I first learned of the Dublin Bay 24 from The Apprenticeshop leaflet above late last summer. There was a time when a fleet of them raced on, of course, Dublin Bay. The 24 refers to water line length. Its long overhangs make it 37 feet length overall. The unreferenced 13 feet beyond LWL become wetted surface dramatically increasing hull speed when she heels over and buries the leeward rail in the sea. Doubtless a wet ride to windward. Now the boat has taken shape - literally. They laid the laminated keel plank (keelson) (see below), then steam bent the frames (ribs) that give the boat its lines and to which the planks will be fastened. The parallel lateral strips you see are temporary - to hold the shape of the boat while it is planked. There aren't any 36 foot strips of wood for that purpose so where one ends and the next starts they are joined by ribands.
You can see that planking has begun. Just above the keel are is a dark length of mahogany. That is the first plank. The standard first build for students at the Apprenticeshop is a 10 foot row boat called a Susan Skiff. This is a much more advanced project, one that I hope to be present for when it slides down the Apprenticeshop's launch ramp on Rockland harbor.
