Re: Ches 16 - Cockpit Gla

Posted by terry on Jan 6, 2005

You can always go in there and round over the edges of the beam and coaming, then reseal with epoxy. I did this on my first kit hull, after I learned the drawbacks of introducing shins to sharp corners (hyper-hemotomas, Batman!!). Could be done with a drill and sanding drum or rotary rasp (tricky - hold on tight to a drill with a roto-rasp: it's a REAL weapon of mass destructin). Being too lazy to chuck in the rasp or drum and clean up the dust, I chiseled off a lot of wood, then used one of my favorite tools, the small Stanley Surform plane (actully, a rasp) with the plastic handle and curved, 2" blade. I hacked the beam down a LOT - almost up to the deck. It's not really needed once the deck/coaming are on anyway. I also deeply carved the coaming bottom to round it as much as I thought I could get away with.

Easier to do if you turn the hull upside down, and rig a work light.

My shins now love me, and my knees creak with delight.

Speaking of worklights: those rechargeable flashlites that come with some Makita, Mil. Tool and other brand drill kits are terrific for boatbuilding. The 14-volter I have is plenty bright and fits in all those nooks and crannies you'd love to ignore but will cost you later if you do. Even bright enough to make shadow animals on the wall to tease my cat! The battery can be switched with the drill battery if you forget to recharge it, which I once did when I was doing some budget dental work on my wife.

terry

In Response to: Re: Ches 16 - Cockpit Gla by Craig Robinson on Jan 6, 2005

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