After the arduous task of laying out and cutting the forms, it is finally time to start assembly. The overall beam of the finished vessel is approximately 8’3” this means that each form had to be cut out of multiple pieces of plywood.
First we had to line everything up and fit the pieces together to make each form. Soon after starting we realized that because the forms were standing on edge on the stone floor of our tent they managed to absorb some moisture. Without fail this was the edge needed to join the forms together. After addressing this issue with a hand plane we were able to fit everything together.
We then we glued and screwed scrap pieces of plywood over the joints, making sure to leave room above and below the half lap joints. Luckily we realized this after the first form, and were able to trim the piece out before the glue dried.
The center line frame spans bow to stern of the boat. Thinking ahead, we decided to only glue and screw one half of these. This way we will be able to assemble and disassemble as needed.
Finally we are starting to see some progress. The forms were stacked sequentially on our workbench, begging to be assembled. It had already been a long hot morning of fitting, gluing and screwing. But the prospect of seeing the actual size of our vessel kept us motivated through the mid summer heat.
The forms are assembled using half lap joints (A slot half way down one panel and half way up the other). This makes assembly straightforward. Aside from putting the forms in the right positions, the whole thing only fits one way. Dragging everything into the driveway we assembled all of the forms in under an hour. What a feeling of accomplishment, seeing the actual size of what we are building started to put things into perspective. We did have to do some minor trimming to make everything fit correctly. This in no way took away from the glory.
After basking in our triumph, we now had to disassemble everything and put it into storage. Unfortunately this is where it will sit until the flat hull panels are fiberglassed. This was the plan from the beginning due to the lack of supplies. COVID-19 has really messed things up.
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