Trying to pull it together- unwieldy hull seams

Once the hull and sides were stitched together I realized that I had a problem.  A 36" stretch just aft of the bow did not come tightly together.

This is a shot of the hull and side seam on the port side approximately 18" back from the bow.  There is a gap of about 3/8" between the pieces.  At the bow these 2 pieces touch and then there is a widening gap for about 3 feet and then the pieces approximate nicely the rest of the way to the stern.  I couldn't figure what went wrong or how to pull those pieces together (the starboard side has a similar gap but a bit wider at its widest at about 5/8"!). 

So I called CLC and Joey got on the phone.  Those guys are great.  Although, obviously, he has little experience building the pocketship, he has built boats.  So we brainstormed and we (O.K.- he) came up with a solution.  I drilled these 2 blocks onto either side of the widest area of the gap.

 This is a picture of the inside of the hull.  These are blocks that I drilled on the inside  to avoid rip out on the plywood.

I then put a C-clamp on and slowly tighened it down.  And sure enough it slowly came together!

This is shown partially tighened down but the gap is still present on the left.  This picture is a bit decieving.  The gap looks bigger than it actually is.  The dark line is actully the end edge of the hull piece.  The gap was approx. 1/16 " when finished but the edges did't line up exactly. so I needed more help.

 This picture shows the jig as suggested in the manual to pull the edges flush.  The pictures don't show it so well but the edges lined up nicely and are ready for filleting.  The starboard side will be a bit more of a challenge since its gap is wider.

The bulkheads and floors need to be finished and installed then I'll be ready to tackle the dreaded filleting.

Stay Tuned!