Deck beams and such...

Well I managed to finish the paint in the forward section--except a little touch-up here and there--so this week I was able to glue/screw in the deckbeams.  This makes me happy:  maybe not Russian Dance happy but happy-to-be-moving-on-to-the-next-step happy.  I left two out for now, since the first piece of 1/4"-ply deck is a small triangle in the bow.  With the two deck beams removed I'll be able to get in the boat to do glue cleanup for that triangle.  Once I've got all the beams faired and the first piece of decking glued/nailed in place, I'll glue/screw the final two beams and install the rest of the deck.  (I'll reach through the bulkhead for glue cleanup for those deck pieces.) For lightness, I'm going with 1/4" Occume plywood rather than the heavier Meranti.

With the paint just about done under the fore deck, I can move on...

Here's the first few deck beams in place.  Since the decking is only 1/4"-thick plywood, I went with a fairly close 6" spacing for the beams.  Note that I've also put in the top of the watertight bow compartment and the store-bought access hatch.  As I think I've mentioned, I'm bedding and screwing all the tops of the watertight compartments in case I want to take them off later for some unknown reason.

That's a grey-green (French grey?) for the interior of the boat.  It starts with Interlux Sea Green plus other mystery colors.  Despite the shine in the photo, it's actually a fairly dull semi-gloss.    I hope you like it!

Until next time...