Building Beginners: Episode 7; Swab the Deck…After you Build it.
“You can. You should. And if you are brave enough to start, you will.” -Stephen King
Hope you all still have your sea legs, because we are about to set sail again into the ocean named Your Project!
In the last episode, I sanded and sealed the hull after drilling a bunch of holes (don’t worry, top of the bulkheads only). I had been ecstatic to finally be done with hull planking. For a while there I was wondering if the deck was stacked against me for this project. As many problems as I had faced during those months, I felt like I had been decked over the head with a real plank. But I realized I was on deck to start building the deck…ok I’m done…
About the time I was ready to deck the ship, the world was “decked” across the head with another problem: Covid. So, I found myself with a little extra time to focus on my build and leave the cares of the world behind, even if just for a little bit.
But here at the Erickson Ship Company, we pride ourselves on putting safety first. So all shipbuilding employees had to wear extra safety gear.
Only the finest would do.
That’s our Safety Officer. Very on top of things.
And when employees got sick, we had them stay home.
Don’t let looks fool you, that is one hard-working bear…
After I had squared away employees, I put my ship back in the water for another buoyancy test before laying the first planks. Didn’t get a picture of it, but I was curious where the waterline would hit with all the extra weight of decking, masts, rigging, glue, etc., and put the equivalent amount of weight on top of the deck. It was still floating perfectly! If anything it needed more weight.
Happy with the results, I moved to lay the first deck planks. I opted for popsicle size sticks to start with (which I later regretted). Once cut and sanded to size and dimension, I fitted planks onto the bow of the deck.
For the pictures, I opted to leave masts in place so I would have an idea of the size and also where holes needed to be on deck. These masts are only the first tier of three once I get into the masts and rigging section.
I began on the sides at first and quickly realized that beginning in the middle would have produced a better and cleaner look for the deck boards.
Similar to the hull planks, each deck board had to be sized to fit as best I could. I had thought my sanding days were mostly behind me, but I was confronted by the realization that sanding would continue until the end, even with the masts.
I readied a piece that would act as a barrier between the deck and the bow netting area around the bowsprit. It will be a while before it gets glued in place. I want to make sure the deck is ready before then.
With each new piece, the wheels had begun to turn all the more about how everything would look. Before, I knew inside the hull would be hidden, so looks weren’t a huge issue. But I had realized the pressure was on to have perfection.
I looked at the protruding bulkhead edges that I had intentionally left, they seemed rather bulky and didn’t match proportionally to the rest of the deck. So I carefully trimmed them down before the decking reached those areas.
After that, I kept decking, at that point beginning in the center with each plank.
And decking…
Until at last I was done cutting and sanding each piece to perfection. No more tedious shaping of each board. At last, I had reached the finish line and there was only one more thing left for me to do.
*Sigh* More sanding…
Ponder Point:
Have you ever grown tired of the tedious small tasks in life? You aren’t alone in that. Nothing says fun like a week full of the same tasks.
But it is those simple, yet important, tasks that can make the most difference in life. Take some time to separate the good ones from the bad. Get rid of the unnecessary ones that limit progress, but hold fast to the ones that bring security, integrity, and accountability.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s good to experience some new things here and there and learn as we sail through life. Just don’t lose the basics of showing love, keeping hope alive, and unselfishly serving others, just to name a few.
I’m talking as much to myself as to the rest of you shipmates. After all, what is a ship if its hull has no integrity? What good is a whole ship full of able-bodied sailors if they hold no hope? And what good is a voyage if the crew doesn’t look after each other?
We sail together.
Be consistent, be persevering, be a beginner.
Next in Episode 8: Deck Finished, Only to Redo!
