Louis Charland, the builder of Wiskun has shared with us the trials and joys of building Wiskun on his backyard. This is a continuation of his experiences.

The hull was cemented about 2 years after I started the project and the next year or so I spent doing hard, back breaking work removing the inner mold, grinding down the staples that had been embedded in the mold and refinishing the inside of the hull. And the shed had to come down to keep peace with my neighbour so it was just hard work and I wished at that time I hadn't started the boat, it was too much work.

Once I started working with wood my attitude started to change. I like wood, I like what can be done with it and although the early stages involved rough woodwork, it was a harbinger of good things to come. My glue of choice was epoxy, I used it everywhere and eventually became sensitive to it and broke out in rashes. I also inhaled a lot of fumes which later worried me that I may have damaged my lungs or even corrupted my DNA - but so far so good. Perhaps I shouldn't speak too quickly looking back over the last month eh? At any rate I had to be more careful handling the stuff and I tolerated the rashes, itchy eyes and whatnot.

As I mentioned earlier I was pleased as hell to get the engine in, I could start the prop shaft bearings and other interesting stuff. All my teak came from the Philippines, several of us boat builders consolidated and had a freight car of lumber and veneer shipped over, at the time it was very cheap. As a matter of course, we consolidated much of what we purchased and got good rates for cost and shipping including rigging and hardware.
I had a great deal of help from friends, one was a mechanic, another an electrician, another a cabinet maker, some friends simply wanted to work on the boat for their own pleasure. One young fellow named Dunk
helped with hard labour and sadly died from leukemia before Wiskun was launched.

Woodworking was great. There was a new high school built only a half block from my house and all us boat builders signed up for evening class in woodworking 101. The shop had all the big tools we wanted or needed to do good work and do it easier too. From inside the hull it was hugh, so everything was hugh that went into it. As a result the cabin couldn't be started until most of the work inside was at least roughed in. On sunny summer days it was delightful and I could almost see it finished and in the water. But Port Moody is a rain forest so those days didn't come often. We also got a lot of winter fog too in those days, perhaps from the particulates in the air from the mills in the area (all gone now). When things went well, life in general seemed to reflect that. But when I became frustrated and disillusioned life echoed that also. During one of the worst periods I seriously sliced open my wrist replacing a front window of my house that one of the kids had broken.  This held me back for many months and on reflection, and taking into account other accidents I had over the 7 years as well as illnesses, I came to the conclusion I brought these upon myself. This was great insightfulness that would serve me later and perhaps is my reward for my efforts.  

Galley of Wiskun at present:

Louis, whoever did the doors and the entry to the galley did a beautiful job. I love the one with the stained glass (Native Indian design). I really doubt you can find teak in the Philippines now. Due to the lack of government control, overforesting completely wiped out the supply.