My plywood supplier, who has decades of boat building experience, suggested that I build a scale model of my boat in order to visualize the process. I took his advice, and picked up some balsa wood from the local model shop. Since the blueprints are all to scale, it wasn't hard to build a replica.
The first step was to trace and cut the pieces from the blueprints. To do this, I placed carbon paper between the blueprint and the balsa wood, allowing me to transfer the dimensions onto the panels. A razor blade easily sliced through the balsa wood.
Side and bottom panels laid on top of the blueprints
All the pieces to form the hull
Once all the pieces were cut out, I followed the directions that came with the plans to form the hull.
The bottom panels laid flat with the middle form positioned, ready for the stitches
I used a needle and thread to stitch the panels, progressively tightening the thread to pull the panels into shape. Once the bottom panels were positioned, I attached the side panels, transom and bow.
All the pieces are positionedThen I used glue to hold the shape. The middle form is a temporary member which is used to hold the hull in shape while the plywood panels are joined. The laminations were slid beneath the spaces in the bottom of the middle form.
The temporary middle form positioned, with the laminations laid for the keel and battens
The motorboard is notched to fit over the laminations, and the knee is then fitted on the bottom and the transom.
The motorboard and knee are attached to the transom
This took me an evening to assemble, but it'll pay off when it comes to the actual construction.
The complete hull
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