Monday, February 04, 2008

Ash for the Tillers

Today was a fine day for early February in Mississippi. A strong southerly breeze brought warm air from the Gulf, getting the temperature up to almost 80F. I took advantage of the sunshine and moved out in the open, where I could set up my table saw and thickness planer to process some rough ash I bought last week to make the laminated tillers. The tillers are another of those small projects that I can start in the garage shop when I'm away from the main building shed. I hope to get them glued up soon, but first I have to go back to south Florida for a few days to work with my friend, David Halladay, of Boatsmith. This time it won't be on a teak pergola or some other extravagance for a Palm Beach mansion, but instead on a much more reasonable project: a Tiki 30 catamaran that he has decided to build on spec. I can't wait to get involved, and I've been invited to help with the hull assembly on Wednesday. I'll be there three days, and it's just as well, since weather like today this time of year is fleeting here in Mississippi. According to the forecast, I'll be leaving just ahead of another strong cold front that will bring more rain.

I'll report back here in a few days on my impression of the Tiki 30 project, but more than ever I remain convinced that in choosing the Tiki 26 I have picked the right boat for my needs. If you want to learn more about David's Tiki 30, check out his blog that I just set up for him here:

Pro-Built Tiki 30

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