Final Construction
Deck tie-downs. These fittings are secured with thickened resin and a small brass screw or two from the underside of the deck. These fittings hold the bungie-shock cord that is used to secure jackets, maps, bilge pumps and and similar gear while paddling. They look pretty rough in this photo, because they have been hardened with resin and have quite a build-up of resin clear coat and resin "glue" stuck on them... ---they look great when sanded and varnished.
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Holes for the hardware. All
of the holes for the foot-pegs and hatch straps are drilled and their edges sealed
with resin (or one could use a little varnish later).
Preparing for the hatch gaskets. Hatch
gaskets are readily available self-adhesive neoprene gasket material, although I
prefer to glue them in with silicone sealant or black "plastic rubber"
adhesive. But first, the area where they will be seated is sealed and gap-filled
with thickened resin, allowed to dry, then re-profiled into a nice neat channel using
a sanding drum on a Dremel flex-shaft tool. One must be careful not to change the
seam profile where the hatch mates with the deck. Note the dust mask in the photo.
Be sure to use quality respiratory protection whenever sanding epoxy, varnish, or
working with any other inhalation hazard. Be sure to re-seal any wood exposed by
this process when varnishing the boat.
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