More on the Interior

I was on vacation the past 8 days. I was able to get some good time in on the boat build.

On Thursday I worked on my deck plates. I asked on the WBF about some suggestions on how to seal the plates. A couple responses flatly stated that I should not make my own. Others said go ahead. This is a budget build and I can save about $50 doing my own, so here goes.

In the first picture I have cut out my plate using the same guide I used to cut out my rudder. The plate is sitting on some scrap ply which I used to cut out a ring which will give the plate a place to land.

In the second pic you can see the hole, plate and ring. The bit didn't break but it did burn the wood. I sanded the worst off which increased the differential between the plate and the hole. But it should work. I'll find something to use as a seal and make some "buttons" to hold it in place.

 I also worked on the midship thwart. I took some more scrap ply, cut some tickler sticks, clamped a 1x to stiffen it and got a fit. 

This afternoon, after returning from our mini-vacation, I actually cut out the center thwart, a doubler and a strip to go under that on which the floor will rest when used as a sleeping platform. I actually called Clint to get some clarification on how to set that up. The doubler is 6 mm ply, the next piece is 9 mm ply. The seat itself plus the doubler will equal the thickness of the floor boards giving a nice smooth sleeping surface (theoretically). The third piece extends about 3/8" beyond the seat edge giving the floor boards a place to rest.

This evening I glued up the pieces, the cleats for the thwart and the repair of the aft bulkhead.

The triangular piece of ply in the pic above is being used as a straight edge. It was a factory cut edge and perfectly straight. I was measuring the distance between the thwart and the top edge of the sheer. Nothing on this boat is quite square or plumb, so I felt that was the best way to set it up. 

The last pic shows all of the things I glued up this everning. You can even see my two rings for the aft deck plates. I cut them out while I had the guide and rotozip out. Note that the 1x2 across midship is only a temporary brace. It will come out as soon as the thwart is in place.

I plan to glue down the thwart in the morning.