It has been a HUGE month here at the Floating Stories Lab so far. If you’re in our BTS Boat Build WhatsApp group (join by becoming an annual member), you know we just had a huge milestone moment, drawing the lines of our 41ft Narai Mk IV Wharram Wooden Catamaran. In boat building lingo, this process is called ‘lofting’ the boat. It’s the first real tangible step in building the boat and we had been excitedly awaiting this day for just over a year.
Angie drawing the lines of our Wharram Wooden Catamaran
Remy made it out of bed and carefully took his broken neck nestled in the rigid corset to the boat yard where Pascal - our local lead advisor and builder of over 60 boats - joined us and the kids in this intimate process. Having built a 1:10 scale model of one hull at home over the winter, and with Pascal at one time almost becoming the French agent for Wharram Designs, we knew there were some adjustments and improvements we could make to the plans, that were drawn quite some time ago as part of the classic design series.
Pascal, Sahara and Remy making calculations and adjustments.
The decision, then, was to draw the lines at 1:2 scale (except for the bulkheads, drawn at full scale), enabling accuracy and ease of adjustments. Ryder and I had previously built a drawing table with timber leftover from our flooring build at Pascal’s request — 68cm tall, 1.5m wide, and 6m long. We laid out our drawing plywood and set to work, Pascal providing the wooden battons he’d cut and planed specifically for this moment, weights, and other useful tools.
Ryder working on the drawing table build.
Our neighbor, Jules, wanted to volunteer and joined Ryder doing the finishing touches to the table.
Hunter nailing the drawing sheets of plywood onto the finished table.
Remy set to work with the calculator translating the plans into precise milimeter measurements. With Pascal’s close guideance, I had the honor of drawing the lines, a practice in knowledge transfer over generations, from the Polynesian seafarers who inspired James Wharram to the women who supported him and hand drew each set of plans (ours were drawn by Leslie) to Hanneke Boon (Head of Wharram Designs) supporting us remotely and of course us, the kids, and all those coming together in our FSL community to volunteer and support the project. Upon completion of my first set of lines, Pascal proclaimed: “Bravo, you are now a boat builder!”
Measuring the base line.
The Water Line for Drawing Purposes transferred to the drawing plywood.
Feeling the wooden batons dictate the curves, being delicate with adjustments, we slowly worked through our new boat’s drawings, making important decisions along the way. We will go into more technical talk of our adjustments and changes in a video releasing soon.
We were thrilled Remy could make it for this milestone day, however he still has another two months in the corset before he can begin rehabilitation, so won’t be joining us for any physical build work for quite some time.
We cannot express enough our gratitude to Pascal for his advice and support. Volunteering his time, energy, tools and expertise, and particularly stepping up far beyond our imaginations following Remy’s accident so we could keep the boat build moving forward, it’s fair to say he is an absolutely wonderful human. Hanneke, too, has been in our corner since day one, never delaying to pick up the phone when we have questions or are seeking her advice.
Being part of this generational knowledge transfer and watching the kids soak it all in is truly special. And as we start to find our feet in the processes of hand-building this boat, we are excited to welcome the volunteers and wider community — many of you have reached out wanting to support or get involved.
As I wrote above, we have our first video in our planned Boat Build YouTube series in the works, which will be shared here on Substack ad free first.
Do consider becoming a member — the Floating Stories Lab is a non-profit association, funded by grants, donations and memberships. Currently, our executive board including Remy and myself, our advisory board, and contributors to the association are unpaid volunteers. Your paid Substack subscriptions and memberships support the boat build project directly; our ReTISS citizen science initiative is funded with an EU Horizon Grant. We are also exploring aligned partnerships, so do reach out if your business or brand is interested in sponsoring the FSL.
Upcoming Events
I will be attending this year’s incredible Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend, giving a presentation titled ‘Creating a Floating Stories Lab’ on the Adventure Stage on Friday, September 5 at 9:30am PDT. I will also join Hanneke Boon and Kiana Weltzien for the Wharram Women panel, and Kiana AND I will be screening our Women & the Wind Documentary Film.
