Chesapeake 17LT progress #2The hull panels are cut out and sheers clamps now attached.   I mis-glued (but didn’t inhale) during this tricky task, glueing the first sheer clamp onto the outside of the hull panel despite letters SC SC SC writ large along the correct edge!   I’ll bet nobody has ever made that mistake before!   But quickly spotted through the forest of clamp handles, and remedied, and the second sheer went on quickly and correctly.   I now wanted to get all other hull components (apart from the coaming pieces) finished and ready to install rather than going back and forth.   The next stage of fabricating the laminated cross-beam was a breeze, mainly because I borrowed a friend’s jig from his own building project of a while ago.   The plans refer to laminating six (6) strips of 4mm ply, whereas the construction manual says five (5).   I decided that five would be enough as the ply I’m using is Pacific Maple – pretty stiff - and frankly it was hard enough wrestling with the five strips, let alone six.   This epoxy is slippery stuff under pressure!    This is one task where many strong C clamps are needed, the bigger the better.   I will leave the laminated beam clamped-up in the jig for several days to ensure the epoxy is properly cured while I proceed elsewhere. 6mm bulkheads are now cut out as the final components necessary to start assembly – everything else is now ready.   I will put another lightweight 4mm bulkhead, or maybe a lightweight cross-beam, into the rear section of the craft as I imagine the flat unsupported rear deck could take a bit of a beating if I need to clamber onto it during a wet re-entry, and the intended 3mm deck will be quite fragile.   Next steps – the exciting and challenging task of wiring-up the hulls and getting everything just so before filleting and jointing.   Cooler weather is forecast over the next several days: 26°C  (79°F), so that will make working outside a bit more bearable.Lol from Oz - Jan 9^th 2009