Trying to push this project on toward completion, tonight I started measuring for the deck framing. So far, it has been mercifully simple.

I clamped my big adjustable T-Square onto the forward frame at the centerline, and measured the halfway point between the frame and the breasthook. Then, I set my 48" ruler across that halfway point, at right angles to the T-Square. After determining the rulers contact point with the sheer was an equal distance from the frame on both sides, I clamped the ruler into place, and marked the sheers. Then, I measured the angle at the intersection of the ruler and the sheer. Thankfully, it was a very easy-to-cut 20°. 

Measuring for the deck framing.

The blocking for the deck framing required a simple 20° cut. Here is the starboard side being epoxied into place.

Blocking for the deck framing on the port side.

Here, the false battens on the floor are being epoxied into place. All those boards look a little excessive to my eye, but the false battens do serve a practical purpose.

Tonight I drilled the holes & installed the stainless steel grab handle on the forward frame. The first time I rode in a Glen-L Utility, I realized this is a "must-have" item.

Progress...

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 A year ago or so we ran out of coffee while camping and while in town, picked up some more coffee.  I checked the bag that the coffee was in and it felt pre-ground.  Next morning when we got up to make coffee, the beans turned out not to be ground.  Luckily, there was a large rock at the edge of the campground and the banks of the river across the street yielded a mano, the stone you hold in your hands to grind the corn. With a little practice we managed to make a fine grind and breakfast was saved.

Closeup on the grinding operation.

 Of course, grinding stuff on stone grinders is nothing new.  It is in fact quite old and just recently, we visited Montezumas Castle in Arizona where a number of stone grinders were on exhibit.

 

 The stone grinders in the American Southwest are known as Mano and Metate, the metate being the large flat stone and the smaller one you grind with is called the Mano.

 A slightly different arrangement visible throughout California are large flat boulders that were used for grinding acorns, a staple food in much of California before the arrival of the Europeans.  Unlike the metate which is flat, the grind stones for acorns have conical pits in them.  This prevents the acorns from spreading about.  Any that escape in the grinding process can be easily swept back into the hole.

And here is a long view of the grinding rock.  Note that the rock had a number of pits in it and so had room for a number of women to go about their grinding in a sociable way.  The rock also happens to be conveniently located in a flat area surrounded by oaks.

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A fellow boatbuilder pointed out to me that if I cover the transom first, before planking the sides and bottom of the boat, then the end grain of my planking is going to show around the rim of the transom. (Thanks Chris!) Of course, this only poses an issue if you plan on bright-finishing your transom, which is exactly what I’m planning to do. I’m planning to paint the rest of the hull. So, paint will cover the end grain of the transom as viewed from the side.

So now, my plan has changed to planking the sides and bottom of the boat first. The first pieces of planking that go on will be short 4’ aft sections on the sides. I will be butt-joining these pieces to longer 8’ pieces that will plank the forward sections on the sides. This will allow the butt joint to be located in the flatter aft section of the boat, which means it will be easier to do, and there will be less stress on the joint. I have to join the planking in sections like this, because plywood comes in standard 8’ lengths, and my boat is 11’ long.

In preparation for planking these aft sections, I’ve been sanding away dried runs of epoxy, etc from those parts of the boat I can’t easily get to once the planking is on. I’ve also worked to clean up the shape of the seat riser cutouts in frame #1. Still, before I can plank this aft section, I need to encapsulate these frame cutouts, as well as a couple of other places I won’t be able to reach once the planking is on.

Then, God willing, I should be able to begin planking the little boat.

Dried runs of epoxy have been sanded off of frame #1 and gussets. This is the starboard side.

Starboard frame #1 after sanding. The seat riser cutouts still need to be encapsulated with epoxy.

Port frame #1 after sanding.

Port frame #1 after sanding.

Port frame #1 after sanding.

The globs of epoxy are now sanded off of the transom.

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My neighbor at the shop came up with yet another novel way to use the two ton overhead crane.

Ben floating over the bottom of his boat with his dad in the background steering the crane to move him into position for applying the next batch of resin.

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I should have encapsulated the stem a long time ago, before I ever attached it to the keel. Im not sure why I didnt. Nonetheless, I did not. I wont repeat that mistake on the Zip.

In any case, it needs to be done now before the planking goes on. In preparation for encapsulating the stem, I need to sand away several dried globs of epoxy that have been stuck on it since earlier stages in construction. The worst of these are directly behind the chines, where they are attached to the stem.

I worked on that a little earlier this morning. As this is the middle of the week, and free time is quite limited, Im expecting several more days of small, incremental progress in this task.

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As it turns out, I did install the strongback incorrectly.

Even after Id faired the front of the breasthook down to meet the sheers, it was readily apparent that the forward angle on the strongback was too steep. What I should have done was to notch the bottom of the strongback, so that the front of it extended several inches across the top of the breasthook.

Instead, I cut the whole thing too short, and bent it down too far. 

Cant change that now.

So, I made a shim from a 16" piece of Southern Yellow Pine. Using a block plane and my planer/jointer, I formed it to fit into place. Then I epoxied it on. 

The next step will be to sand the top of it down so that the deck will fit properly.

My test piece of plywood clearly shows that the angle of the strongback is too steep.

The shim, clamped into place while the epoxy cures.

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My bow eye came in from Glen-L earlier this week. I went with a 3/8" single-post, stainless steel cast type rather than the U-bolt type... I only wanted to drill one hole.

To prep the bow of the boat for drilling, I located & marked the spot where I wanted the bow eye to go... in-between the planking screws on either side.

I ground away the fiberglass in a small spot with my Dremel, and then slowly & cautiously began drilling with a very small drill bit. I used the vertical line of the bow as a reference for trying to keep the drill bit parallel with the center of the stem.

Bit by bit, (literally), I expanded the hole with increasingly larger diameter drill bits, until I finished the hole with 12-inch long 1/4", 5/16" and 3/8" bits.

Did I drill the hole dead-center all the way through?

No. Of course, not. 

However, itll work. Once the boat is flipped, I can re-enforce the "thin" side of the stem if I feel its warranted.

Soon, I should be back to painting.

Happy Fathers Day!

The Hello Kitty make-up mirror that I lifted from my daughter has been invaluable at things like getting this shot of the inside of the stem. As you can see, the exit hole is off-center... but itll work.

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