More on Bulkheads

I seem to be stuck on bulkheads but over the last couple of days the inside of the boat has started to come together. Making up the bulkheads on the bench seened to take a long time but once they are complete putting them in the boat has been very quick and easy. Putting the bare plywood bulkhead into the boat and then adding all the stringers to them would have been more difficult and I think it would have taken longer.

This is what the bulkhead looks like when it is being glued together on the bench.

 

Here it has been cleaned up and is in position in the boat for the glue lines to be marked out and taped. I was sceptical about the tape but it really does help to keep the epoxy under control.

 

 

 

This is what the tape looks like. The next step is to prime the glue line and the edges of the bulkhead with unthickened epoxy and leave it to soak in for a while. Then thickened epoxy is applied liberally between the lines of tape. What I'm trying to do is to ensure that the gap between the hull and the bulkhead is full of epoxy.

 





 

The next photo shows two of the four bulkheads in place. These bulkheads support the cross seat and brace the centre board case.

 

 

 



Today the second pair of bulkheads were installed in the boat. In between cleaning them up, taping and gluing them in I made templates for the aft side seat fronts and cut the ply panels. This last photo shows the state of play at the end of today's work.

 

 

There will have to be a pause in procedings because I have run out of ply and need to buy more (that can't be done at Easter!). Until then there is the supporting beams for the aft side seat tops to work on, more than enough to keep me busy until the shops open again.