Sorry.  Should have said this is for The Peapod...

Dean

Thanks for the tip Dean.  

Did you round your inwales before fitting the risers and  drilling the holes?  I have just done a bit of a test fit and with rounded off inwales there is a very small target area to place the risers and still have enough space below the rail for the oarlock stem.  It looks like the socket will have to be pretty much flush with the inside face of the riser.

Paul

   Paul, 

I did round the riser before. There is not much room for error which prompted me to break it into 2 parts. So close!

Dean

  Thanks for the suggestion Dean.  I followed you and drilled the risers before glueing them to the boat.  A couple of observations from my experience (mine is a UK kit so some of the hardware may be slightly different sizes).

1.  I think it is well worth fitting the risers before epoxying the inside of the hull and gunwales.  That way if you do catch the inside of the hull it does not need to be re-epoxied. 

2.  The sockets barely fit the risers - there is just a couple of mm of wood left on the inboard side after drilling the hole.  Rather than follow the manual's instructions to countersink the risers to fit the 'flash' on the sockets I filed the sockets to fit the hole and allow the top plate to sit flush while leaving as much wood as possible in place..

3.  With a hole in the riser I could then see where to position the riser to avoid the hull side.  Again there was not much margin - if anything the risers overlap the round over on the inwale by a mm or so.  I glued them in place at this stage.  I will be able to fill any gap with thickened epoxy later.

4.  Once the expoxy had set I dry fitted the sockets and used them as a guide/pilot hole to drilling the hole in the inwale.  3 out of 4 worked well.  One ended up just a bit too close to the side.  So when the oarlock went in it made a small gouge in the hull side.  I think that later with a combination of enlarging the hole in the inwale slightly and maybe taking a small amount off of the oarlock stem I can restore some clearance.  

5.  I had rounded the inwales before I glued them in place - with the benefit of hindsight I would leave the edge where the riser is atached unrounded at that stage.  It will: give a greater landing area for the riser; make it easier to miss the side of the hull when drilling; and allow the socket to be placed more centrally in the top face of the riser.  It would be fairly easy to round off that bit of the inwale and fair it into the riser with file and sandpaper once the risers are glued in place. 

Paul

   Paul,

Thanks for adding your experience on this touchy process. I also rounded the inwales prior to glueing them in place. Imagine reaching over with a router! 

Will you bed the sockets with some material before you install them? 

Also, Seems like the oarlocks need lanyards. Where and how would it be attached?

I'm ready to get this boat in the water but it's not done! Prepping the bottom for paint right now.

Dean

   Dean

I am planning to just use silicon sealer to bed in the sockets as per the manual.

I have a feeling that the oarlocks might be different on the UK and USA kits.  Mine are open with a hole through the bottom of the stem which will take a lanyard.  I plan to either tie it to the inwale or perhaps put a toggle on the end of the lanyard.

I have found it convenient to use a power file to trim down the lower part of the oarlock stem (the bit below the socket).  It does not serve much of a structural purpose and  means I can leave more wood on the boat.

I have just completed epoxy coating - which means that as well as sanding down the hull I am having to gently sand the holes in the risers so fit the sockets again.

Like you I am looking forward to getting it on the water.  At this rate it will be launched during the sailing club christmas regatta!

Paul

   I like the silicon sealer idea. I forgot to add. I stepped down the last bit ~ 3/16" drilling the risers on the boat to accept the shank of the oarlock. I don't think it is necessary now but it seemed like the thing to do. Turned out fine. 

Dean