Installing the Front Deck

Click on any picture to enlarge it. Blog starts with Sept. 23rd post.

With the sail plan established, I have the location of the front mast step. I cut a deck cross beam and attached it just ahead of the mast step location.

I cut through the deck beam, then added a vertical support to help take the mast loads.

I put a couple of 1 x 2's under the mast step itself to give the mast something solid to bear against. The step is located to give a six degree rake to the mast.

These parts add a noticeable amount of weight, but I want to make sure they will never break since I won't have access to them after the deck is installed.

With the mast step in place, it was time to glue on the front deck. Clamps and tape secured it while the screws were installed.


View from the front showing the clamps holding the deck.



As with the rear deck, screws were used on the outside while clamps were used around the cockpit opening until the epoxy set up.

After the epoxy cured, I used a laminate trimming bit in the Roto-Zip tool to trim the deck back to the deck beams and the rear bulkhead.

I used the sabre saw to trim the deck close to the sides. I then used a plane and the random orbit sander to get it flush.

I gave the hull a coat of thinned epoxy, then started sanding it in preparation for glassing the bottom of the hull.

The seams in the hull were filled with the epoxy/ wood flour/ silica mix.

From the rear.

Note the rudder mounts.