Strongback

This went somewhat easier than last year, since I was able to re-use the old box beam sections. I used two 8' sections, pulled about 1' apart, to make a 17' box beam. This takes up much less room in the basement than a 20' box. I was even able to re-use the vertical brackets.

I like the two-string system, because it gives me much more confidence in the alignment, and I like the way that the bottom string is longer that the entire boat.
The usual "outriggers" for planing strips.

I used these little support brackets again, at the ends. The Bow & Stern sections weigh pounds each, and need support.

Cutting & Milling Strips

I bought cedar & pine at Beard Lumber Company, bought too much, and got gypped. The price of cedar has gone through the roof, due to wildfires in California (kind of reminds me of the way oil goes up when "anything" happens) and I paid a small fortune. Ah well, shake it off...
The resawing went about the way it usually does, except that I discovered a few things shaky about my setup. I made two hefty new feather boards. I believe that I can reliably make two 3/16 boards out of a 3/4" board without screwing it up too much.
 Planing is tedious, but effective. I will actually try to save the leftover planed boards for the (inevitable) next build.

Outer Island Repair

I had noticed a little bit of a separation where the skeg trunk comes into the hull, so I dabbed a bit of epoxy on it, and continued to use the kayak. 

I noticed that the gap had increased somewhat, so I brought the boat downstairs to take a look.
WOW. When I pried at the gap, I could see that the damage was extensive. It seemed that I peeled away water-soaked plywood until only a skin  of veneer, and the fiberglass on the outside remained. 
I wondered if it was worth it, if I  should just take the box out somehow, and do without. I can barely reach it through the aft hatch, let alone work effectively with a heat gun at arm's length. A lot of work went into the thing, plus the potential of an ugly "plug" leaking itself, so I'm going to try to fix it.
10-9
I dug away seemingly endless shreds of moist wood, until I couldn't get any more out, and hit it with a hair dryer until it stopped smelling "wet". I cut a piece of 10 oz, and a piece of 4 oz. glass to the shape of the plywood, and then mixed some epoxy. First, I spread in a layer of dookie, then applied the 10 oz. glass, followed by more epoxy, and the 4 oz. glass. I hope I have the shreds incorporated into a sort of fillet. 
While I was getting psyched up for this, I stripped the hardware from the boat. I figure I might as well store it that way, saving the trouble for next season's re-varnishing.
I hope this works, and I'm glad that I didn't take the skeg box out.
It seems that the problem was that the box really wanted to cave in & get narrower, despite being glued into place. Next year's box is made out of 1/4" marine okume, and I hope it holds up better.

Cutting Out The Forms

Fairly routine, up to a point. Jigsaw, sanding wheel, and tons of dust. 

I realized that the plan dimensions seem to place the forms 12" on center, and that I couldn't just stick forms 2 and 14 onto the bow & stern forms, so I cut a mortise 3/8" into those forms. Things lined up fairly well, except that the stems stuck out a little higher than the station forms. The split forms seemed to fall quite short of the end of the forms, until I sanded the taper. I also faired out the top of the forms, and checked all with a strip. I may yet have to improvise while stripping.