Subject: [baidarka] accuracy
From: Wayne Steffens (wsteffen@skypoint.com)
Date: Thu Dec 27 2001 - 22:14:02 EST
One of the things that always gets in my way is my damned perfectionism.
This is particularly troublesome when doing something I'm not all that
skilled at, like woodworking. My first boat was just practice, and I wasnt
really trying to duplicate anything. Its quite imperfect, and I dont care.
When I'm deliberately trying to get something that looks and performs
similar to the original, how close is close enough? If for example one of
my gunnel tips droops 1/4 inch more than the other, is it reason to start
over? When is it? 1/2 inch? 1.5 inches? If I have 1 inch less rocker than
I'm supposed to (as I did in my Aleut boat), or if one of my x-sections is
off a bit, should I take great pains to correct it? At what point does a
minor mistake or imperfection affect peformance noticeably? One of the
reasons I choose these types of boats to build is precisely because of
their imperfections (which make them perfect to me), and yet I still want
to replicate things with perfect accuracy. Something tells me that even the
original builders didnt have that great degree of precision, and I doubt
they were measuring 1/4 inch droops over 19 feet. Doesnt make any sense,
and I seem to waste a lot of time wondering how do stuff perfectly so I
dont alter the performnce too much. Some of this is good, as I dont want to
screw up too bad, but at what point or at what magnitude do the
imperfections render a replica a non-replica? I dont mind being imperfect
as long as I'm within the bounds of imperfection deemed acceptable by the
original builders, and they arent around to tell me.
Gunnnels cut, shaped and ready to scarf. Again.
Just babbling. Sorry, I probably need to get out more, and its not even
January yet. ;-)
wayne
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