Schooner Jakatan

The first big day arrives and it is time for the schooner to leave the shed, flip over, and then go back inside. When I arrive straight from the airport at 11am, the crane is ready to go, within a minute the boat is rolled over. It was raining that day but we all had a good time anyway.

Going, going...Hopefully this is the last time the boat will be in this position.

The boat is rolled by the crane operator lifting the straps on one side of the boat and lowering them on the other.

Starting to look like a boat.

The blue paint is a primer. The cabin sides are untrimmed, there is no rail, and of course no keel. All agree it is a handsome hull.

While the crane is there we might as well put in the auxilliary diesel too.

The diesel goes straight through the future cockpit floor. In the final boat there is a hatch here and the engine can be worked on and even removed straight up through the cockpit if needed.

Trying to keep it dry.

The boat is on a marine railway and had to be moved sideways to clear the crane. Rob uses the tractor to push the boat on its rail car back into position for returning to the shed.

Chris checks for alignment of the rails. Remember this system. It will come back to haunt us on launch day.

Everybody pushes to get the boat back in the shed. What fun! Once the initial friction is overcome the boat starts moving, really moving. It looks like it might hit the other end of the shed! Everybody switches from pushing to pulling and Jakatan stops just a foot or so from the end. Whew!

Eric Jespersen and Bob Perry are now standing in the newly inverted (and wet) hull. Bob is in the future galley on port side. We are looking aft towards the companionway.

No bilge pumps yet, so let's use this fan to help dry out the interior.

The entire interior is mocked up with thin battens. This is the galley. On the right is the sink area (see the seacock?). To the left you can see the icebox, and towards to top of the photo is where the stove will go. Behind the stove you can see the bottom of one of the massive wooden blocks to which are attached the chainplates. Remember, all this was built upside down.

Michel wears his special safety hat to indicate that all went well.

We can think about building the rest of the boat tomorrow!