To name a boat

Give the proper name to a boat it's quite difficult, but I feel it would be unlucky to continue the building without a name. For the moment I'll call it "Goletta Bianca" which is the italian name for the common tern, a marine bird.

Ireland

The shed is closing for a while. It's time to visit Ireland.

Everything is tidy up and protected from sun and rain. By the end of August I will start with epoxy.

Draw, cut. Again and again

I'm trying to cut as much parts as I can, since plywood sheets tend to warp under their own weight.
Then I cut a bit of everything: deck, bow, aft and rudders.

The aim is to have all the parts ready to be treated with resin when I will come back from holidays.

the aft and the bow

the aft deck

an overall of pieces

Let's start

After several months passed by studying the projects and searching for the construction site, I finally started cutting the first plywood sheets.

It's easy and satisfying. Bulkheads and hull pieces come out from the plywood in seconds.

The equipment needed:
- a ruler
- a pencil
- a jigsaw
- a slender strip wood to trace the curvature of the keel.

here the aft is coming out

the bulkheads

the three pieces composing a half hull. will I be able to get out from the shed with the entire hull??

air mask needed. the cut makes a lot of dust

The Supplies

First thing: the shopping list.

Building plans are clear, they provide a breakdown of all the supplies needed. To start with construction you will need:
- Plywood
- Epoxy
- Timber

Epoxy
There is a wide range of prices for the epoxy resin on internet. I decided to use a product with good reviews from boatbuilders and quite affordable for my pockets. I chose the "standard speed" reaction which is recommended for an average temperature of the environment.
Along with epoxy resin come the fillers (microballons, wood powder, colloidal silica) and the consumables (gloves, mixing cups, protective mask).

Plywood
Plywood is produced in sheets of 310 x 153 cm and various thicknesses. I can't afford all the plywood needed for the entire boat at the moment, then I start with a limited amount, just to begin with the construction of one hull.
I saved some money with direct pick-up of the plywood, yet the transportation on the top the car was quite tricky.

Timber
Like the plywood I decided to get the timber necessary to build just one hull. The search for adequate timber is quite easy as is mainly light wood, like pine or similar and with standard cross-section.

The Quest for a Construction Site

I chose the boat (Wharram - Tiki 21).
The friends gifted me the construction plans.
Let's look for the shed and the construction will start soon.

I currently live in Milan, Italy, a big city where people live in small apartments without a personal garden. The search for a shed it won't be easy.

Starting from February the search for the construction site is officially open. These are my requirements:

- enough space, at least 7x3 meters! (prefereably 7x5)
- a shelter to the rain would be great
- electric power
- cheap!
- close to where I live

The search lasted for a very long time. I tried several approaches, from the cultural associations to the farms, from the abandoned factories to the oratories. The answer was always the same: "Man, you have passion and building a boat is a big challenge, yet it would not be great to have you here around for a long time, making noise and who knows what else!" 

Then I asked to the friends of AIVA CVC (the member's association of Centro Velico Caprera) and finally I received a positive answer from a gentle lady who owns a house in the countryside near Milan.
A house, a personal garden, it seems we've got it!

that's one of the place were I asked for "hospitality": a breeding farm of peacocks