Turnover Day is exciting; it marks a milestone in the boat’s progress. You finally get to see the boat upright, and it also marks the point where you have essentially finished work on the exterior of the hull and can start working on the interior.
My wife, my son, and his family were pressed into service to flip the boat over. With all that help, turning the boat was easy and quick. The preparation took longer than the actual turnover. (Preparation included cleaning out the garage, which might explain why it took so long.) The boat would be turned with the molds left in place. That would insure the boat kept it’s shape as it was turned. I removed the screws holding the molds to the building frame, then cleared a space next to the frame, and laid down an old foam mattress. The boat was slid over to the mattress, and the cradles installed on the building frame. Then the boat was simply rolled upright on the mattress, lifted, and set in the cradles.
I used foam pipe insulation on the edges of the cradle to keep from damaging the paint job. Soon some additional blocks will be added to support the keel. The molds will be removed shortly, but their positions will be marked with masking tape; the location of most of the interior components is given with respect to one of the stations of the boat, so the stations will be marked on the outwale.
Once in the cradles, check the boat to see if it’s level, then it’s time to celebrate. The last celebration was when I hung the final strake, and I drank a small glass of Pusser’s Rum to mark that occasion. For this event, I didn’t think that the bottle of Pussers would balance on the stem head, so I drank a beer instead.
Update, 2017 04 23:
Today I added some blocks and foam to support the keel, added some braces across the rails to help the boat keep it’s shape, and then removed the molds. With the molds gone, the interior space of the boat looks spacious, but that illusion will be reduced as I add the centerboard case, thwarts, side benches, and other interior bits. It doesn’t show in the picture, but my next chore is to remove all the glue blobs in the interior.
Al's Boats 
Looking SHARP my man !….Rave on !
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On a project that large, it’s always a good thing to mark each major step of the way; that gives encouragement to keep on going. Can I have a ride when she’s finished?
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