The beginning of the beginning!

Using a plumb bob, we found the center line on the floor to double check where our stem support brackets were landing.  They were perfectly in line with the rest of our set up!  We used the caulking gun to glue the stand to the floor to support the stems.

We put the glued up garboard planks on to the setup to see how they fit, they look great!

Finally! We are epoxying the hog to the stems and frames. 

We clamped it up and double checked to make sure it was centered on our marks. Then we cleaned up the excess epoxy.

Finalizing our setup

We screwed the molds to the strong back, while making sure they were perpendicular.

The piece we used for the keelson was 1/4" too thin, so we added wood to make it the 1 1/2" that is required in the plans.  We marked the pieces of the keelson to make sure they were centered. Then we glued it together using epoxy.  We then clamped it to our bench so it holds in place and dries flat.

                                             

The start of the garboard plank

We are squaring up the molds using the speed square and clamping the keelson in place.

We are gluing the garboard plank, which is the first plank to go on our set up. While lining up the scarph joints, we made sure the hole points were in a straight line using a level.

Before gluing up your first planks, it is SO IMPORTANT to watch this video about plank glue ups.  Forward to the 5 minute mark - the first part of the video is about different techniques for cutting scarph joints.  Study the sheets in the plans and mark the holes that you are supposed to line up!

Another hard working week!

 "I broke all my nails but one."  -D'Lachanique

Gluing and clamping the last two frames together.

Cleaning up the frames, we used a round over router bit to make the edges that will be seen in our boat smooth.

Using the orbital sander to clean up epoxy on the frames.

Clamping the frame down to the moulds. Everything lines up!

Planning ahead, we used packing tape to tape off the ends of each mould so when we plank the boat the epoxy will not stick to the moulds.

Starting on the stems and "hog" (keelson)

In our lumber rack, we had a perfect piece of knot-free Spruce to use for the "hog" or the keelson.  We used a router to round the edges of the hog so it would fit nicely into the mould set-up. 

Gluing the inner stems together. We decided to use the marine plywood stems that came with the kit instead of making them out of hardwood.  

All stations are up!

The set up of all the moulds went quickly.

We cut out the stem support brackets and added them to the set up.  

All the moulds are clamped on until we get them parallel and square. We built stands to hold our stem guides at the right height at both the bow and stern.  Once we get  the stem guides centered on our set up and squared to the moulds, we'll glue them to the floor too.   

Putting the gussets back in after they were modified to fit the set up. 

The shop has great natural light...

 While the new gussets were added to stiffen the frame; we epoxied the first 2 frames together and clamped them carefully.  Once we got them perfectly lined up, we let them sit over night until the epoxy cures.