A Cement Block And A Cargo Strap That's All You Need.

[Denis Goyette]

Today I was ready to install the transom and of course there was no one in sight to help , eventualy my wife showed up but It's not as easy as the video shows :x To stuborn to give up and wait untill tommorow I started thinking :idea:

I used a concrete block , place it in the middle of the hull bottom close to the transom wraped a cargo strap(ratchet style) around . I gently tighten untill the hull bottom took the perfect curve .VOILA ! All I had to do was to push the transom against the hull bottom and screw it in place.

I took a picture I will share with you guys as soon as they are process.

Cheers

Denis

[capt jake]

See Denis!! You can overcome all obsticles when you back up and take another look. This is great!!! :)

You will surely run into more obsticles to overcome, being a 'single' builder. Even though I am married, I find that it is better if I do it singlehanded (sometimes!!). Other times there is now way around it. Then the education mini lecture comes into play!!

Good for you! Glad to hear things are coming together.

[Guest rmckdo]

how long a strap will I need??

I am going to try this soon thanks for great idea...

[Dave R1]

Congratulations on getting a difficult assemblt together. It won't be long now.

When I got ready to do it, I laid a small scrap of 4x4 on the keel and then a piece of 2x6 crosswise and on edge. The 2x6 was long enough to just extend past the edges of the bottom panel. Then I used a couple of Quick Grip clamps to pull the bottom up. I was able to adjust the clamps so that the curve looked symmetrical when standing behind the boat.

I used the same method for the transom curve and then worked both until the curves met up. I've seen curved cauls used on the transom and I'm sure it works, too. Had I had a bandsaw availableI might have done that as well. As it worked out, the way I did it was simple and took little time to set up.

[Russ Sylvester]

Did the same thing you did except I used a piece of 2x4 instead of a cinder block. One for the bottom and one for the transom and they pulled together beautifully. Like you I was singlehand building and had to get creative.

Little tip you might want to try. When it's time for the hull sides I found that using a 1x2 laying across the deck (athwartships) and loosely screwing through the middle of the top of the plywood hull side piece into the end of the 1x2 worked out great. This way the 1x2 held the bulk of the weight and I could fiddle with it to my hearts content.

[Denis Goyette]

how long a strap will I need??

I am going to try this soon thanks for great idea...

Long enough to go around the keel and hull bottom. Try to keep the strap and cement block (or whatever you are using) close to the rear as possible.

Good luck

Denis

[Derek]

Great tip on the hull sides assembly Russ. I will be tackling them in a week or so and all my work thus far has been single handed.

[Barry Pyeatt]

I found that it was relatively easy to work on the hull sides single handed when we turned the assembly upside down. Instead of working up and trying to hold the sides up against the boat to attach them, I was able to hang one end with a piece of wire at the correct height from the keel and then work easily from the bow back attaching it. Everything was a lot easier to handle and to screw in place. I set the deck on two sawhorses and it placed everything at a convenient height for me to work.

I did everything else that I could possibly do after that before turning it right side up to attach the rails and finish up the interior. Painted the underside of the deck and bulkheads all the difficult to reach places before attaching the sides so that once one side was on I could caulk and finish more before attaching the other.

Maybe it is my age or the fact that I've done far too many projects on my knees and I just wanted to make this an easier project. But it worked out well for me. Yes...you end up turning the boat over one additional time, but it doesn't weigh that much at the early stages.

[Derek]

Great thought Barry, would sure beat epoxying and painting all the undersides upside down (half of which have been done already on my back :wink: ). My next planned step after attaching them was to flip the boat and epoxy/glass the hull anyways, that way its already there, as you said, minus the weight of the sides.