Starting In Earnest

It seems strange, how much I "forgot" about building between last year and this year. I tried building an I-beam twice, using dimension lumber, before giving up on finding boards with no twist or warp. I finally went for this "composite" stuff:

It weighs tons, but it appears to be dimensionally stable. I'm doing an internal strongback again, this time, and after doing it both ways, I think that this technique better insures "straightness". 

The "spine". The Strongback Jinx  was in-I made the first one 1/2" too small! This is poplar ply. I found that the forms fit a little too tightly, so I actually ran the whole beam through the surface planer. It was a a little bit too much to handle, so I widened the holes in the forms instead.

Skeg Plans

I decided to build a skeg & housing from scratch. This gives me something to work on & get psyched for the build. I want to complete as much of this as possible before glassing the hull interior, so I won't get hung up in a lengthy process while the hull wants to shrink & distort.

50-page building manual, and lots of small plywood parts, all of which have to be epoxied, and many fiberglassed. I had to order some rather expensive stainless steel parts. 

Nicks plans call for building a closed box, making a hole in the hull, putting the box through the hull, then trimming to the hull. I'm going to shape the box to the hull interior, and make a slot for just the skeg.

I could not get a feel for what has to be done just by reading the manual. I had to get my hands on the work, following the instructions, before I "got it".
After cutting the bottom of of the box, I tested the skeg blade for fit. I broke the hinge. I glued it back together, then broke it again. I decided to duplicate the blade in Lexan:

It was pretty easy to trace from the wood, and I don't have to worry about waterproofing. After some adjustments, it fits fine.