Hi all,

A brand new first-time boat builder here, with questions about a S&G build. I've just purchased a complete kit (Shearwater Sport), and struggling even before I get started. I'm surprised by the degree of fuzz on the CNC cuts - particularly around the small radii of the puzzle joints. I don't know if this is normal or a particularity of the machine used by the Australian distributer, but I can't find anything in the manual to suggest the level of clean-up I think is required.

There doesn't seem any way I could get the joints together without a reasonable bit of sanding. It's not particularly time-consuming (unless you cound the time spent on caution and angst), but I'm a bit worried there might be something I'm missing in the process. I've started on the hull panels, which I'll paint, so hopefully cosmetic concerns will be easier to manage - but are there risks with panel alignment, or other concerns if you start playing around with these cuts? The ones I've done so far are still SUPER tight (definitely some hammer+block whacking to get them together), so I don't think alignment will be impacted, but...?

I've been using a little roll of 120grit sandpaper for the cleanup. So far just at a dry fit.