Day83 Putting in side-deck plating
The ultimate test of our craftsmanship involving the side deck frames will be a smooth fit of the side-deck plating. First we placed the plate onto the deck frames. The batten was a marked square shorter than 2 feet long. This was then run along the bulwark side and marked every 4 inches or so to get the curve the deck plate would butt into. This was very accurate!  
Then a line was drawn and a piece of flatbar clamped on as a guide for plasma cutting (see right )
The plasma cutting over the frames offered no problems as we simply slid in some scrap 2x4's to raise it up a bit.
The piece was then pushed into proper position, marked along the deck frame longitudinal, flipped over and cut, and tacked into place by Gena. We coordinated and got 3/4 of the side deck tacked on in one day!

 
We're really happy the weather is holding out long enough to do this, and hope to have these plates fully welded and primed before the snow flies.
This way, the "tent" ( that leaks profusely no matter what ) can be tied to the sheer with pieces of 1 x 1 wood, and any water that ran down the inside could be caught and drained by the side decks. As can be seen to the left, a perfect job!
Gena tacking on side deck plating  
 
The decks are smooth and curved perfectly into the bow area. A sigh of relief!
Walking on the decks is a cool feeling and gives one the idea of how it will feel running up and down the boat. Of course, stanchions would be nice right now as it's a long way down!!

Day 83:
9 hours - Put on all but last section of deck plating


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