Take a Bow

It's now time to join the fore edges of the hull panel.  A word of caution-  I tried to bend the bow pieces while dry (the wood was dry too) and while trying to be clever I clamped a C-clamp on the edge to use as a lever to bend the wood.  It was also easier to grip than the wood itself.  The edges became closer as I bent them and were just about touching when I heard a crack!  One of the sides got a small crack as I torqued it too much.  As it turns out, the crack was not critical but I cringed to think what I would have faced if I cracked the hull significanrtly.  So be gentle!  And that's why I then chose to wet the wood.

The manual suggests wetting the wood that needs to bend but doesn't mention how.  I just draped the wood in towels and poured hot water over them several times for 10-12 minutes.

 This is a closer look.  You can see the water dripping into the crease and keelson.  Luckily, my driveways is a slight incline, so the water dripped onto the driveway and out to the street.  If you use this technique, plan ahead with what to do with the dripping water.

 

The picture on the left (below) shows my first attempt after soaking the wood.  The edges got close but not there yet.  This is a job where another set of hands would have been very helpful.  I soaked the wood again and then tightened the wires and it pulled together nicely (picture on right).  The edges don't look like they're together but in fact the back corner edges are touching and the forward edges are not, as designed. I was pleased that the edges lined up nicely and the port edge was at the same height as the starboard edge.



This shows wet wood after towels.  It was over 75 degrees that day so it dried fast.



Below and right are pictures of the hull finally starting to look like a boat

You can see floor 4 in place in this picture but it has not been attached yet














I followed the advice of a few before me and put the cradle on wheels.  I had a furniture dolly
so I removed the wheels and attached them to the cradle.

 What a difference when moving the project.  I would recommend it to all.  I had mentioned that my driveway is on an incline and last week I moved the hull out on the driveway and it started moving on its own, downhill!  I was able to wrangle it with a little muscle but my boat almost took its first journey without me.

Okay- next is finishing the floors and bulkheads.  I hope to attach the sides this weekend.