The only way I can describe the first day of the new quarter is to compare it to the feeling of going to Disneyland, opening presents on Christmas morning and celebrating your birthday...all on the same day!
The day started out with meeting my new instructors, Jeff Hammond and Peter Bailey, who combined have what seems like a century of wood boat building knowledge. At first our class was divided into two groups, but was ecstatic to learn that we would be working all together under both of the instructors tutelage. From there it was straightaway into boat building as there are several unfinished projects from the last semester and the prior year's class. The projects are:
The Batela
The "Bootlegger"
Monk Skiff
Catspaw Dinghy
Tregoning Skiff
(The Tregoning Skiff is interesting as it was a restoration project from the Summer quarter which has all new frames and planking.)
Right away, Jeff and Peter started assigning various tasks to people to start work on the various projects. The first task I was assigned to was removing two bottom planks from the Batela in order to cut limber holes in the frames (yes, this should have been done before the bottom planking was done!). Once the holes were cut, the planks were re-fastened and the seams re-caulked. Next, I started fairing the hull with several other students which turned into a few days of non-stop sanding. As the class seemed to be making better progress on the projects than was expected...a second Catspaw Dinghy was started on the lofting floor. Both boats will be nearly identical except for the planking. One lapstrake and one carvel. During this time I also switched to working on the Tregoning Skiff.
You may ask what all the excitement is about? The answer is boat building! Or more precisely that we are (or I am) boat building. Everything done in the shop is focused on completing a boat. Both instructors allow us to complete tasks fairly autonomously; however, they are always nearby to answer questions or guide us in the right direction. As I said before I think the greatness in the school lies in problem solving. I will admit that on more than one occasion I have set out to complete a task and failed miserably on the first try. It's the ability to learn from those mistakes and find solutions that makes this worthwhile (better to make a mistake now then when I'm working on my own or someone else's boat!). I've learned so much in such a short period of time it's almost hard to believe. I can only imagine how great the next nine months will be.
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