Making new parts.

 

One of my very favourite parts of the boat building process is the lofting.    

That's the process where, in almost the reverse of the normal building sequence, a drawing in three dimensions is converted to a series of two dimensional profiles from which the three dimensional object can be built.  It's also how sail shapes are traditionally drafted, hence the "sailmakers loft", but the really satisfying part of that process for me and arguably the bit that requires the most practice if not actual skill to accomplish efficiently is when the boat hull has taken shape, and various parts need to be fitted to the odd shapes and around all the obstacles created within. 

Fitting out a van is a similar process to building a boat at that time, in that there are lots of little curves to be taken into account when making wall panelling, and since very few of the original parts could be used as templates, the afternoon was spent very pleasantly indeed.  Except perhaps for the bit about trial fitting each piece, returning to the garage to shave off half a millimetre and so on, eleventy-five thousand times,

The morning wasn't half bad either, given that we'd spent it sipping coffee with friends at the beach, but you know what they say about all work and no play!