Plywood bottom

 Now that the planks are bent, I've moved on to the plywood bottom.  The original had 3 pieces and now I realize why some frames were built the way they were.  The first two from the transom to amidships were fairly easy.  I left an over hang which I'll make flush later.  Here are the first two after cutting and fitting.

I attached these but before moving on, I had to address a frame that was very low.  When we bent the bow planks, we noticed a dip in the board we bent.  So, I had to attach a filler to bring it up to level.  When I was doing this, I remembered that I had a low frame and put off addressing it.  Well . . . the time had come.

Once this was completed, I moved on to the other four pieces of plywood.  All my friends had been telling me that the plywood would not bend in two directions near the bow so I should cut foot wide strips to install at an angle, so the plywood was only bending in one direction.  However, I had plenty of plywood, so I wanted to try it the way it was originally.  I mean, Chris Craft did it why can't I?

As luck would have it, it worked.  I bent it into place, wet one side for the night and let it dry.  The next day when I removed it to cut and fit the next two pieces, it retains some of its shape and is easier to bend into place now.

With that behind me I just finished cutting and fitting the rest of the plywood bottom pieces.  Next, I have to coat pieces with Clear Epoxy Sealer and paint the frames.  This is the last chance I'll have to paint the frames while they are accessible.  Then I'll install the plywood bottom.  It's starting to look like a boat!