Building ‘Sharpy’ Part 14

'V'-shaped Stern Post

Transom bits (Less two pieces I have yet to make)

At last I was able to make a start at building the transom. In all, there are nine pieces that have to be shaped and glued together: there’s the central five-sided stern post, six edge cleats, all with angled sides, and two panels of plywood. Unlike any other transom I’ve seen, this one slopes forward to give a streamlined appearance, and it has a cross-section in the form of the letter ‘v’. It will look elegant when it is finished, but the construction needs some precision so that the hull side panels and the floor panel will fit it exactly. They will butt directly onto the inner edges of the transom panels. The aft deck panel will be fitted to the upper edges of the transom and their associated cleats.


I shall need at least an hour, perhaps two, to finish shaping and gluing the parts together, but if all goes well, I shall be very satisfied with the end result. Then I shall need to fashion the stem post, so that I can do a trial assembly of the side panels and the frames, but not until I have fitted the sheer strakes and the chine logs to the side panels.


Building ‘Sharpy’ is giving me an enormous amount of pleasure and satisfaction. For me, there’s little that can stimulate and excite me as much as using my hands to create an individual piece of craftsmanship in the form of a sailing vessel, especially one tailored for my own use. The expectation and thrill of sailing her, urges me on to see the job through to completion. How long that will take is anyone’s guess.