The past few days have been quite warm, so I took advantage of the last really warm day (60F in November) to glue the reinforcing braces to the upper “ears” of bulkheads 3 through 8. The plans call out this stock as 20x20mm, but I just used some leftover 16x18mm stock from my stringers. Considering the longest of these stiffeners is only about 350mm long, I don’t think stiffness will be a problem. They look to serve primarily as a “nailing strip” and allow for a better glue joint to the deck. These pieces should serve that purpose quite well.
I started fitting pieces after work, starting around 15:45, and I was ready for glue by 16:20 or so. Each piece has a bevel at the outboard end to reduce the amount of epoxy needed to fill that void. It then runs straight along the upper surface of the bulkhead. I left them a bit long, so that I can spring a batten and cut the appropriate bevel angles for the coaming stringer after the epoxy has set. I also had limited time to work. By about 17:10 I was finished, 10 minutes after official sunset. I only have a 40-watt worklight in the garage, so I generally rely on natural light. As a result, the pictures are a mite dark.
The stiffeners on bulkheads 3 and 4, port side.
Stiffeners on bulkheads 5 through 8, port side.
The next major project will involve turning some very nice Douglas Fir into spar blanks.
