Peeler Skiff build for Chesapeake Light Craft days 14-15

This is the last of the work to be done before flipping her over!

The first thing I decided to tackle was final fitting and shaping of the breast hook. After rounding the forward end of the breast hook assembly, it fit perfectly into place at the bow, so I moved on to shaping the piece into a curve instead of an angle. The purpose for this work is purely aesthetic, so I took my time and really enjoyed myself. The top portion could be rounded easily using a block plane, but matching the curve on the underside was a bit more challenging. For this, I used a combination of round files and the belt sander. Once I was satisfied with the shape, I added a roundover to the top and bottom edges using the trim router.

The breast hook assembly is made from two very pretty pieces of mahogany glued together.

The top being rounded with my block plane. The bottom side is more difficult to round. I used a combination of round files and belt sander.

The quarter knees need very little work. After I had rounded the corners for clearance of the fillets, they fit perfectly. A roundover was added top and bottom, and they were ready to go in. The quarter knees, as well as the breast hook, needed minimal clamping to stay firmly in place. This made the glue up very easy. I was expecting to need temporary screws to hold them in place, but spring clamps worked very well, and saved a good bit of trouble.

Quarter knees require only rounding the back corner to fit over the fillets. Roundovers on the top and bottom need to be done with a router before installation.

All of the frames get doublers added after the seats are installed. There are six of them. Three similar, but different, shapes. After removing the machine tabs from the parts I held each of them up to the frames to see which fit best. The answer was, none of them fit very well at all. After figuring out which ones were the best fitting pieces for their jobs, I brought them, one at a time, to the belt sander to be perfected. It took a bit longer than I thought it would to get them right, but when I was finally satisfied, I gave them all a roundover on one edge, being careful to roundover the edge that is NOT going to be getting glued to the frame. Then, I installed them all with epoxy, thickened to a mustard consistency, and added the fillets to the doubled sides of the frames.

Frame doublers required a good bit of shaving on the belt sander, but they ended up fitting well. These are rounded over on the top edge, creating a “bullnose“ when mated with the frames, which are rounded on the opposite sides. It is very easy to mess up and round the wrong sides when doing this sort of thing. I put a sharpie X on the side that mated with the frame so that I wouldn’t accidentally round the wrong side.

All of the parts glued, clamped, and filleted. Once the epoxy began to gel, I added a fill coat over all of the bare wood, fillets, and fiberglass tape.

The following day, I sanded the fill coat on the seats, and added another. Now she is ready to flip

I wonder how heavy this thing is at this point?