18.22 in aft, Boat Plans, seat
I tried my hand at the permanent installation of one of the seats tonight. It looked like the stern seat would be easier, so I started with that one. After mixing up a batch of peanut butter thickened epoxy, I laid a bead on top of the bulkhead so as to provide a good seal. Using the zip-loc pastry bag dispenser, I also lined the edge of the stern transom where the seat would meet it. When I put the seat in place, I found a small gap of maybe 1/8" between the seat edge and the stern transom. Accordingly, the seat had a tendency to sag a bit there. To support it, I hooked a wire coat hanger under the edge, and bent it over the top of the transom. I then put a small fillet of thickened epoxy around the perimeter of the seat, except at the location of the wire support. After a couple of hours, the fillet was smoothed as usual with an alcohol-dipped gloved finger. Ill fill in the remaining gap after this fillet cures, resulting in a completely air-tight chamber.
Total hours 69.00.
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Another batch of peanut butter epoxy, another seat. The bow seat presented its own obstacles during the installation. There was a sizable gap--about 3/4" -- between the #3 and #4 strakes and the edge of the front seat about 8" aft of the bow transom. Whether this is normal, or due to a flaw in my construction, I cant be sure. But it will require a process of building up some layers of epoxy to fill the gap. The space couldnt be spanned by one fillet of epoxy, but will instead require a second fillet be applied later over the one laid down tonight. Apart from the gap that ran for about 10" on either side of the bow seat, everything else went well. There was a very slight curve in the piece of plywood that makes the seat, so I added some weight in the form of my homebrewing propane tank to maintain a tight contact between the seat and the bow bulkhead. In all the rest of the edge, a standard fillet could be applied and smoothed. Total hours 69.75.
I tried my hand at the permanent installation of one of the seats tonight. It looked like the stern seat would be easier, so I started with that one. After mixing up a batch of peanut butter thickened epoxy, I laid a bead on top of the bulkhead so as to provide a good seal. Using the zip-loc pastry bag dispenser, I also lined the edge of the stern transom where the seat would meet it. When I put the seat in place, I found a small gap of maybe 1/8" between the seat edge and the stern transom. Accordingly, the seat had a tendency to sag a bit there. To support it, I hooked a wire coat hanger under the edge, and bent it over the top of the transom. I then put a small fillet of thickened epoxy around the perimeter of the seat, except at the location of the wire support. After a couple of hours, the fillet was smoothed as usual with an alcohol-dipped gloved finger. Ill fill in the remaining gap after this fillet cures, resulting in a completely air-tight chamber. Total hours 69.00.
It was a quick job to touch up the fillets on the bow seat. Adding to the base set down previously, I filled it to a level flush with the seat surface, and shaped it into the contour of the bow. The only tasks that remain are to install the bow and stern transom knees, motor pad, and oarlock blocks. It is amazing how rigid the hull has become with the final addition of the seats; such a long way from the collection of flexible strakes that I started with a few months ago. Total hours 70.25.
