Tonight I glued up my first gunwale. It took me an hour to shape the end. I copied the shape of the angles at the stem on light cardboard, traced them onto the end of the gunwale and tried a combination of cutting and sanding. The method that did the trick was simply cutting both angles with the Japanese saw. I did shape up the curves edge with the sander.
I coated the inside of the gunwale with epoxy, thickened some more epoxy and slathered it on. I got a good consistency and clamped the thing on. I started at the stem, since I wanted that to be a tight fit. The far end of the strip rested nicely on the bench while I got the clamps started. Then I moved all the way to the other end. I tapped the gunwale with a hammer and block of wood to get it even with the sheer strake and then cleaned up the squeeze out with a rag soaked in alcohol. I think it turned out pretty nicely.
I believe I can do the finished end a little quicker on the next one. Maybe I'll get to it tomorrow evening.
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