Gussets Cleats and Carlins

[Maria CS20 104]

Simple questions: I have all the parts and pieces cut, prefitted and aligned, including square and angles, within a 1/16 side to side. Do I need to glass in the gussets after they have been filleted and the epoxy sets? Does not seem necessary but I'd rather do this right. I am thinking about drilling a 3/8ths inch hole in the gussets after the carlins are set glued, screwed and fillet and glue dry. I am thinking that drilling a hole about 1/2 to 3/4 inch below the cleats in the center of the gussets will allow me to run a line fore to aft and have the ability to tie off gear and "stuff" that might be on the seats, or tuck extra flotation devices along the sides behind the lines. Any ideas?

Thanks

Jim

[PeterP]

Jim, I have holes in gussets and knees because they do provide good tie off points. On my 17' I have my fenders on loops through a gusset midship if I expect to come into dock. They flip in/out as needed. Real convenient that way and having the fenders tied off stops them from flying every which way when underway. I did not glass the gussets. Fillets only. PeterP

[Maria CS20 104]

Thanks Peter, appreciate yer reply very much. It is really hot and the epoxy is cooked, will let it harden tonight and sand down the edges and rough stuff in the morning,I'll drill the holes out before I sand down. I have missed a few fillet points that I can fix in the morning on two of the gussets. I actually did four gussets on each side as I have the back deck at seat height. This includes one gusset at the oar lock blocks to prevent rocking of the sides while underway using oars. The side deck runs from forward bulkhead to the transom and with the curved forward deck beams it looks really cool, I can picture the interior shape and neat curves. Tomorrow with the sanding I will cut another slab off of one of my 2x12x16 foot douglas fir beams. during this process I've gone through 1 and 3/4 of these boards, they are a bit brittle but really tight grain, about 20 to 24 rings per inch. As most know I found them in a warehouse where they had been for about 25 years or more according to the owner. They came out of British Columbia in a big order for some monster house down here in Louisiana. It pays to research and look and look and ask and beg for information regarding materials. These boards have been more difficult to cut than oak with their high resin content but they don't twist or buck when cut and stored. Still have one more of these 2x12x16 foot guys and that will be used to build a 12 foot spindrift for the grandkids when they come back from Japan where there Dad and our daughter are stationed, he is in the Navy in Sasabo. Again thanks, prayers and blessings to yours and all B&B folks.

Jim