Thwart install.

This happened over a long period of time, but I thought I would present it in order.

First I cut the thwarts to fit.  I used a compass to scribe the curve just based on what looked ok to me.

 Thwarts in place.

 

Both front and back got a good coating of epoxy.  I decided not to bother with trying to paint the underside before installing as I would have needed to tape out the areas where it would be epoxied to the support frame. So instead I coated the top with a couple of coats of epoxy,

 and then did the same to the bottom.  While the last bottom coat was still curing I epoxied it into place.

I swear, those weights have been the handiest things. I didn't get a pic of it, but when I did the rear thwart there was no place to put clamps except along the front edge, so I used about 150# of weight to hold everything down.

I drilled a couple of holes in the center thwart. My plan is to use this to tie a mainsheet block to the thwart.  

Many small boats have a block fixed to the centerboard case at this location. 

Not my boat. image source: http://www.songofthepaddle.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?29139-Nice-to-get-out-sailing-first-sail-of-the-new-season

The trouble with this set-up is that if you're going to row you're going to get your groin regularly smacked by the stand up block.  I'm going to try it initially with just lashing a block in place using a carabiner and some line to make a snatch block sort of configuration.  When I want to row I can just unclip the block or untie the line.  If I want a more stable configuration I figure I can fix a block (maybe an integrated block and cam cleat) to a piece of ply that bolts into place with some wingnuts.  Oh, the joys of fiddling to make it just what you want.

Then, of course, it all got painted.

:

Making a mast

Step 1 (not shown):  Rip some 2xWhatevers into 1.5"x1.5" square lengths

Step 2: Epoxy the staves together.  The weights are to keep everything pressed flat on the support blocks beneath it.  The support blocks are needed so you don't epoxy it to the floor or end up with grit denting the wood.

Step 2: gluing the first of the staves

The two halves

 Step 3: Epoxy the two halves together.

End on view to show how I oriented the grain.  The arrows were guides so I put it together properly

Step 4: Mark the taper on the mast and plane it.  I used an electric planer, which made short and accurate work of it.

Tapered ends

Step 5: Make a spar gauge.

Not pretty, but effective enough.

Step 6: Use the spar gauge to make the octagonal lines and plane it to an octagon.

octagon!

Step 7: Plane off the octagon corners, then sand it smooth.  I used a combination of a random-orbit sander and a sanding belt flipped inside out using my arms as the power source.

Step 8: Drill a hole and taper it for use as a dumb sheave for the main halyard.

Step 9: Drill out the large knots and fill with epoxy.

Step 10: make a base cap of epoxy to prevent it from wearing away.

Now I need to get a trailer so I can roll the boat outside and step the mast.

A little bit here and there

Still making slow progress.  I've had a pretty full social calendar, so finding time to work on the boat has not been easy.  As long as I'm having fun, I'm not too worried about the boat taking a bit longer to get completed.

I've been do little bits here and there, with about 5 jobs in some stage of completion.

 Before painting I needed to add some backing plates for the oarlocks.  1/2 marine ply scrap and a few minutes with a rasp gave me a good fit.

 Painting took quite bit longer than I was hoping, but not than I expected.  Painting around all the thwart supports and deck supports was a pain.  I put a wet towel in the dryer, which vents into the garage, in order to raise the humidity and help keep a wet edge for longer.  It worked.

 The color is a bit closer to reality in the second picture.  It has a bit of cream to it.

At this point I could install the hatches, which I needed to do before putting the rear hatches in and making access a bit difficult.  I still have on hatch to install, at the stern, but first want to install the rear thwart, then paint the area.  Yeah, I'm at the point where I spend a lot of time figuring out what order I need to do stuff in so I don't end up needing to undo work.

I used butyl rubber for bedding, making a little gasket around each hole.  The key to using this stuff is to tighten it, let it sit for a day, and repeat a few times.

After bolting it in I cleaned up all the squeeze-out.  You can see in the picture how much more came out over the course of the next day. 

 This weekend I plan on getting the thwarts installed.  But then I have to wait several days for the epoxy to cure before I can paint, so I will probably do some more work on the mast.