Zenos paradox

Or why it is taking so long for me to finish the hull of the boat.



Zeno was a 5th century B.C. philosopher.
Achilles was trying to catch a tortoise. No matter how fast Achilles would run, by the time he reached where the tortoise was the tortoise had moved a little further. Thus Achilles could never catch the tortoise.

To paraphrase the paradox.

On the first day you complete one half of the distance to your goal.

On the second day and each subsequent day you complete one half of the remaining distance.

You will never be able to reach your goal because there will always remain at least a small distance between you and your goal.







The first plywood hull panels went on fairly quickly. They were pretty big and pretty flat. Before long I was working towards the bow.





As the hull developed more and more curve the panels had to be made shorter and shorter so they could be bent to the shape. Because the panels are curving the straight edges of the plywood could no longer simply be butted together.

To fit nicely each edge had to be gently curved.


The closer I got to the bow.

The more difficult the fit and the slower my progress.





The piece in the foreground is dark because I have soaked it to make it take the shape more easily.