Yesterday I installed the keelson. I glued it into a notch in the transom and forward bulkhead and then butted it up into the stem. I screwed it to the temporary center frame to ensure that it glued at the correct arch.

The picture on the left shows the scarf joint in the keelson and, although difficult to detect in the photo, the curve of the keelson forward.





These three photos show the rabbet joint of the transom and keelson. As can be seen in the first photo. The bottom of the keelson is not flush with the bottom of the transom. The bottom panels will rest on the bottom of the transom. This will leave a gap between the keelson and bottom panels that I will have to fill with epoxy. It is hard to tell from the photo below, but I did not make this mistake in the stem rabbet. The screws are temporary and will be removed and the holes filled with epoxy.






























This photo shows the rabbet at the forward bulkhead.














Here is the stem.

















In this photo you can see the temporary battens screwed near the chines. This help bring the sides into a fair curve. The piece on the left of the photo is made up of a few different pieces because this is where I had the unfair spot. you can see the glue line of the scarf joint there. I'm afraid that all I accomplished screwing those scraps of wood there was to put more holes in the boat which will later have to be filled with epoxy.

One thing I learned building the first boat - which you can see on the right side of this photo - is that no matter what, I will end up having holes to fill later so there no need to worry about screw holes now. Using screws instead of clamps can be a real time saver.

You can also see the tape measure I have nailed to the stem. I have to continually check the boat for twists because it is not yet rigid enough. It still tends to shift when I'm working on it. Having the tape measure nailed into place allows me to quickly check the measurements from the stem to each corner of the stern and make any adjustments needed before epoxy dries.

I have been using left over wood flour from my first boat project to thicken the epoxy when gluing joints but I am almost out of it. I have ordered cab-o-sil, epoxy, and fiber glass from B&B Yacht Designs, but it has not gotten here yet. This restricts my options a bit as far as what I can do next.

I am going to try to shape the keelson and cut the bottom panels to shape today.