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Hard work planing centreline to accept external keel

Preparing hull for the external keel

Last planks and the external keel glued into position. Bow being prepared to accept the outer stem laminations

Planking complete. Last plank looks wide, but will regain proportion after the gunwale is added.

External keel batten, showing partially cut-out centreboard slot - will be finished later in the construction

Fully planked hull from another angle

Final shape, with the gunwales and outer stem yet to be fitted

Outer stem dry-fitted - nine laminations of Celery Top Pine. Will be shaped after epoxy lamination.

Outer stem laminated with epoxy. Lamination done over the existing hull, which has been protected from adhesion by packaging tape.

Outer stem will be removed when epoxy cures. After shaping, it will be glued into final position.

Skeg being laminated from two pieces of quarter-sawn Victorian Mountain Ash.

Outer Stem planed and spoke-shaved to final shape and size

Outer Stem planed and spoke-shaved to final shape and size. Nine laminations of Celery Top Pine to finish 37mm molded dimension.

Skeg made from two laminations of Victorian Mountain Ash to finish 30mm thick.

Screw holes were all treated with unthickened epoxy, and then over-filled with a mix of epoxy and West 403/411 in a blend. All holes were counter sunk

Outer stem attached

Close-up of Celery Top Pine outer stem

View of hull with outer stem and skeg attached

Glass cloth laid on internal faces of centreoard case sides ready for epoxy

Internal faces of centreboard case sides glassed. Not ethat there is no excess resin in this first coat - just enough to thoroughly wet-out the cloth

Close-up of glass after first coat of epoxy. Just enough resin to wet-out the cloth, but no excess. The weave will be filled with subsequent coats.

Hull after having the edges of the laps and the filled screw holes sanded.

Bed logs being attached to centreboard case sides. Silicon Bronze screws driven from inside surface, with clamps to help out as epoxy cures.

Celery Top Pine Head Ledges dry fitted in preparation for final assembly using epoxy

Assembled centreboard case (upside-down) showing the bottom surface already curved to match the rocker in the keelson. Silicon Bronze screws.

Hoop Pine gunwales attached.

Hoop Pine gunwales being glued into position. Gunwales taper from 45mm x 12mm (1-3/4" x 1/2") to 25mm x 12mm (1" x 1/2") at bow.

Applying low-viscosity epoxy timber sealer to sanded hull

Bare timber really soaks up the epoxy. After curing, this coat is well sanded to remove the raised grain.

Hull after three full coats of 2-part epoxy primer/undercoat.

A shed which is much too crowded!

Vacuum-bagging the two 12mm/1/2" centreboard laminations to produce a 24mm/1" centreboard blank.

Vacuum gauge sitting over nylon bag material, showing vacuum. White material is Dacron wadding used as a bleeder cloth to allow passage of air.

Centreboard blank planed and sanded to shape. Leading edge has been trimmed to allow for fitting of leading edge protection

Centreboard handle made from Tasmanian Blackwood

Using power plane to trim back leading and trailing edges to facilitate fitting of edge protection.

Ruler shows how much has been trimmed from edges to allow fitting of edge protection.

Dry glass cloth layed on one side of board. Edge of cloth over hangs board with no attempt made to run it around the sharp edge.

Using dry brush to smooth cloth prior to application of epoxy

Brushing resin through glass cloth

Almost wet-out

Appearance of cloth when excess resin has been removed, leaving a nicely wet-out covering with no pools of epoxy which may allow the cloth to "float"

Nice glassing job. When it has tacked-off, extra coats of resin will be applied to fill the weave

Centreboard turned over, showing the glass protruding past the trimed edge

Filling the edge with epoxy fortified with West 403 Microfibres

Epoxy edges filed and sanded to shape

Glass laid over second side of centreboard, including the epoxy edges

Second side of board, including the epoxy edges, laid up with 200gsm glass and epoxy

Rudder Blade laminated to finish 24mm/1" thick

Pivot end of rudder blade - leading edge top/right

Cheeks of rudder head top/left. Two laminations of filler piece centre - top of rudder blade bottom/right

Rudder Blade with first layer of epoxy/glass applied

Rudder components after first coat of epoxy/glass

Marking offsets for tiller on Celery Top Pine

Marking curved shape of tiller on one (of three) lamination of Celery Top Pine

Tiller laminations are cut from three vertical laminations, and contain a marked reverse curve

Tiller being spoke-shaved to produce a tapered, eight-sided shape

Close-up of the superb Celery Top Pine used in the laminated tiller.

Rough-finished Celery Top Pine tiller leaning against the hull, with rudder blade in the background

Rudder Box being glued-up, using a cast iron book press to help apply even pressure

Saw set-up to make Bird's Mouth cuts in the individual staves of the hollow masts

Featherboard holding mast stave firmly against fence of saw

Running mast stave through saw. Accuracy and firm control are essential for success

Finish the run with a push-stick for safety

A mast stave after the first cut

The stave is end-for-ended and run through again

Here is the result

After tapering the square edge of all the staves, they are dry-assembled to check fits. This shows the main and mizzen masts loosely held with ties

Tip of mizzen mast loosely fitted up.

Close-up of the grain structure in the beautiful Silver Quandong. As strong as Spruce, and very light

Roughly-cut ends of masts showing the structure. About 75mm of the end will be trimmed after gluing.