Step 3: Bits and Pieces

What we did up to now was only a fraction of the work. A lot remains to be done inside the boat, especially if you are building the sailing version. One of the major tasks is to install the bulkheads and seat thwarts (I'll call them seat-tops). These have all been previously cut from 8 mm plywood. Installation is simple but does take time. Everything to be installed inside the boat is first secured temporarily, especially whenever gravity is not on your side. Then, epoxy fillet is run over the edges of the piece to weld it permanently in place. You can apply fiberglass tape over the fillet if necessary, that is, if the piece will experience high stress on the water. I didn't apply tape to seat tops, for example.

	This picture shows the centerboard trunk in preparation. After assembling the trunk, it will be impossible to reach its inside, therefore all inside faces of the centerboard trunk must be very carefully sealed with epoxy. I first covered its inside faces with fiberglass fabric and applied three layers of unthickened epoxy over it. Since I planned to set sail from the beach and the centerboard is quite likely to hit the sea bottom (it did many times), I used two layers of tape both from the inside and outside of the boat after glueing the trunk in its place with epoxy fillet.
	This picture shows the rudder. The design calls for 3/4" (19 mm) thick rudder and centerboard with tapered ends. I laminated these from three layers of 6 mm plywood and obtained the tapering by sanding heavily with a 115 mm disc sander. The disc sander turned out to be an indispensable tool for heavy sanding tasks not possible with the palm sander. Epoxy and hardener containers with their pumps attached are also visible in this picture.
	Bulkheads and centerboard trunk have been installed (again note the white fillet material along the bulkhead seams). Inner gunwales are being glued in place with thickened epoxy. You need all the clamps that you can get because bending wood in two dimensions is not very easy. The original design calls for outer gunwales only but I did install gunwales inside the boat as well.
	Both inner and outer gunwales installed, seat-tops in preparation. I couldn't find flotation foam in Ankara. Since it is not good practice to completely seal a compartment unless you fill it with foam, I made all compartments accessible by cutting access holes through the seat-tops. Under these circumstances water can (and does) enter these compartments. I therefore cut small limber holes on the bulkheads so that water will not be trapped inside (one is clearly visible at the bottom of the middle bulkhead in the previous picture). These compartments house my sponge, half of a large plastic bottle serving as a bailer, reserve rope, and perhaps a few cans of beer.
	I laminated the mast from two pieces of 3 cm by 6 cm lumber to obtain a 6 cm by 6 cm mast. Here you see the two pieces being glued together. Of course, the mast will be tapered later. My rigging is a bit different than the one given in the plans. See rig details if you are interested. Also note the -uninstalled- bow seat-top on the boat and the square hole through it. The mast will pass through this hole. At this point, all inner surfaces of the boat that will be unaccessible later must be sealed with unthickened epoxy..
	Everything except the bow seat-top and homemade oarlocks installed. Note the tapering of the rudder. The centerboard is also in place and extends almost down to the ground from the bottom of the boat. The bow seat-top is not installed yet because a mast base has to be built first. The bottom of the boat is too weak to support the weight of the mast. A few pieces of plywood buried in thickened epoxy serve as the mast base. I also made a mast box that extends from the bottom of the boat to the bow seat-top.
	The mast box has inner dimensions a few mm larger than the mast itself. Its purpose is to make sure that the mast will not pop out of its base on the sea. In this picture, the weights on the stern seat-top secure it in place while the epoxy cures. Now is the time to seal all accessible surfaces inside the boat with unthickened epoxy. After the epoxy cures it must be sanded, and the boat is ready for paint. There is no need to cover inner surfaces with fiberglass fabric.
	This picture and the following one have nothing to do with boatbuilding. At this stage of the project I had already spent many days of my vacation working on the boat and it seemed that if I didn't set off soon, I could spend the rest of the vacation as well (boatbuilders know this feeling very well). Only the paint job was left and I could carry this out at my holiday destination. With the help of my neighbors, I packed the paint-ready boat on the Land-Rover (thanks, guys)
	Boat securely tied and wrapped-up. The mast is also visible. Time to depart. Don't forget to take some epoxy in case you inadvertently sand into plywood. Also take some filler, palm and disc sanders, various grades of sandpaper, paint, varnish, brushes, the sail, ropes, ... the list seemed endless but fortunately I didn't forget anything.