Unpainted boat

Unpainted boat
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker

Cutting a cork blog isn't difficult, a razor saw does this very nicely, shaping the result is harder. You can't carve cork in the same way you can a lump of real wood. While the saw helps, I found sawing at the block with a cheap "snap-off" knife with the blade fully extended. This leaves a smooth surface. Think carving the Sunday joint and you get both the methods and an idea of how the waste material comes off. Please don't try slices of cork with Yorkshire pudding though, it's not nutritious and quite chewy.

There's something perverse about sanding a sanding block too. Surprisingly coarse sandpaper works well, the fine stuff doesn't make much of an impression. I didn't go mad on this as this is fun, not finescale.

The sails are very thin play and simply poke into crosses cut in the deck with a knife. The idea is that they can be repositioned depending on the wind direction. Once in the boat actually looks like a sailing vessel. In fact I really like the lines. There is an elegant simplicity about them.

A slot needs to be cut in the base to hold a metal keel and then it's off the the pool for a quick test. On the water Cokyn-Baba is whisked along by the merest breath of wind. Looks good too. Next I think, we need a coat of paint so she stands out on the boat club lake in the rest of the flotilla.