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A very productive Bank Holiday weekend, nearly ready for paint ! Decks all bonded and filleted, who thought you could build a boat in such small confines? I am definitely getting better at the side step shuffle !! The thwarts are only placed in position, I'll paint everything first then fix them on top, I want to keep them removable for replacement if the soft timber poses an issue. They are made from Abodo timber, light but soft, edged with Sapele, we'll see how it fairs.  

Sparkly gunwales and centre board case

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  I decided to fill the gunwale gap with resin to add a contrasting stripe rather than a timber inlay. Progressing nicely, centre board case fitted, buoyancy chambers painted and seat tops glued down. I decided to go for a removable forward thwart seat as I want to regain floor lounging ability up front. There still seems a long way to go.........
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Quarter knees fitted. Seat battens and hatch hole doubler added. Progressing slowly but surely.  

Fitting the gunwales

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  Although the timber would bend to shape cold, the tension was quite a lot so a rudimentary steamer was made to ease this tension particularly at the bow. This picture shows how the bend has formed, with a little spring back but not much. Rubbing strips fitted.

Turn Over !!!!

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Wheeled out into the sun ready for lifting. Placed onto a tarp temporarily while I constructed the support cradle. It is actually very light at this stage, 2 person lift weight wise but 4 were ideal in rolling it over, mid air, and lowering it gently down. It is a relief that it all looks symmetrical and level. Let the fit out commence............  

Hardwood Timber Preparation

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Starting to cut the timber parts for the gunwales etc.... Thicknessed to final size I struggled to source 4 metre long Sapele, at a reasonable price, so after procrastinating since starting the build, I've decided to scarf a join and hope it doesn't affect the curvature too much. Glueing up the scarf joins  

Bottom faired, stem on and filleting finished.

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It doesn’t look very pretty in the photo but it is all smooth and faired flat. Trying out the keel runner also but I won't fix this until after the centreboard box is fitted and the slot routered out to its final size. I've used these fillers and can definitely recommend the 407 for fairing, hard but easily sanded and being a dark brown colour, turning to a lighter brown after sanding, it shows up well. I haven’t turned the hull over yet, just spun the photo upside-down to get an impression, hopefully this weekend I'll persuade some people that they would really like to help turn it over.