Week 04 before launch - Decking, Cabin and fitting the lead keel

09.11. - 15.11.15

Decking, Cabin and fitting the lead keel

Monday we finished the decking. To get the boats of our course ready, Yvonne the principal of the BBA announced via Facebook whether there would be some former students to give us a hand. Although everyone of us worked really hard, we all got more and more behind schedule caused by sickness, a traffic accident, one student left the course. All together not the best chances to get projects like ours to an end in time.

Luckily a view graduates came in and helped for a view days. This week I wanted to get the cabin on. The sides and front should be joined with edging posts made of Sapele. I rebated them to get nice joints between plywood and posts.

I ordered beautiful and solid bronce portholes. They will give the boat a very traditional look. To mark the position was a real highlight of this week.

To stabilize the cabin the carlin for the roofbeams was laminated in the same way as I did with the sheerclamp using the cabinside as a mould.













After shaping and sanding....

they were glued into position and the cabin beams fitted by notching them in.

The last but very important point was to get the keel on. We needed a lot of blocks, wedges and a car lifter to get the 720 pd /360 kg lead piece in place. To fix it to the hull we used Sika and 12mm bronce rods with washers and nuts. After two hours work the part was in place.