Aft Hatch Framing

I managed to carve out a few hours to finish epoxy coating the aft hatch area and add the framing for the rear deck. Some of the framing is left a bit high at this point so I can plane it down later to match the curve of the transom.


The offset framing on the starboard side defines where the rear hatch is located. At first I wasn't crazy about the asymmetric look of this hatch location. But after thinking about it for a bit I decided that the ability to access that hatch while sailing (since it is not under the tiller) is quite practical, which makes it look much nicer.



The hatch opening is just large enough for one of those large, 5 gallon buckets to fit easily through. I've heard from several people that these make for excellent watertight storage on extended camping trips. There is enough room in the rear compartment to hold 8 of these buckets with room left over for loose stuff like sleeping bags, tents, etc.


I'm leaving the rear hatch unpainted to make it easier to inspect the wood over time.

Next up is scribing and cutting the remainder of the seat sides and epoxy coating the side compartments. More soon hopefully.

Slow progress

I haven't been able to work on the boat much lately. But there has been some minor progress. There are a series of hull-stiffening stringers both fore and aft of the main bulkhead. They are epoxied in place to help stiffen the hull right where there is most likely to be occasional bumps while beaching or retrieving the boat to a trailer. The aft stringers run parallel to the centerline while those in the front compartment are on a diagonal that matches the straight line in the developed curve of the bow.

The front compartment also houses the forward mast step which can be seen here. It is not installed yes, but just taped in placed to fine-tune the location. I'll be glassing it in place soon.

I have also installed the side bulkheads and added the framing for the side seats. It's not a ton of progress, but with this done it's easier to picture how the cockpit will be laid out and how much room there will be to move around.