I’ve been doing a lot of boat work over the past month, and luckily things are moving along pretty quickly. The learning curve has kicked in and I’ve been able to get most of these smaller projects done and accurately fitted up. I’ve put in the sheer clamps, deck beams and breasthook. I’ve fitted up the forward platform and aft bulkhead.
The sheer clamps provide surface area for attaching the gunwales and run from stations 1-10 (between the 2x4s running athwartships on the boat carriage. I countersunk 3 1/2″ screws to maximize the holding force, plus epoxy. Finally I matched the bevels with the deck camber, but I expect that will need fine tuning later on.
Next up were the deck beams and breasthook. I cut them with a 1” camber from centerline to gunwales, sloping to flat at the bow. I found the angles by hot gluing a shim on each side and transferring it to the beam for cutting. I then connected the lines with a bevel gauge and cut along the pencil lines for the required angles. I’ve also epoxied / sealed them.
The breasthook is six 2x3s that were glued together, planed smooth on both sides, cut to fit, and then screwed in through the planks. I left notches on the sides for clamping. Since installation I have epoxied it.
I laid out and found the shape of the forward platform with shims and a hot glue gun. I transferred the rough shape to marine plywood and then made my finish cuts with a router. I put a 45 degree bevel along the entire length so that it snugs up against the hull. I’m a little concerned about whether or not I’ll need to get under it at some point; I need to address that before final enclosure. Either way I’ll only screw it in, i.e., no epoxying it to the platform beams.
I followed a similar process for the aft bulkhead. This panel is basically a “wall” between the motor well and rear seating. I’m using AB marine plywood with the B side facing the transom so nobody sees the patches. This enclosure between station 1 and the transom is where the gas tank and any ballast is located. It’s also where the motor is mounted.
One lesson learned that I want to pass on is the marine plywood transportation. I was on the fence about whether my short bed truck could handle it and was going to either rent a long bed truck or have it delivered. Instead I decided to mount 2×4’s in the truck bed notches and insert another brace in the space between my tailgate and bed. I then used a 30′ strap with hooks and shackles to brace the panels up to connection points in my truck bed.
Current work is epoxying / sealing the platform and aft bulkhead; I’m doing this outside of the boat to prevent inadvertent attachment to platform beams. Next up is shaping and installing quarter-knees in the motor well, and rough cutting the deck panels. FYI: My daughter says hi to dad’s followers 🙂
Forward progress!
Building My Albury 19 