I spent a very very long time working on the keel fillets. You have to make a lightweight mix first that sinks down into all the cracks. Then, you fill multiple times until you have around a 1/2" layer over the keel. In the morning, I'll put the last layer in, make it a nice pretty fillet, and then apply the glass cloth over it. Grace helped mix epoxy tonight, so we could have one ready after the other. It saved a lot of time. We also got our ventilation hatches in. These will go on the cabin top, forward of the dodger, and they will allow nice airflow through the bunk area. They are Lewmar Low Profile hatches.

We bought Bill Belcher's book on Wind Vanes. It is out of print, so it was a little expensive. However, it will allow us to build a sweet vane that will allow us many hours of not touching the tiller!

Today I worked on the port hull, taking all of the wire clamps out and cleaning it up. It is now ready to begin filleting in the keel tomorrow. I've got everything lined up and the wires and screws are holding it nice and tight. I used screws in the skeg area to get the sides completely flush. It is a PITA trying to get the wires tight enough (they break). I also glued up the starboard side of the starboard hull tonight. I'll glue up the port side in the morning. I want to have the port hull stitched by the weekend, but we'll see how hard I work! I still have to finish out all of the starboard bulkheads.

P.S. Shopvacs are the best tool in the garage

Diagonal Stiffeners

Today I got all of the diagonal stiffeners and the cabin and deck support beams cut. I ended up beefing up all of the parts for more strength. I will have a picture below with the standard triangular shape that the plans call for and one with the size I am going to use. Tomorrow I'm going to start with the hull assembly process for the starboard hull. I will also glue on the stiffeners in the morning. They are all prepped and ready to go in. After the stiffeners are in, I can finally start the fillets for the keel and bulkheads.

These are still rough cut. I will sand them and make them all pretty before they go in for good.

The size the plans call for and the beefier size used.

I got inside to check it out. I'm definitely sleeping inside once I get the bunks in.

Diagonal stiffeners are prepped and ready to be glued in place in the morning.

Bulkheads Stitched

So we finally have something that resembles a boat in the garage! I kind of had a few weeks of not doing much with the boat (climbing too much). Now that it finally looks like a boat, though, my motivation has returned in full. Here are some pictures of everything. I still have to clean up the garage and finish tightening everything down (especially the stern section). The power went out earlier, and I had to do most of the work by headlamp. It finally came back on right when I finished, of course.

The white is just epoxy dust from sanding. I haven't taken the time to wipe it down yet.

The deep V shape of the hull provides lateral resistance without the need for daggerboards. I am eventually going to add some skids that are about 4" deep along the keel for beaching and drying out. These skids will also add more lateral resistance for going to weather. These will be made of hardwood and will provide a sacrificial layer for wear. The front and rear cavities are the built in flotation chambers that keep the boat afloat in case of being holed. I'm probably going to fill these chambers with empty bottles in case they themselves become holed.