Rebuilding Wilson #3: The APRON/FOREFOOT INTERSECTION IS WHERE IT REALLY BEGINS!

[bob mitchell]

 The photos show the critical intersection of the apron/forefoot.The APRON) is the six layers of three quarter inch plywood on the left. It runs from here all the way to the back of the boat, forming the pivot that deals with the huge torques between the masts and the 6500 lb. lead ballast keel. The the ballast keel and the floor timbers bolt through the apron, with the keel below and the frames above.. You can see one of the countersunk holes for one of the 1/2" bolts that holds a floor timber in place.

         The plan is to start at the end of the apron shown, and leaving everything else alone, replace the first 8 to 16 feet, using what is in place to shape it. (The deadwood below seems solid and will essentially be a jig as the six layers of 3/4" plywood are glued, screwed, and laminated into shape with appropriate overlaps above each joints.)

       Why bother? The  apron in this area is shot, even though it looks good in the photo, with its resin slathered outside, I can run a screw driver right in. Same with the stem. I guess that's what 20 years of neglect in FRESHWATER will do. But there is so much good boat still there, and once you really think about it, gluing and screwing together six layers of 12" wide plywood sounds reasonable, replacing all the bolts to the floor timber as you go. Certainly not a huge cost in materials. (6 or 7 sheets @ $75 per sheet, A lot of 1/2"x12" galvanized bolts, dipped in coal tar up to the threads, and the white oak for the floor timbers, which I have already gotten by hauling off the butt logs of downed urban trees and milling them myself.) STILL, and I say this with no humor, I wake up at three or four in the morning with a lot of doubts about the project. No one knows what the future will bring.

        I will leave as much exterior in place, and support the boat shape in several different ways, until the keelson, stem assembly is back in place - then I will work the exterior. The next picture is from Dennis Gaffney's boat Le Bateau Sans Souci (truly "The Boat With No Worries") showing a top view of the apro/forefoot junction, .