April 2012

Now it was time to make sure that the station molds created a “fair line” for the boat and that the sheer had a nice fair line. Although each station mold was created from the plan’s drawings, I found a number of ‘hollow’ spots in the station molds. I believe part of the problem came from adding the additional 3 inches to each station mold and I didn’t have a ‘fair curve’ at the sheer with the additional 3 inches. Therefore I had to determine; “was I going to add the 3 inches to the stem or the transom”. I decided I’d add the 3 inches onto the transom and therefore assumed that the overall hull’s shape would ride better in the water with a fuller stern. Using the new transom sheer line as a reference I created a fuller aft and center for the hull and kept a fine entry on the stem. Now I determined a new sheer line for the starboard side of the boat. This entailed adding and subtracting shims on the side of the each station mold. I used the starboard side as a reference and then transferred these measurements to the port side of the boat. At last I had a fair sheered boat! Now the task of making sure that each station mold did not have any ‘hollow’ spots. I did this with battens placed both diagonally and lengthwise on the boat’s hull. After a few shims were added to the station molds the boat’s shape received my final approval.  At this point I have invested 73 hours in the construction.