A Three Hour Hole

I've kind of dreaded cutting another hole in my boat but it had to be done. So now I have my three hour hole. Say, "what's a three hour hole?" It's a hole that takes three hours to cut - that's what. Such a tiny matter but, boy, did it take a while.

First there was the measuring. I had to scale the measurements for it's location and then figure what the angle of the transom would do to elongate the size of the boomkin. That took some guess work and some "fine tuning" of the hole. 

I used a drill, a jig saw, a key hole saw, a file and sandpaper. As you can see, it is not perfect. For one thing the corners are square and I rounded over my boomkin. Since the transom will be painted inside and out, I may be able to fill those corners in a bit. There was some chipping as well around the hole. But all in all, it is ok. 

Here's the progression of the hole:

And finally the hole with the boomkin through it:

The bracket that holds it in place is not glued down yet. I have a tool box sitting on it. I lined it up with the mizzen location and then marked the location of the bracket. The boomkin will be held in place just by friction and the tension of the mizzen sheet. That will require a small bit of fitting once the bracket is glued down.