Building the frame

First of the materials Ply wood for bulkheads and Boat Coat resin arrived from Robert in January and work commenced on the boat itself. The bulkheads were marked out and cut from the front 'A' and secured in place to the strong back through to the stern. All were given a coat of resin with special attention to the edges. At this point a stand back observation decided it was a big boat.

Bulkheads looking from bow

Bulkheads looking from stern

 The bow stem was then laminated from a piece of old recycled Oregon timber and mounted in position with a section of construction form ply which was between the 'A' bulkhead and the stem, braces were attached to ensure it remained in position during the follow construction stages.

Bow stem in place supported by temporary ply support and braces

By this time I had purchased some Joinery machinery so recycling of good quality straight grain knot free Oregon was possible. This was used first up in the chines which where laminated in position from three 12 mm thick layers with joints staggered over the length to ensure maximum strength. I chose to laminate these in position even though the curvature along the boat length was not extreme the lamination process lends more strength and stability to the chines. This was all glued (no screws) and clamped using Purbond glue from Boat Coat. The chines were then shaped following the extended lines of the bulk head edges and judgment (a fair eye) to establish the curve shape between each bulkhead and ultimately the overall line of the boat. Much time (and patience) with an electric planner and sander were needed to obtain a fair line over the chines.

Chine timbers glued and clamped in place prior to shaping.

It was now time for the keel sections before the shears were done making it difficult to walk between the bulk heads. Due to the extended length of the boat the plans could only be used as a guide to the general positioning and depth of the vertical keel section. The timbers were cut for a longitudinal splice and mounted on supports attached to bulkheads so the keel section could be marked to follow the bulk heads. Again judgment and a fair eye were required to scribe the curvature of the keel between the bulk heads. This was cut with a jig saw and took some trial and error always removing too little material instead of too much. This allowed for fine refinement with a sander until the required shape was obtained. With the bottom edge of the vertical keel section obtained, the top edge was cut as per the depths and shapes of the plans allowing for the extended keel length as per the extended length of the boat. With one half done it was a simple matter of copying to produce the second half.
These sections were then mounted in the boat ensuring they were parallel and level using Pure Bond glue.

The next job was the horizontal section of the keel construction. Again this was done from recycled Oregon in 12 mm layers 150 mm wide. All joints both longitudinal and lateral were staggered and again all work was glued with Purbond and clamped in situ for maximum strength. The center board - keel slot was cut after discussion with Robert decided the center board should be lengthened as per all other longitudinal measurements in the boat.

Keel in place and chines shaped

Next came the shears at which point the acceptable Oregon ran out so hoop pine was introduced to the construction. Two pieces of pine 75 mm X 20 mm were laminated in situ as per chines to both side of the boat and fitted to the bow stem. We now had some real measurements and outline shapes to define the boat and it was looking good (and still very big).

The basic frame was now in place including the sheers. The temporary bow post support was now removed and the permanent knee brace was fitted.

 Next were the balance of the frames for support and shape to the hull sheeting.