Scarfing the keel plank
Note: clicking the photos links to a higher resolution image
Next up: the keel plank. I could have bought a single piece of fir porch flooring long enough, but I have some difficulties in carrying long lumber on my SUV, so I decide to build the keel plank by scarfing two shorter planks together. The job is assisted by a scarfing jig I made, shown in the photo. Assembled from maple, the jig features two sloped rails that support a router with oversized faceplate. An aluminum bar guide inside one of the rails keeps the pieces being scarfed collinear with the rails. The jig cuts a 10:1 scarf cleanly, although it's a bit slow.
After cutting the scarfs, the keel plank scarf is glued up, with a half dozen of my largest clamps, plus some scrap lumber, used to secure the joint until the epoxy cures. The joint is wrapped in Saran wrap to keep it from sticking to the scraps and clamps.
The 1" x 4" fir porch flooring, plus some screws, sets me back another $30... cumulative total is now $221.
Timewise, I'm averaging about 3 hours per session, so I'm about 36 hours into this project. I'm guessing it will take 400 hours to fully complete the project.
The scarfing jig
The jig in use. Notice the oversized router base, which straddles the sloped rails of the jig. This same base fits in my home-made router table.
Quiet: epoxy curing!
After the scarf joint is cured, I trim it to length and notch the frames where the plank will be 'let in'. The jig saw makes quick work of this, albeit not really neat. Thankfully, the crude notches will be hidden by the fillets after the hull is turned.
I bevel the stem to a rough bearding line, and rabbet it to receive the forward end of the keel plank. I glue and screw the stem to the keel plank, and then glue and screw the keel/stem assembly to the frames, being careful to make sure the frames are vertical. The whole setup is now quite strong.
I notice that the stem is off the centerline by about 1/2"... but it's too late, and not worth ripping out at this point. The discrepancy won't be noticeable... not worth sitting in the 'moaning chair'.
Page log:
Inwales and Interior Fiberglass
The Project Resumes... Floorboards
Essays:
Using epoxy in cold conditions
Errors, bad judgments, and lessons learned
The keel plank, rabbeted into the stem, being test-fitted. I later beveled the leading edge of the stem before final gluing and screwing.
The stem, attached now, showing the bevel