slow progress in the cold Centerboard trunk

Here is the winter update.  I finally had a couple of days off to make some progress.  I cant glue in this weather, but can fabricate parts and dry fit.  Centerboard trunk is under construction and being fitted.  will screw it all together then glue up on a warmer day.




Made a list of a pile of things that can be done in the cold or indoors.  Rudder, mizzen step, fit cross beams, and then wait for a warm day. 



Dec. 28, 2013
Not quite as cold in the garage today, and found my 5/4 dimensional mahogany at the local lumber yard that will serve as the inboard rail for the CB trunk.  I have notched the riser at the bulkhead using the multi-tool and a Japanese hand saw, and temporarily screwed it even with the seat tops with a temporary cleat aft.
notch at forward bulkhead

temporary cleat to hold in vertical space.  

Rail from above.  




Rather than ripping into a $100 sheet of marine ply, I purchased a sheet of Masonite to do a template from.  This worked quite well and the curve of the trunk matched the hull perfectly.  Next is to transfer the lines to the original sheet of ply. I will cut a little tall, just in case.  

Masonite template from above.
Homosote template a tad shy at the top,  will transfer this to the real panel.
Bottom fits the curvature perfectly.

December 29th - All parts fabricated.
Finally got all the parts for the centerboard trunk fabricated and fitted.  Will glue up on a warm day.  
But first,  a stupid idea that saves a lot of time.  I had been sharpening my pencils with a knife, rasp, or whatever i happened to have in my pocket.  It finally dawned on me several boats later that the pencil sharpener in the basement had not been used in many, many, years so I removed it and put it in the garage.  No excuses for poor lines now.  


The next time saver was to place the essential tools close at hand in the boat storage lockers. Obvious, but not at the time I needed to recognize this fact.  

Step 1 - fit the port side of the trunk, cut a little tall and long.  
The board on top is from my Michalak rowing skiff, I know it is relatively flat and spans the gap from side to side nicely.  The port panel was marked, trimmed, then planed with a block plane until level.  

Next was the king posts.  the forward post has multiple bevels, but easy to mark in three directions prior to sawing.  The fit was pretty good, but I sanded it a little to get as much in contact with the bottom as possible. Epoxy grout will hold it in place along with fiberglass tabbing.  Panels will be screwed and glued to it.  

Sheet rock screws have taken the place of the clamp for now.  

Add caption
The aft king post is now installed.  There is a compound bevel, but it is not extreme.  
Starting to look like a centerboard trunk.




Starboard panel was fitted:
  • use masonite template to set curve on bottom.
  • transfer to plywood
  • mark from plans, note discrepancies.
  • cut curve, but leave panel long and tall.  
  • fit curve to boat via scribing with a pencil riding on a block of wood. 
  • recut to be exact.  
  • fit to boat.  


  • Starboard rail is fit. It has been left long on purpose to aid in setting the top of the rails and panels level with the seats. 
  • port panel is scribed to rail to be level.
  • case is removed from boat for trimming, sanding, and final shaping. 

Final photo.  Ready to fiberglass the inside of the board and cut the slot.


The seat is actually in the correct approximate location and it is level!



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