Eva Too

Or, maybe we could call this post “Waiting for epoxy to cure, episode 496.”

Let’s prep the rub rails while that last coat of epoxy is curing. They’re easy. These will go on the outside of the hull just below the edge of the deck, and are intended to take the abuse of banging into docks, other boats, and such. They’re skimpy little things 1/4 inch by 3/4 inch, ash, scarfed lengthwise to a bit longer than needed. … and still longer than my wonderfully long, but still too short, bench. Preparation of these parts includes three operations. I taper the height of the rail for about 18 inches toward each end. Shortening the height by about 1/8 inch at the ends, shaved from the bottom edge, subtly accentuates the curve of the sheer.

Next, the edges are chamfered. One could use a dedicated chamfer plane for this, but I decided to use the money for 438 Milky Way bars instead. My method of chamfering these long pieces uses a collection of little 45 degree blocks, adhered with my favorite temporary adhesive, and propped up against a row of dogs. They laughed when I made a dog for every dog hole in my bench. A few block plane passes, flip the other way, and a few more block plane passes, and we’re done chamfering. Lastly, a 1/16 inch hole every 4 inches sets these up for nailing to the boat. I’ll set them aside now and attach them later.

Next day, that epoxy is cured enough to work around. So, let’s fit out the coaming. It is mostly 6mm plywood which gets attached to the carlins around the cockpit opening. The raw edges on the front are covered with a nose block. Mine is a bit different than the one pictured in the builder’s manual, and of course I like mine with its arrowhead base, better. This is really fussy work. Everything is either curved or angled. The block and arrowhead are built up from small bits of mahogany (Never throw anything away). Here again, this prep work gets done to a certain stage, pieces get marked with “p” or “s,” and then set aside.

Next … why one needs 438 Milky Way bars.

Excuses for no “before” or “during” pictures:

• The dog ate them. Ooops, we don’t have a dog.
• You’ve seen this stuff before.
• Didn’t want to get poxy all over the camera.
• Forgot.
• Too stressed by the messy challenge.

Glassing the deck was simpler because it’s smaller than glassing the full hull. It was more difficult because it consists of two overlapping pieces. Other than that, it went quickly and with a little less mess than the big job.

Like many woodworking jobs, prep takes almost as long as doing the job. Prep in this case included much better sanding than the hull because the deck will be finished bright and every little scratch is visible through the glass: 120, 150, 220, 320, brush off, vacuum, wipe with tack cloth, wipe with alcohol.

Hint: wipe on a liberal wetting of alcohol. This briefly simulates a clear finish, highlighting any remaining scratches. It evaporates off quickly, leaving no stains.

Prep also included applying package tape where I don’t want new fiberglass sticking to the hull. The tape was applied with it’s top edge right at the line which will be the bottom of the rubrail, 3/4 inch below the rounded over deck edge.

After about 8 hours of cure, I scored the fiberglass that was hanging over the side with a sharp knife. That score line is about the middle of where the rubrail will be, about 3/8 inch below the deck. Then, I pulled the excess fiberglass upward, breaking off at the score line. Score and rip. Neat!

Phew! That little dimple in the deck (at the peak of the forward bulkhead) flattened out. Not that the 4 Jorgensen clamps had anything to do with it.

Trimming the overhang, inside and out, was the next task. There’s not a whole lot to this, other than burnin’ calories, almost a Milky Way’s bar worth. The outer edge of the deck was easy with the old 1897 Stanley #60 1/2 block plane. Inside curves, the cockpit area, are a different matter. I did them in two stages, first saw off most of the excess, then trim with a spokeshave.

Two tools are very useful for this task. The AccuScribe compass gave me another way of doing “reach around” marking. It’s 3 adjustment points give it a lot of flexibility, and also lots of possibility for something being loose. (Don’t ask.) The little Kataba saw is very handy. Like most Japanese saws, it cuts on the pull stroke, has a narrow kerf and hardened teeth.