Returning to GIS, finally!

It has been quite a while.  Finished some outstanding home projects and I am finally able to focus on the GIS again.  With the help of good friend and woodworker, Michael P., the sides were glued together and bottom cut out.  Expect to have more consistent work on the boat now, watch for updates!

Goat Island Skiff Commences

Marking side panels with fairing batten

Clamped side panels for easier planing

Scarfing jig on table saw with,

paste wax equals,



an easy 12:1 scarf joint for 1 3/4" stock.

Changes and the Goat Island Skiff

Like discovering bits of my grandparents' by making their house our home, I have rediscovered a bit of myself by coming back to this blog. So many changes have taken place within a short span of 5 years since last writing an entry. Now my grandfather's workshop is explored by a new blonde-haired boy, my 2-year-old son, Benjamin. He is the spitting image of his father at his age and I know his great-grandparents would be smitten if they could know him. Shortly after my grandma passed away in 2010 I learned that she had left me an inheritance, a red 1979 Ford Thunderbird. I was taken; I felt it was undeserved and I was not quick to accept. I have tried to not let physical objects hold too much of a person's memory. However, I am lucky that the people in my life that have gone before me have lived lives beyond just merely objects, my grandma and papaw are no exception. Despite my apprehension towards these nostalgic bonds it is hard to not recall sometimes powerful memories in the presence of certain objects. The smell inside, the eyelid lights, the controls, and the view from the passenger seat all take me back. What does this have to do with woodworking, though? When I received the car I knew I would sell it and my grandma's will even stated her acceptance of such a decision. But what would I do with the money from the sale of the car? I felt it needed to be something that I would not normally purchase but also lasting. Enter the Goat Island Skiff. A 15'6" wooden sailboat. With 105 sq. ft. of sail and weighing around 125#. It would be the continuation of my family's love and fascination with sailboats. The process has been long and has taught me much about patience. I purchased plans in 2011 but only just sold the car in the middle of 2015. My hope is that like so many of the memories and things that have helped me recall my grandparents, that this boat will do the same for my son, Benjamin to help him recall his 2 grandfathers and his dad.

The second half

A new phase in a project marked by so many of life's changes. I had no knowledge when I began that this project would be a means to cultivate a deeper relationship with my Grandma. I never expected to discover so much of my Papaw in his workshop. I was not aware when I began that so soon after starting, I would also lose my Grandma. I had no idea that the house my great-Grandfather built, the house that raised my Mother, and the house that contained so many of my child-hood memories would be the home I raise my family in. So marks the second half...

Day 8, 6/1/10

The beginning of this particular evening finds me seated next to a workbench reading as my anxiousness to resume work tempts me to stand. Pages turning, reading slowly and adding numbers. Like waking up in an unfamiliar room, I begin to clarify where I left off and finish shaping the ends of the gunwales. With everything planed, chiseled, and mortised I find myself at a stage I have longed after since the first blade was place on new wood six months prior. The gunwales, in a matter of seconds, bend and flex into the shape of my kayak. I am completely silent. Beautiful. Only after spending the better part of my life studying the lines on sails, fish, waves, surfboards, and boats could I fully appreciate this moment. The temporary braces that hold the gunwales in this shape can be moved to sculpt the boat into many different personalities. I carefully make adjustments and then I notice it..my kayak is crooked.

Days 5, 6 & 7

A quiet mind while working with my eyes to my hands has resulted in small pieces of progress, but little to write of. Recent work has improved my proficiency with tools and made problem-solving within a workshop more feasible. Mortises (square holes) in the gunwales have all been cut and the ends are almost totally shaped. Photographs accompanied with labels to clarify language and terms will soon follow when the kayak takes on a more interesting, kayak-like form.

I do consider myself blessed to have such an activity that grants such mental harmony. How do you provide your mind relief and be inwardly quiet? If nothing, make time, and seek what your mind prefers. Not an escape, just an intermission.

Day 4, 3/26/10

The tools and the wood each wait. Patiently enough that I discover they have not moved for two months. I reacquaint myself with locations and plans. My mind recalls what was missed in my absence and why in this work I find enjoyment. Much of my time is spent building the forms that will hold the boat in it's final shape. These forms will remain on until the boat's frame can hold the shape for itself. As blisters form I begin to wonder if it were less painful to use the edge of my hand instead of a saw. The rhythm builds and the blade sings it's song. I contemplate mounting the finished boat on the wall instead of allowing it the get wet. Out of frustration and impatience I hurry which in turn yields more frustration and poor results. Perhaps that's why my grandfather was skilled at catching fish; patience. He would correct me for casting out, quickly reeling in and repeating. But we all have our own stubborn ways that we think will accomplish our goals. You can't hurry greatness. I finish marking the gunwales (pronounced gun-nuls) or the rails that run the length of the boat. Soon I will plane them down, put them in the forms and finally the kayak will actually bear a resemblance to a kayak.