Forward frame is fit!

After a couple of hours of trying to get this frame in place, i finally figured out how to do it.  i put blocks aft of the frame to keep it from slipping and a couple of strategically placed sheetrock screws.  Then, I put a marine battery on top to weight it against the bottom.  It looks pretty good at this point. 

Will let it sit overnight and then begin tabbing in place.  

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Bottom port forward is dry fit

On Fathers Day, I finally completed dry-fitting the bottom planking on the forward port side of the boat. Im very happy about that.

Port bottom planking, dry-fit with screws and washers.

The fitting started off wonderfully at the aft end, where the planking joins along the centerline of the keel. By the time I finished at the bow, however, there were some spots where the fitting was not as good as Id hoped. These spots can be filled with thickened epoxy, of course. Still, I wish the fitting had been better.

About midway along the keel, there is an open seam approximately 18 inches long, and about 5/32" at its widest point. There was also supposed to have been a transition joint just forward of the end of the keel. I did not pre-plan for this, and as a result, I kind of messed it up a little bit. 

5/32" gap along the centerline of the keel.

The missed transition joint.

In retrospect, I think both of these mistakes could have been avoided if I had overlapped the planking along the centerline of the keel, and trimmed the whole length to fit as I went.

There is another small gap between the bottom planking and the side planking at the stem. 

Another small gap up forward.

My plan is to use epoxy thickened with mahogany sawdust (ie: Wood Flour) when I glue this panel on. From what Ive encountered so far, this mixture seems to absorb impact better than epoxy thickened with #2 silica (which seems more brittle). The thickened mixture will fill in these gaps, and I believe that in the end it will all be just fine.

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Test fit

Centerboard alot originally ended at the front seat.   I  needed to remove up to the kingpost to raise the board fully.  

I did find that a flashlight shining through the pivot holes from side to side made it easy for me to position the centerboard in the slot.  Cool find. 

I needed to cut the final 2" forward into the bow seating area up to the centerboard kingpost in order to get the board to fully retract into the case.  All is good now.  Glad I did this.  

board goes up and down.  

11-8-14

Started screwing in the center seat.  Immediately broke off a screw in the top of the seat when it hit the horizontal screw going into the seat cleat.  Decided afterwards to use larger screws on the cleats and forgo the glue.  Will plug the gaffe. 

Stepping on the seats prior to gluing led to a small crack where the butt blocks are on the same places port and starboard.  Will glue these up and get this deck on permanently to strengthen these area.  Afterwards, I will add inspection ports to the tanks port and starboard.  This will allow to add the empty wine bladders and inspect the areas for moisture, as well as ventilate during storage.  

11-11-14 

Epoxied seats to framing today,  Forward portion under the seats is sealed with Sikaflex, as well as the internal bulkhead that separates the storage compartment from the flotation compartment.  I think it is sealed tight at this point in time.  Will add 6" ports just forward of the bulkhead for inspection purposes and to extract the small inflated wine bladder (from a boxed wine) that is still in the starboard compartment.  If it is still inflated come spring, will add more.  

I also installed seat drains so that when the boat is heeled, the seats will drain or at least avoid a huge puddle.  

All that is left is to remove all the tiny sheet rock screws, and fill the seams with epoxy filler.  Will try to fair the hole around the drain plugs as well.  

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