Part One - Part Two - Part Three

Part Three

With the all the glassed and epoxied surfaces sanded, it was now ready for primer paint. Two coats of Brightside primer was now painted on and preparations made to move the boat from my shop area to the garage for all the finish work.

Finally, we have a coming out party for "Bijou". We have a little help with moving the boat from my shop from my son and grandson. Loaded on the trailer it will be a short trip down to the garage stall where she will be finished.

Casting the ballast is the next job to be done. The mold was constructed based upon a pattern made from the skeg area on the boat. This mold was coated with sodium-silicate to protect the wood from the heat of the molten lead. Cutting, shaping and drilling the lead casting was done with wood working tools, as lead is not that much different from dense wood. The slight curvature to conform to the hull shape was accomplished by laying the casting on a temporary shape and working it to shape with a good old fashion sledge hammer.

The finishing of the boat is both very rewarding and at the same time very annoying as in its current form now there is always the tendency to want to get it done and get on with the sailing. This then is the time to try and slow down and try to get a result that will be a credit to all the great boat builders that have preceded you. I have found that to do a credible job the finishing will typically take as much time as the basic build itself.

We have now completed the finish sanding, painting, trim and most hardware installation.

Both of the centerboards were installed and checked to see if they retracted properly.

After much intense work we have now arrived at the moment of truth, launching and sailing her.

The spars are made using aluminum extrusions ordered from Dwyer Spars, with all fitting and riveting done by myself. The sails were ordered from Rolly Tasker, and most hardware was ordered from Duckworks.

WOW, it really does sail. I think that it is interesting that on its first sail we have a 13ft boat alone in the harbor with an 800ft ore boat in the background at Two Harbors, Mn.

After seeing the pictures of her sailing, it became apparent to me that the boat needed a boot stripe to de-emphasize its plain sides, which is what was done after it was brought home. There always seems to be things that need to be done.

The final step in this build was the finishing of the interior. Cushions, trim and accessories were added to complete the build.

Just as hoped for at the beginning we had two bunks, a port-a-potty and a nice galley area. What more could we have hoped for.

The final pictures show "Bijou" as she is today, with her boot stripe and all her trim.

We had her at SailOklahoma 2012 where despite cooler than normal weather we had a few great sails. The greatest thrills that we could have hoped for occurred their when Howard Rice sailed "Bijou" with me for quite a few miles. To have him wring it out and feel that it did sail quite well was certainly a great thrill.