Stitching the planks

All the planks, frames and the transom are now stitched together. It has taken 60 hours spread over 28 days to get to this point.

The photo above shows some of the hull planks held together by 2.5mm cable ties spaced at 200mm.

Here is a close up of the hull planks from the inside showing the cable ties.

Cable-ties arn't strong enough to hold some of the planks together at the bow so I have a clamp as well.

This is the temporary central frame. The actual frame will be on either side of the centreboard and will be in two peices but there has to be something there for the moment to keep the bpoat in shape.





This the actual forward frame - although it will be lower and will have an access hole cut in it when the boat is finished. It is spreading out the front of the boat so there is a lot of tension at the joints. Cable ties aren't strong enough here so this is stitched into place with plastic coated steel wire. You can also see the plastic tape with which I have covered the seams on the inside. This is to stop epoxy dripping through the seams when the boat is turned over.