In the summer, while at camp Kieran learned how to sail using a Laser sailboat. During this visit he and I made a wooden model of his summer sail boat.

sketching wood boat model plan

K looked online and got the basic dimensions of a Laser class dingy and so we set out to make a scale model.  The hull is quite shallow and so 1 inch bass wood was all that was needed to make the hull. 

working on a wood boat model

A combination of small planes, chisels and sanders were used to shape the hull. A wedged board held the bow of the boat while Kieran worked shaping the hull.  Interestingly the bottom of a Laser is flat.

making wood boat

The cockpit was initially  cleared out by drill press using a forstner bit. I ground the tip off a 3/4 inch bit years ago so that I could get a flat bottom, and have used it many times. The final shaping was done by hand with chisels 

wooden boat

Sanded, sealed and drying before paint. The mast and boom are to scale and on deck you can see the material that will be used for the dagger board and rudder.  All the wood is sealed with wood conditioner. Incidentally with the dagger board installed the model floats on a very even keel and is disinclined to tip over. 

There remains several coat of high gloss white and a stand to show the boat to be made.

 

Cheers ianw