A visit from the Designer

Graham Byrnes stopped by on the way between a boat show at Mystic and some boat building classes in Maine. He and Beth stayed a couple of nights with us. One of the reasons Graham stopped by was he wanted to see how I am coming along on my boat. No one else has built an EC 22. Graham has made several changes from the first EC 22, Southern Skimmer, so he has been following my build with interest. 

Graham said the boat was looking great.

He did notice a few places where stringers which stiffen the hull end abruptly at a bulkhead.

Graham referred to this as a pin joint.

Though the photos look much the same here the stringer continues right through the bulkhead.

This forms what is called a fixed joint. Much stronger. It is not always practical to continue the stringer through the bulkhead. You can taper the stringer and bring it to an end a few inches beyond the bulkhead.

Graham suggested that I place a fillet and some fiberglass around the area where the stringers end at a bulkhead. He thought that would distribute the stress and prevent any problems from developing.

If you look closely you can see a fillet and some fiberglass around the area of the stringer to bulkhead joint.

I was a little bummed when he told me about my pin joints but it did not take that long to patch them.

They look much better to me now.