Weeks 12 & 13 Shop Work and Suminagashi

– What did you do?

These past couple of weeks, my group was tasked to begin fixing the ribs onto the keel of the boat. This was done by lining up the points of the ribs and drilling them into position. The hole was drilled through the keel and the rib together while it was fixed onto the keel using a clamp. Then wood screws were used to screw the ribs into position. There are now ribs along each side of the boat to allow the internal structure of the boat to be completed.

Completed boat, ribs and centerboard case update

– What did you accomplish/contribute?

My group was able to fix 13 of the ribs onto the keel. This left only a few more ribs for the next group to finish off. With all the ribs completed, the skeleton of the boat is near complete. Also, the centerboard case was drilled and secured onto the boat. This allows the next group to remove it and add adhesive to the bottom to secure it to the boat and waterproof it. This will finish up the inner skeleton of the entire boat.

Teammate drilling holes into keel

– What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?

The main challenge with securing the robs onto the boat was measuring where to put the guiding point on the bottom of the keel. When using the point, the teammate would have to lay under the boat to drill the hole up through both blocks of wood. This was difficult because the one drilling had to push hard to break through the wood, but also had to be careful to ensure the drill but only drills through the middle of the two parts.

Teammate securing centerboard case to keel

– What did you learn?

I learned how ribs are connected to a wooden boat and why they are important. The size of the ship does not change the importance of the ribs as they are the main structure of the ship. They hold the entire boat together and allow the outsides of the boat to be fastened into place and begin to form the full body of the boat.

Teammate securing a rib to the keel

SUMINAGASHI

Suminagashi is the Japanese art of marbling, dating back to the 12th Century. Translating directly to ‘floating ink’, the marbling process uses a richly pigmented sumi ink floating on water, which is then manipulated into distinctive patterns.

Another activity our group engaged in was the Japanese art of Suminagashi. The art takes place by floating ink on water, then making it move into different patterns. The ink can be captured by the paper to preserve the shapes of the ink on water. The art form relates to the work we do in the boat shop and the museum. We make use of the buoyancy of ink on water, and manipulate its form to make artistic figures. This is also seen in the wooden boat building as the boat will be built to use the buoyancy of open water.