Good evening. I finished the first part of the glue today. I've taken a lot of pictures so if there is something you want to see that isn't below let me know.
My grandad is helping me with this boat on the weekends. I love having him around and am thankful he is able to help. He made a comment today that he can't wait to get this done so we can go fish! Doing well for 87...
Last weekend we set up all of the stations, stitched the bottom hull panels, and placed it on the stations. Monday night I came home and attached the side panels. Then I worked it for a few hours and had it done but I didn't like the way it was going together without a screw here and there holding things in place. Tuesday night I pulled everything back off and reset everything by using a few screws. Especially on the hull to pull it down on the stations. Each night I did a little more and by late last night I was happy with the way it looked and ready to glue.
I decided to attach the gunwales since I had the decks on there. I ended up taking them off due to the pic below.
Hmm, this wasn't supposed to happen and had me stumped for a few minutes. I checked everything. It turns out I didn't cut the sheet I used for the gunwales down to 8ft. Once I trimmed both ends of the gunwales and shifted the front deck back it fit as it should have using the gunwales to check. Then I just set them aside. Thankfully I caught that for all of the other sheets. Can someone please tell me why high end lumber is not 4x8ft?
Everything is lining up good.
This had me checking measurements again. It was consistent all the way through the stations. 3 3/8" isn't enough. I lowered them and tacked them in place.
Getting ready to attach the transom.
Ready to start drilling holes for stitches.
I was glad to get to this point last Sunday night.
I fought the front and ended up just using this for weight to try and keep the wood bent down so I could work the stitches. A third hand if you will.
The look last Monday night. I couldn't get it to sit down on the stations.
The look of the bow after SEVERAL tries. I cussed and had thoughts of putting a hammer through it before I got it to this point. A rounded chine would have been easier. The biggest problem was it wanted to fold rather than give me the gap I wanted in between the panels. I like the way it turned out and was pleased with the results. As long as it stayed that way..
The look last night. There was still a hump from that one piece of 1/4" sticking up. I used that to hold it in place. I took care of it before I glued it up.
Grandad helping me tidy up a few things and even up a spot prior to gluing.
Big hurdle for me. I'll check the glue tomorrow. It's supposed to get down to the low 30's tomorrow night so it will delay my cure time considerably. I've moved my resin inside. When it's ready I'll finish up these spots and start shaping getting ready for taping and fiberglass next weekend.
I'm not sure if I would put the decks on the strongback if I built another one of these. It impeded access to those areas and made it more difficult. BUT, it was nice having them as guides. I might cut a copy out in the future with a BIG hole so I could reach back up to the hull from the bottom. I'm also over not wanting to use a screw. It made it a lot easier working by myself. I kept shifting the whole boat around and the screws just kept everything in check.
Again, if anyone wants to see a particular pic that wasn't posted, let me know. Happy early Thanksgiving everyone!