I was very pleased with how the center support for the seat went together. I wanted it to be 1/2" plywood, which I did not have on-hand. So, I cut two pieces from 1/4" marine-grade Douglas Fir plywood, with the intention of laminating them together.

Plywood parts, cut from the poster board template.

Plywood parts, cut from the poster board template.

Once I had all the parts cut, (two 1/4" plywood supports, and 4 pieces of 1" x 1" mahogany blocking), I glued them all together with thickened epoxy. The Raptor stapler I bought last year once again proved perfect for holding the plywood parts together while the epoxy cured.

The plastic Raptor staples were perfect for holding the plywood pieces together.

Seat support, prior to being sanded & planed.

After the epoxy cured overnight, I sanded the edges smooth, and snipped and sanded the Raptor staples. These staples sand away very easily, and virtually disappear. No need to pull them, and fill the holes... just leave them there.

Then I ran the top & bottom surfaces over a planer/jointer, and it was ready for the next step.

The sanded & planed seat support, sitting in its position on the keel.

The sanded & planed seat support, sitting in position n the keel.

From that point, it was time to cut the seat. According to measurements, the front edge of the seat needed to be 49" wide, and the back edge 47.5". The side edges needed to be cut at a 15° bevel to match the sides of the hull.

So, I drew and cut it from a piece of A-C exterior grade plywood I had on-hand. With a little minor fitting, it set into place just as well as Id hoped.

Seat cut from A-C exterior grade plywood.

Seat cut from A-C exterior grade plywood.

Without intending to, I cut the A-C plywood "ugly side up" (the C side). However, that wont really matter. My plan is to laminate a piece of the BS1088 Meranti plywood on top, so that the seats will match the transom and deck.

The next step, however, is still to fit the blocking on each side of the hull to support the seat at the ends.

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I suppose this wraps up the "blocking" phase I mentioned about a month ago. The last of the blocking was to support the deck framing, (which, on this little boat, only consists of two parts: a deck beam and a strongback).

I wasnt exactly sure where or how to trim and attach the strongback. I wound up following some examples from photos Id seen online, and I trimmed it short enough to let it mate to the back of the breasthook. Its hard to tell just yet, but that may have created an excessive downward curve. Time will tell. Once I get the bow and the remaining parts of the sheers faired in preparation for the decking, I should be able to tell if it will need a little shim on the top or not.

The deck framing is simply epoxied into place... no screws. Heres a photo of all the clamps & spreader bars involved.

Deck framing with the clamps removed.

Blocking for the strongback, on the back of the breasthook.

Blocking on the sheers, to support the deck beam.

Blocking on the back of frame #2, to support the strongback.

Notch in the deck beam for the strongback.

This part at the bow needs to be faired before the decking can be put on.

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After many hours of filling and sanding, I almost have a fair hull.   I am thinking of two more cycles of filling and sanding.   All the seams have been taped and faired at this point in time.   30 more minutes with the palm sander and we should be good. For the wide open spots,  it is hand sanding with 80 grit on a two foot long board.   This works pretty well. 

Getting there.  This is after two cycles of filling and sanding with the long board.  Two more cycles.  I wish there were a machine for this.  I now have forearms like Popeye.

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The low spots are clearly visible in this shot.  Probably two more fillings and sandings.

Quite a few low spots visible from this view.  But they are all shallow.

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So, cautiously and methodically, I have continued fastening down the first panel for the bottom planking.

Using a 4-foot ruler as a straight edge, I drew reference lines on the plywood to show placement of the floor battens. That made it much easier to mark the places to drill holes & drive screws. Marking the chines for screw placement has not been so easy. I’ve had to cut away enough overhanging material so that I can use my marking gauge — the same spring clip & duct tape arrangement I used on the side planking. I used the Porter Cable multi-tool saw to cut away plywood as I worked my way forward... cutting new plywood washers as I went.

Bottom panel, before much extraneous material was removed.

Looking forward, you can see the panel begin to curve and twist.

Reference lines for the battens helped greatly with screw placement.

Near the forward frame, the plywood begins to curve and twist considerably. At times, it seemed like I just couldn’t bend it any more without breaking it. I followed the technique outlined in Boatbuilding With Plywood, and cut away as much extraneous material as I could, while still leaving myself adequate material to work with. It is amazing how much easier plywood will bend when excess material is cut away.

Here, a good bit of material has been removed from the panel. It became much easier to bend.

For now, my progress has stopped at the forward frame. I’m just inches away from the transition joint. To mark the approximate cut line up forward, I coated the corner of the side planking with a lumber crayon & bumped the bottom planking panel against it to transfer the mark. It worked reasonably well. Soon, I’ll remove the bottom panel, cut near this line, and re-attach the panel for further fitting.

The transferred line on the inside of the panel should help greatly when I remove the panel & trim it down further.

 Once this panel is cut to shape, I’ll be able to use it as a template for the other panel.

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Yes, progress is slow on the Utility. I like to think I’m being cautious and methodical.

Beginning to fasten the bottom planking panel (fwd, starboard) to the keel.

With the panels for the bottom planking cut, the next step of course was to fit one into position and begin fastening it into place. The 8-foot panel is long enough that I decided to position it 4 inches aft of frame #1. That’s just far back enough to fit a butt block to join this panel with a much shorter aft panel later on. (Just how much the butt block in the floor will interfere with water movement through the limbers, time will tell.)

First, I marked the centerline down the full length of the keel. Then, I measured and marked a perpendicular line across the keel, 4” aft of frame #1. That gave me a clearly marked “corner” in which to fit the panel.

I clamped the panel into position & adjusted it until I was satisfied that it was accurately fit into position. The next step was to begin fastening the panel to the keel.

I wasn’t real keen on drilling holes into the keel, but it had to be done. I carefully marked positions for the holes... 5/8” starboard of the keel’s centerline, and spaced 6” apart. (When the panel is fastened down permanently, the screws will be spaced 3” apart. For now, I’m just roughly fitting the panel into position so that I can trim it and twist it into position.)

Next, I began drilling the holes and driving the screws — cautiously and methodically. I used plywood washers over the planking panel. The washers are to help hold the planking down, and prevent any screw heads from pulling through when tension is put on the plywood to bend and twist it into place.

So far, I’ve only gotten about two feet done along the keel. Like I said, though... “cautious and methodical.”

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We finally had a great day for epoxying, and the time to do so.  Boat is now half covered with glass.  Some tricks learned along the way from prior boats that may help someone else.

• purchase a Tyvek painting suit.  Worth its weight in gold
• use a chip brush, and squeegee to spread out and spread in the epoxy.  
• do not apply too thick a layer.  Apply with the brush, spread out with the squeegee.  3 thin coats should do it for 6 oz glass. 
• mix small batches of 5 pumps at a time.  You can do at least half the hull in a little over an hour.  
• I like the WEST as the 5:1 pumps make things very manageable.  

Tyvek suit ready for action. 

glass almost all laid out.  

Timer is set for 3 hours later to trim the excess and prep for the other side. Patched area at stern is nice and smooth fore aft and sideways.  

view from the side

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Here is the winter update.  I finally had a couple of days off to make some progress.  I cant glue in this weather, but can fabricate parts and dry fit.  Centerboard trunk is under construction and being fitted.  will screw it all together then glue up on a warmer day.

Made a list of a pile of things that can be done in the cold or indoors.  Rudder, mizzen step, fit cross beams, and then wait for a warm day. 

Dec. 28, 2013
Not quite as cold in the garage today, and found my 5/4 dimensional mahogany at the local lumber yard that will serve as the inboard rail for the CB trunk.  I have notched the riser at the bulkhead using the multi-tool and a Japanese hand saw, and temporarily screwed it even with the seat tops with a temporary cleat aft.

notch at forward bulkhead

temporary cleat to hold in vertical space.  

Rail from above.  

Rather than ripping into a $100 sheet of marine ply, I purchased a sheet of Masonite to do a template from.  This worked quite well and the curve of the trunk matched the hull perfectly.  Next is to transfer the lines to the original sheet of ply. I will cut a little tall, just in case.  

Masonite template from above.

Homosote template a tad shy at the top,  will transfer this to the real panel.

Bottom fits the curvature perfectly.

December 29th - All parts fabricated.

Finally got all the parts for the centerboard trunk fabricated and fitted.  Will glue up on a warm day.  

But first,  a stupid idea that saves a lot of time.  I had been sharpening my pencils with a knife, rasp, or whatever i happened to have in my pocket.  It finally dawned on me several boats later that the pencil sharpener in the basement had not been used in many, many, years so I removed it and put it in the garage.  No excuses for poor lines now.  

The next time saver was to place the essential tools close at hand in the boat storage lockers. Obvious, but not at the time I needed to recognize this fact.  

Step 1 - fit the port side of the trunk, cut a little tall and long.  

The board on top is from my Michalak rowing skiff, I know it is relatively flat and spans the gap from side to side nicely.  The port panel was marked, trimmed, then planed with a block plane until level.  

Next was the king posts.  the forward post has multiple bevels, but easy to mark in three directions prior to sawing.  The fit was pretty good, but I sanded it a little to get as much in contact with the bottom as possible. Epoxy grout will hold it in place along with fiberglass tabbing.  Panels will be screwed and glued to it.  

Sheet rock screws have taken the place of the clamp for now.  

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The aft king post is now installed.  There is a compound bevel, but it is not extreme.  

Starting to look like a centerboard trunk.

Starboard panel was fitted:

• use masonite template to set curve on bottom.
• transfer to plywood
• mark from plans, note discrepancies.
• cut curve, but leave panel long and tall.  
• fit curve to boat via scribing with a pencil riding on a block of wood. 
• recut to be exact.  
• fit to boat.  

• Starboard rail is fit. It has been left long on purpose to aid in setting the top of the rails and panels level with the seats. 
• port panel is scribed to rail to be level.
• case is removed from boat for trimming, sanding, and final shaping. 
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Final photo.  Ready to fiberglass the inside of the board and cut the slot.

The seat is actually in the correct approximate location and it is level!

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