat were planked before the other then the frame would rack. 

Planks are fastened with locust trunnels ("tree nails") where the plank fits "flat" against the frame and with large bronze screws where the plank twists or is too narrow for a trunnel.  There are generally four fastenings per frame.