-Week 34 Write Up- installing the deck beams, scarphing plywood for under decking

This week was kicked off with the break down of our panel and bulkhead fitting and gluing station. It was a big deal to take apart the table which we had worked at for over 3 months, bring it up stairs and sweep up around it. This was in preparation for gluing together up to six plywood sheets for the under decking. The forward section was five sheets, which we worked on first. Brendan had already cut the scarphs and labeled the sheets to Alfie's drawings, so all Oliver and I had to do was lay them out on the floor carefully and make sure the scarphs fit well. Then we tacked them into the floor with a couple of sheet rock screws so they wouldn't shift while we glued them with a thickened epoxy mix. Once glued, we laid down a plywood sheet the length of the scarph and about 6 inches wide and screwed it down directly into the scarph in order to get good pressure. This sat over night to dry.

Then we all worked on fitting deck beams. They were originally made oversized and now had to be cut down and beveled to match the shape of the hull fore and aft. There is a deck beam at every frame and most of them extend over to the other side of the boat, whereas others tie into the taller panels. They get fastened down into the sheer clamp with a 2 inch stainless screw and into the deck stringers which are already fastened into place. Once each deck beam was fit and dry fastened, it was time to get rid of the extra sheer. We went around the boat with a long batten to get a good fair line along the sheer down to where the top of the deck beams come in. Then, Drew cut off the excess with jig saw, changing the bevel at every frame to match the constantly changing shape of the hull. Brendan zoomed around the freshly cut sheer with the power plane to get it down a little closer before we went around with the 3 foot file boards and sanded it down. This took a real eye, and as Brendan told us, this was the part of being a boat builder where you really use your talent to see the correct and fair shape of the hull. And as Alfie put it, shaping the sheer is where your reputation lies.

Afterwards, We broke out the huge eight foot two man file board to fair out all the deck beams around the entire hull. This will ensure a nice fit for the plywood to lay on top.

Oliver and I worked on installing some extra blocking for the chain plates, while Brendan installed the gas tank mounts and cut some plywood to act as a "shelf" at the stern.

On Friday, we installed the finished surfaces, vacuumed out the interior and began the process of removing and reinstalling each deck beam with G-Flex to keep it down for good. We also glued down the chain plate blocking and stern shelf.

Next week we will work on the deck!

Here is the timelapse video from April until May 15th, 2009: