IYRS in this month’s Wooden Boat
I know all of you will rush over to your coffee table and pull out the May/June copy of Wooden Boat Magazine that you’ve been waiting until just the right time to read when I tell you that there’s a big old article about IYRS. The photos are a mix from the catalog and new for the article, and the article gives a good history of the place from the point of view of a builder who initially thought the place would never make it. It’s a good read and I want to be there Right Now.
In other prep news…
the house is refinanced, the money I took out of the equity is socked away safely in short term cd’s earning 4.7% interest and there’s a few folks out in Newport who are keeping me in mind if they have a room opening up in the fall.
On the home front, my attention is going more towards the various projects that need to be done before I go. The garage will be scraped and painted in the next week and I’ve been replacing cracked siding over the past 2 days getting it ready for that. It really is in rough shape and all I’m doing right now is delaying the inevitable day when someone decides to put the poor thing out of its misery. It sure will look nice for a while though…
In this last month a whole pile of woodworking projects have popped up: a mailbox, shelving units, a desk, a bench… and I’m still working on my toolbox.
Oh yes, the toolbox, part 2. I decided to make a nice toolbox in the fashion of the old woodworking apprentices a while back. I thought it would be appropos to make it from white oak, a traditional boatbuilding wood. I didn’t really consider how HEAVY such a thing would be. Huf. Of course, the initial design had room for every tool in my shop just about… after making the basic box it was clear that this puppy was best suited for a stationary life. Perhaps it’ll be a blanket chest. At any rate, it was back to the drawing board, and after some thought, I substantially reduced the size and used mahogany instead. It’s coming along nicely and it’s much much lighter. With tools, it’ll still weigh in at around 100# I’m sure, but the old box was pushing 50# dead empty. Not really the kind of thing you want to be hauling out of your car regularly.
Film at 11.