Floor boards too short!

I  had to add an extra floor cleat to support the floor boards.  I purchased the timber package, but my floor boards seem to be about 3/4" too short. Not sure how that happened, but I have decided to add another clear to bulkhead #8 to support the floor boards. I figured there would not be a lot of pressure back there from someone's weight and you really would not see it, since it will be out of the way.

I added a cleat to the front of the cleat that was already installed on bulkhead #8. This will allow me something to support the floor boards since they are too short. I have a work light to help the fillets cure since it is starting to drop in temperature in the garage.

Added cleat curing with work light.  

Today I spent some time sanding the interior in preparation for painting. I also used my dremel tool to open up the drain holes on the floor supports. I still have a lot more sanding to do, but decided to start on it and will probably do little at a time, so to not make it so tedious.

I started to sand the port side in preparation for painting.

More Cleat work!

We decided to take a weekend getaway this past weekend, so didn't get any work done on the boat.
I was able to get some small items done last week. As you will find if you are building, there are a lot of small little projects, that really don't show a lot of progress, but are necessary. I usually try to work a couple hours multiple days of the week. I can usually get one or two small tasks completed in a session.
I also moved my epoxy inside and plan to use smaller containers instead of the 5 gallon containers that come with the epoxy kit. It is starting to get cold in Virginia. I will fill up smaller containers of resin and hardner that I can move inside, so they will stay warm. I have an old bucket that has a top that I plan to use to move back and forth into the garage.

Side footwells with multiple coats of epoxy.

Installing the cross cleats to support the deck. Also had to cut out the notches on bulkhead #8.  

Port side deck supports epoxied in place. Note the notch for the other cross support. 

Starboard deck support on Bulkhead #8. I would recommend cutting a little smaller. I had to use some chimes to hold it in place. 

Rear bottom footwell support on transom screwed and epoxied in place. 

More Inside Cleats

I continued to work on the inside cleats this week and I am about 80% complete. The tasks are a good exercise in geometry. I have been taking it slow, so I make sure I have the right angles and lengths. It has been a lot of fun. Below are multiple pictures of what I completed a few days this past week. 

The cleats on the rear transom need to be cut out, so you can add another cleat that goes from stern to bow. I cut out a portion of the cleat before hand, so I could  epoxy one piece of wood and keep everything straight and level. I cut each side and then used a chisel to cut out the piece.  Once this cures, I will completely cut out the section and add another cleat that fits in the space.  You can see the notch below. 

Close-up of the real horizontal cleat on the transom.

Below are the cleats that fit on the center board trunk. They need to be notched out in a curve as they fit up to the bulkhead 7 fillet as well as have a round-over on the side that will point down towards the floor boards. 

I cut the cleats on bulkhead 8 and epoxied them into place below. Again any edge that faces down to the inside of the cabin/floorboards needs to have a round-over edge. On all these pieces, I used the router table that that I borrowed to do the round-over cuts. As an option, you could use a block plane and sandpaper. I had to do that in a couple instances because I forgot to run them through the router. 

I started to sand between bulkheads 7&8 yesterday. I will still need to go back over before I apply a coat of paint primer.  Above the cleats are epoxied and screwed to the transom. 

Another view of the sanding. 

Another view of bulkhead 8 cleats epoxied in place and clamped. 

Vertical cleats on bulkhead 8 epoxied and clamped in place. 

Bulkhead 7 horizontal cleat in footwell section epoxied and clamped in place. 

Vertical cleats epoxied and clamped in place. 

Additional cleats on the footwell sides epoxied and clamped. 

I did a lot of dry fitting before I would apply thickened epoxy with cabosil. I wanted to make sure I was getting everything straight. I would recommend you take your time on these, because it would probably be a lot of work to try and remove a cleat glued in the wrong place. My wife came out yesterday and asked what I was doing. I was just standing there looking at the boat. I commented that I was thinking!! :) Just making sure I had everything right!

Cleats for Cockpit Deck!

 I was able to get a lot accomplished last week and weekend. I probably spent a good 10-12 hours. I started to work on the interior cleats that will support the cockpit deck. I decided to do it a little differently than the manual states to find the locations of the side cleats. I used the actual footwell sides with a cleat cut to fit the exact dimensions of the footwell side. I held it in place with a clamp and set both in the positions they would be in.  I also inserted the footwell bottom piece to get the correct dimensions side to side.

I then used multiple levels to find the location of the cleats on the rear transom. I have them screwed into place now and will epoxy later after I cut the notches.

Cleat attached to footwell sides with clamps. 

Another view of footwell side with cleat temporarily attached with clamp. 

The side and rear cleats on the sides of the boat and transom have to be at an angle. I remember reading another post about cutting them at 15 degrees. I used a tool to mark the actual angle and it turned out to be 15 degrees. So I setup my table saw and made a couple test cuts and made sure they fit into the notches on the sides of bulkheads 7 and 8. Once I got the angle that I wanted, I cut both sides. I then cut the 2 horizontal pieces that get glued to the transom.

The next job was to do a round over on the all the pieces that will be exposed on the inside of the boat. I just realized that I missed 2 pieces with the round-over. oops! They are the horizontal pieces on bulkhead 7. No big deal, I will use a block plane and some sand paper and fix them.  I setup the router and router table I borrowed from my dad and made a couple test cuts with scraps. I was using a 1/4 inch round over bit.

Cleat with 15 degree angle and round over. This is a scrap piece, so the final would only be rounded over on one side.

Below are some additional pictures of the finished cleats. I still have a lot todo, but I was able to complete 1/2 of them. The whole exercise is a lot of geometry and I would recommend taking your time and doing test cuts before cutting the actual pieces.

Transom pieces are just screwed in, so I could locate the position of the long side pieces. 

Starboard side horizontal piece glued on bulkhead 7. I bought a fine tooth blade the trim the extra wood off. 

Port side horizontal piece clued on. 

View of footwell sides temporarily held in place to measure. I think my process worked out well. Everything is level. 

Horizontal cleats on bulk-head 7. These are the ones I forgot the round over. 

Once I measured everything, I glued the cleat to one of the side panels.
I will be putting a couple of coats of epoxy on as well. 

Overhead shots of inside. Both starboard and port side long cleats are glued and screwed. The screws will be removed. 

Another overhead shot.