The Utility Rough fitting the 1st forward panel

The aft port side panel is now attached. I followed exactly the same procedure as for the aft starboard panel, except this time I did remember the rag.

I decided to go ahead and rough-fit the forward panel on the starboard side. First, I marked and cut one of the Meranti panels in half lengthwise, giving me two 2 x 8 panels to use for the side planking.

Using one of these panels, I began to fit it to the starboard side. I had to go through several cycles of "Clamp, Mark, Remove, Cut, Repeat" in order to cut away extraneous material from the front of the panel. This was due to the low height of the construction form. For several attempts I could not bend the plywood all the way around to the bow without the floor getting in the way.

Finally, I got it roughly fit & it is now temporarily clamped into position. Once Im satisfied with the fitting, I will check the starboard panel against the port side. If everything looks like a suitable fit, I will then use this panel as a template to mark and cut the second panel from the other 2 x 8 piece of plywood.

So far, Im pretty pleased with the Meranti. It is a nicer-looking wood than I expected, and it seems to bend much easier than the Douglas Fir plywood.

Forward panel rough-fit & clamped into position on the starboard side.

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Forward frame is fit!

After a couple of hours of trying to get this frame in place, i finally figured out how to do it.  i put blocks aft of the frame to keep it from slipping and a couple of strategically placed sheetrock screws.  Then, I put a marine battery on top to weight it against the bottom.  It looks pretty good at this point. 

Will let it sit overnight and then begin tabbing in place.  

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Bottom port forward is dry fit

On Fathers Day, I finally completed dry-fitting the bottom planking on the forward port side of the boat. Im very happy about that.

Port bottom planking, dry-fit with screws and washers.

The fitting started off wonderfully at the aft end, where the planking joins along the centerline of the keel. By the time I finished at the bow, however, there were some spots where the fitting was not as good as Id hoped. These spots can be filled with thickened epoxy, of course. Still, I wish the fitting had been better.

About midway along the keel, there is an open seam approximately 18 inches long, and about 5/32" at its widest point. There was also supposed to have been a transition joint just forward of the end of the keel. I did not pre-plan for this, and as a result, I kind of messed it up a little bit. 

5/32" gap along the centerline of the keel.

The missed transition joint.

In retrospect, I think both of these mistakes could have been avoided if I had overlapped the planking along the centerline of the keel, and trimmed the whole length to fit as I went.

There is another small gap between the bottom planking and the side planking at the stem. 

Another small gap up forward.

My plan is to use epoxy thickened with mahogany sawdust (ie: Wood Flour) when I glue this panel on. From what Ive encountered so far, this mixture seems to absorb impact better than epoxy thickened with #2 silica (which seems more brittle). The thickened mixture will fill in these gaps, and I believe that in the end it will all be just fine.

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