Last week we attached the transom and sat the moulds on the keel. She's starting to look like a boat now. This week, we'll hopefully begin steam bending the oak ribs. Sockets have been cut into the centreline for the heels of 100 frames.
Once all the large backbone parts are cut, they can be bolted together. The stem, sternpost and knees are all tennoned into the wood keel, then bolted with high tensile bronze bolts. This photo taken at night shows the backbone assembled for the first time.
The first job now the timber has arrived is to cut out the centreline components. Stem, keel, sternpost, deadwoods and knees. Here, Dan is chiseling the stem rabbet from some lovely oak.
We've been discussing the idea of producing handbuilt wooden bikes for a while and the time came to actually build one. The result is astonishing! The first one is a compact single speed roadbike made of ash with a purpleheart centre stripe. It weighs in at 19.5 lbs and goes like a rocket. The ride is like nothing else - stiff, yet somehow compliant with none of the buzz you get from carbon fibre. The next stage will be to adapt the process so we can build them to order. More photos to follow...
