The last meeting for the month of February brought sunny skies for us to enjoy and planning for us to look forward too. As we all assembled, we discussed our weekly board question, “Have you discovered anything new about yourself recently?” Answers included: “I am a basketball player”, “I can indeed swim breaststroke (I had my doubts)”, “I do not like ketchup and nutella together on a sandwich”, “I want to be the first female Navy Seal”, “I am an introvert”, and “I can doodle”. Before heading down to the boat shop, our group continued excitedly planning our presentation for the upcoming ‘She Tells Sea Tales’ event hosted by the Northwest Maritime Center on Saturday March 14th at 7pm. The girls collectively decided what they wanted to present this week and next week they will add more details.
Since the sun was shining and only a light breeze out on the Bay, we spent some time on the beach before heading into the shop. We talked about the Winter weather and how it affected each of us individually, the things we are excited for with upcoming Spring, and, as usual, played with the bull kelp, rocks, and collected whatever trash bits we came across. Everyone seems to be looking forward to longer stretches of blue skies and warmth, and seeing town transform as it does the closer we get to the Summer season.
After some sun basking, we headed into the shop to get to work. The plan for progress with our Skunk Island Skiff was to cut our bottom out from a large piece of marine plywood using the bandsaw, and then attach it onto the boat after drilling pilot holes and installing the fasteners. After the bottom was fitted, the girls working on the boat used block planes to work the edges down to fairness with the planks where the bottom meets. The next step is to take the bottom off-now that the pilot holes are in place, apply Sikaflex to the edges for a strong, water-tight hold, and attach the bottom with the fasteners.
The other girls continued progress with their individual bench projects- the tool trays. Some of them are focused on chiseling the edges they cut with the Japanese pull saws, some are working with the grooving plane, and others are moving towards final assembly! All of the girls have expressed how cool it is to get to know each of the tools that we use, and become more comfortable with how to use and adjust them.
We also had a surprise visitor! A photographer and reporter from the Peninsula Daily News came into the shop and asked to take photos of the girls at work, and a few questions about their experience with the Girls Boat Project. The issue came out last Thursday, and one of our girls, Willa, was on the cover! Many thanks to the Peninsula Daily News for coming by to see what our work is about. Hopefully it will raise awareness for the work done at the Northwest Maritime Center, and maybe even inspire other girls to get involved in the future!
Next week we hope to get back out on the water with our trusty boat, Onward, once again- if the weather permits!