Deck Beams and Mast Step

I began work on the deck beams and have been planing them down to receive the deck and planning ahead a little.


There is a lot of details to consider and one thing that I had over looked was to put the mast step in before I put the deck beams in. This is not a problem but I stopped wok on the beams to get it in today.

This will receive and hold the bottom of the mast.

Trimmed the Sides

Trimmed down the sides, cutting the excess plywood above the shear and the excess frame. Working on the very front of the boat, the bow stem. Trying to decide how high to leave it.

2 Coats of Paint Inside

Terri helped me paint the inside and apply 2 coats over the last 2 days. It looks great and is ready for the next step of cutting the excess from the side panels and frame pieces. This will allow me to prepare the sides to receive the deck beams. More on that later.


Not sure why the camera gave it 2 different shades but the true color is the bottom pic.

Turned Right-Side Up

Finally found some guys to help me move the boat into the carport from the back of the house and turn it right side up.

It went well and after a week of delay, I can finally begin to work on getting the rest of the hull finished.

It was a lot of huffing and puffing but here she is.


Looking more like an aircraft carrier...

After I removed the foundation and frame spreaders, I was able to see that we had not missed any frames with any of the screws or nails.





Not bad for a couple rank amateurs...

Copper Bottom Paint

Painted the bottom with copper anti-fouling paint because this boat will be in the water most of the year. Went on well and did not smell as bad as I feared.




Bought some wood to build a cradle to turn her over and 1/2 plywood to fabricate the rudder and centerboard.

1st Coat of Sides and Transom

Put the 1st of 2 coats on the sides and transom this morning

Fiberglassed and Sealed

Received the 4" fiberglass tape I needed to finished glassing the seams and finished that off quickly. I decided to go ahead and put the sealant on the bare plywood to stop it from cracking and splintering.




I will lay tape out for the waterline and get ready to paint the sides white and put a coat of copper paint on her over the next few days.

Bottom is done!

We got going early on getting the 2nd bottom panel in place and it came out great!



There are a few things that will need to be taken care of like putty over the screw heads and fiber-glassing the seams, sealing and painting the hull. Then we will turn the hull over to finish her off!