: OK, what IS the right hot glue? And thanks for the constructive criticism.
: Believe it or not, this project is going better than the Guillemot did, or
: the CLC before that, or the canoe before that. Then again, it's a labor of
: love and not an assembly line with deadlines. Just trying to build the
: best boat possible for my soulmate.

: So, do you have any advice about Celtic knotwork deck designs?

The right hot glue is one intended for woodworking. It is most often a yellow color. Small dabs of it hold very well and set faster. Small dabs also release best. I knock out stations from my boats once the hull and deck have been glassed on the exterior by inserting a large screw driver or pry bar between the deck and hull. I lay the bar against the station and rap firmly on the bar shaft knocking the station toward the boat center. I’ve tried many different methods of doing this, but the bar knock out method works very easily and leaves very little in the way of tear outs on the interior.

Canoe, S&G, and a Guillemot. Well you have done a few projects. Tenacity can overcome almost anything. Good for you. I tell people, who ask me if they can build a boat, that tenacity and desire will overcome any lack of skill. I’m sure your skills have improved greatly.

Its hard to really understand how to build something or how a method works when you’re working from books where you can’t SEE what the author is doing. So many things experienced builders do are second nature and they are unaware they are doing things that need explaining.

As an example of this:
My brother gave me his darkroom set-up many years ago when I was an undergraduate in college. I was so excited to be able to make my own prints. I got a bunch of books and all my chemicals and printed away. But I was having problems. My print exposures took minutes instead of seconds and I could never quite get things in focus. I looked through my books and talked with my brother on the phone. He didn’t know what I was doing wrong. Finally, I figured out I had been putting the emulsion side of the print paper down, so the light from the enlarger had to go all the way through the paper before it hit the emulsion creating an image. What a laugh! I had been using matte surface print paper and of course, only handling it in the dark, so I had no idea of what the emulsion side should look like.

Perfection is the enemy of good.

This is one of those gems I learned form my contractor boss, who was also trained as a sculptor.

Having all the time in the world is a big trap! You think you’ll do a better job, but you just waste a lot of time and energy playing with over-designing a way to pick your nose. It’s like trying to make your kayak plane. The more energy you put into paddling harder the bigger the bow wave becomes and the more you tail squats. You’re never going to make the boat plane, or reach perfection in building.

It helps tremendously to have a deadline!

I get depressed on every boat I make when I can’t see some progress. When I see pictures of the boats you guys are building where you’re putting on two strips a day I think will they give up? I couldn’t go on with that rate of progress. It makes me wonder how many strip builders do give up.

Obviously you’re hooked on boatbuilding like the rest of us. But you’ll learn more by working quickly and moving on to the next boat than you will by laboring with cumbersome work methods on each one.

When I started boat building I had to try all kinds of woods; Sitka spruce, northern white spruce, pines, mahogany. What a pain in the ass that was. I now use northern white cedar and western red cedar. These woods are the lightest in weight and are so easy to work with.

Stapless in nice, but I use staples below the waterline on all my boats now. Nobody notices and it’s a lot easier for me cause this is where stripping is the toughest.

As to the Celtic knotwork deck design. I wouldn’t do it.

And this is why:
Early in my years at art school I made a plaster bust of my fiancé. I modeled it in clay, made a plaster mold from the clay and cast the plaster into the mold for the final sculpture. I did all this work on a beautiful portrait of my future wife and then I needed a base for the head. So I found a nice piece of walnut. I cut it up into little blocks and glued them all together to make a nice square base for the head. I sanded and finished the walnut base, it was exquisite. Trouble was it looked so good you didn’t see the bust. The idea was to have a portrait and I made a base that overpowered the portrait visually. This is a lesson I always remember about the visual power of parts related to the whole design or intent.

I don’t like to put visually striking images or patterns on my boats because they draw you eyes away from the lines and shape of the boat.

My training is as an artist and sculptor. The shape and lines of my boats are VERY carefully considered. I could put dancing whales and mermaids on my boats (don’t think I haven’t thought about it) but I know they would distract from the simple beauty of the lines and shape of my boat.

The purposeful design of a boat has a simple beauty rarely matched by other hand made objects.

Small areas of design or images that melt into the larger boat design at a distance are wonderful. I use accents of fancy veneers on my boats.

I strongly object to making a boat with its the only purpose being a museum piece.

There is this urge to do things just because we can.

It’s as important to know what NOT to do, as it is what TO DO.

All the best,
Rob