Christmas lights and boat shapes......

So while I spent the weekend doing this......(built a frame on which to build the boat, cut out the last few larger pieces, stuck everything in place and began tieing together)

My wife and kids spent the weekend doing this:

(cleaning the kids bedrooms, getting down Christmas lights and decorating the entire house). I am a lucky guy to be able to dedicate a solid chunk of time like that.

Also, big thanks to John P and Gordon D who lent a huge hand getting the bigger panels in place. I will spend the week tieing in the chine more accurately and starting on the bulkheads.

the missing link.....

.........somewhere between plywood and a boat like thing.........i550 in it's earliest stages of evolution. There is some extra material on the side panels that extends past the transom. In order to race PHRF, the boat needs to be 19', so I am building a bolt on sugar scoop off the back.

Butt Joints and BEER!

I LOVE the smell of chemicals reacting!! Just knocked out the butt joints on the 3 long panels (bottom and 2 sides). A butt joint is quite simple: you butt 2 pieces of ply together, and let the toxic epoxy stew do the rest. Just pray I didn't glue anything together that shouldn't be.

I have also started the BEER-O-METER........we'll soon know how many beers it takes to build an i550. The counter is on the right side of the page.

It fits!

As many times as I measured and calculated etc, it wasn't until I saw the bottom panel laid out on the floor that I believed this thing was going to fit in the garage. I've got room to spare! Notice the warp, lower left.....annoying, but ultimately inconsequential......at least that's my story (for now) and I'm stickin' to it!

Marking and cutting

I feel pretty good about choosing the Tyvec patterns. I really didn't want to takethe time to loft from plans, but a full kit seemed like a bigger investment than I needed This has proven to be a great option.

warpage.....

I know that thin ply has a bit of a warp to it, just not sure how much this may affect the hull's final shape. This is the same stack, whooped up, then whooped down.....

It's ON like DONKEY KONG!!!!

I have started for REAL! 20 sheets of (slightly warped) Meranti Hydrotech 1/4" Mahoganey marine ply are stacked in the garage. All of the major parts have been marked, and I am in the process of cutting out those pieces. One tip: use a paint that will provide good contrast. I was tickled to find a happy shade of yellow in the paint section of my garage. Unfortunately, it is close enough to the color of the wood that is a bit tough to see the line sometimes. Live and learn. So far, this has gone smoothly.