Decking

After Jim helped me get the large forward deck section glued down I worked my way steadily towards the stern.

I precoated the underside of each panel with two coats of epoxy.
I glued in 6mm ply under the butt joints in the deck. Under where the oar locks will go I set in some 5/8 solid wood to help distribute the loads.

At first the coaming structure felt fragile. Graham wanted to keep the weight down as much as possible so there is not a lot of extra in his scantlings. I was amazed and pleased though at how stiff and strong the coaming and side decks felt when everything was glued up.

Here is a view of the coaming before the side deck went on. The solid wood is only 5/8 by 5/8.

Graham told me I would want my oars to be at least 10 feet long. Since I added a lazarette the cockpit is only open for 8 feet or so. The solution is to build some tubes into the lazarette that will let the oars slide in and keep any water out.

I am wrapping some wetted out 6 oz glass onto a section of 3.5 inch aluminum tubing. I first covered the tubing lengthwise with one inch strips of plastic then wrapped that with plastic. When the epoxy sets up I slid the plastic out first then the fiberglass tube slipped off easily.

The tube is very light and was fun to make. I probably did not use enough glass, but what can you do.

The rear deck has its two coats of epoxy on the underside and is waiting to be glued in place.

 All the decking except for a small piece in the bow is in.