Mounting the frames on the strongback

Garboards tacked in place with screws and scrap pads. Battens to guide the beveling

Homemade jig for cutting scarf joints with a belt sander

Masking the scarfs for easier cleanup

Fitting the midplank

Cutting the midplank. I used battens to hold the plank to a fair curve. This made up for some “sag” in the garboards

The “V” shaped gap between each set of planks is filled with epoxy thickened with glass fibers. It took a LOT of epoxy to fill these spaces, but the result is very strong

Almost done gluing midplanks. Starting to look very boatlike

I added wheels and lumber storage to the strongback. Careful leveling was a must

Cutting the gain for the shearplank. I made them overlap a bit too much, so my shearplank is kinda wide. Still looks great

The idea is to get a smooth bevel from plank to stem. The planks are so thin that it's easy to go through, as here. Epoxy fixes everything

Gluing the shearplanks

Gluing the gunwales

Filleting the interior joints with thickened epoxy

The ends are filled with closed-cell foam for positive floatation. You mix the two parts and pour it into the space you want to fill

Assembling the center deck with epoxy, clamps and screws.

I used weights when clamps wouldn't reach.

Interior coming along nicely. I actually thought I was nearly done at this point. I was wrong.

Safety first!

Interior coated with epoxy. Flipped her sideways to let the fiberglass tape sit flat on the plank seams.

Trimming the fiberglass tape with a sharp chisel. Very easy to work when half-cured (“green”).

Gluing up the stern hatch. Scrap 6mm plywood and 3/8“ cherry. One can't have too many clamps.

The hatch openings are rimmed with 3mm plywood strips. The hinges are in place.

Stern compartment.

Flipped her back over to carve the stem and stern. Carved a little at a time. Love that Japanese pullsaw!

More more more sanding sanding sanding.

Hatches and exterior coated with epoxy. Three coats. All sanded in between.

Hatches installed and coated with epoxy. Hinges are a departure from the original design, which calls for wingnuts. I like mine better.

The hatches are secured with galvanized draw latches. Easy to work one-handed without looking.

The ends are capped with chunky cherry made to look like a true stem.

Launch Day!

Loaded for bear. Plenty of room for the lawn chair up front.