More topside work

I cut, fitted and laid down strips of 6 mm plywood to reinforce the bottom where we will be stepping. It proved harder than I expected. I made mistakes, and ripping long narrow pieces with a handheld jigsaw was tough. Then gluing the strips down was hard: I couldn't use nails or screws which would poke through the bottom, so I had to work with many stones to weigh the strips down. Fortunately there's no shortage of stone in our village and property. Photo number two shows the last stone on the tip on one strip which needed extra gluing.

I then set nails, puttied, sanded and gave the insides the first coat of epoxy. The wood looks beautiful, but as before I have to use paint: varnished epoxy would not do well in the harsh Mediterranean sun. Photos one and two show the result.

The next step was the carlins that frame the side decks. I had four meter boards that fit the length with only two inches (5 cm) to spare. I made shallow saw cuts to help the bending, cut one end at the appropriate compound angle, fit the carlin with clamps and the marked the end and cut it at another compound angle. After a fair bit of rasping it all fit together. Repeat for other side. I drilled recessed pilot holes, glued and screwed the carlins on, then filled the screw holes and the saw cuts (second photo).

The side decks are two pieces each, marked, cut and butt-joined underneath. Before laying them on I glued wood blocks to the sides to accept thole pins: per local practice I intend to use them with loops of line on the oars that I will make later on.

The last two photos show the side decks and foredeck in place with epoxy compound and nails. There will be more nail setting, puttying, sanding and finishing, but the carpentry on the boat is done. Centerboard and rudder are already cut and need laminating. Mast and oars remain. Hopefully all will be done before the end of summer.

Foredeck etc.

The last two weeks have been busy. I first put on the rubrails (first photo), which will support fore and side decks, and they contributed a huge amount of stiffness to the sheer strakes. It took a good number of shallow saw cuts to make them bend, and many stainless steel screws driven from the inside of the boat.

I then added an extra layer of plywood to the transom above the bench for extra stiffness for the planned small outboard. I also put in supports for the side decks, visible in the second photo. Some were added to the tops of frames, some to the transom and forward bulkhead, and some were screwed and glued to the insides of the sheer strakes. You can also see that most of he bottom has been epoxied in preparation for gluing down narrow strips of plywood (mostly cut already) to stiffen the hull where it is stepped on.

The I epoxied the inside of the forward compartment and built a king plank down the middle to support the foredeck, reinforced on the side with tropical hardwood.  I also had a blank piece for the mast step and components of the mast partner cut. The two pieces that will take the brunt of the force were glued on and  screwed from the inside with large stainless steel screws, visible on either side of the king plank in the third photo. I suspect everything is stronger than it needs to be, but I'm not taking chances with an unstayed mast.

The fourth photo shows details of the mast partner. The cross piece with be secured with bolts. I still need to fix a small board on the fore bulkhead for the mast to rest against and cut a curve off the inside of the cross piece to fit the mast. Also every corner will be rounded for looks, safety and ease of putting in the mast. The square piece that will become the mast step is visible on the bottom. and will need to be fitted and the bottom cleats leveled before an appropriate-sized hole is cut into it for the mast.   

Finally I put on the curved foredeck, which was nailed and screwed onto rubrails, king plank and reinforced bulkhead (last photo). 

What remains now is reinforcing  the bottom with strips of plywood, putting in the carlins for the side deck, and cutting and laying on the side decks. Then I will need to finish the inside with epoxy and paint to finish the boat itself, before making centerboard and rudder, mast and sprit. But the end is in sight!