Valkyrie II
PROJECT PAGE #3
Assembly
And we finally go three-dimensional. Chris Feller offered to come over and give me hand, and I was amazed by what we accomplished together in once afternoon. Here is the start of the process, where we attached the main bulkhead at the midpoint of the boat. You can see the taped seam just forward of the bulkhead. The bulkhead was attached using Titebond III, applied with a 1-inch chip brush.
This closeup shot gives you a view of one of my little tricks to ease assembly. At the very bottom of the bulkhead, down in the corner, you can see a small block that has been screwed on. This block protrudes out an inch or so, and supports the hull side at the correct height. The splice plate on the hull side (hidden by the bulkhead in this photo) was positioned to butt up against the bulkhead framing. The combination of the splice plate and the block made positioning the bulkhead virtually automatic. As soon as the bulklhead was securely fastened with waferhead screws, the block was removed to avoid having it get glued to the structure permanently. .
All bulkheads are in position here, with the exception of the transom. As you can see, I am using Jim Michalak's standard technique of bringing the sides in with a rope. If you look closely, you can see the temporary bulkhead just peaking out above the top of the main bulkhead. I added a couple of diagonal braces to the temporary bulkhead, along with a central vertical brace, to make sure that it holds its shape as construction continues.
Closeup of the transom. Jim's plans showed the main board for the motor mount going full-width across the transom, but I saw no need to do that. The curved portion of transom that is over the motor well will be cut out after the aft decking has been installed, and then the motor well will be framed in and finished. I am hoping to find a small, cheap 2-3 HP gas outboard, or maybe even an electric trolling motor. Nothing very powerful- I just want an assist for those days when the wind dies. Always remember...REAL sailors don't move upwind!
And here she is with everthing in place. I'm planning on taking one of Chris' suggestions and securing all the bulkheads with stainless steel wood screws, countersunk and puttied over. I want the extra strength since I'm planning on keeping this boat around for a good long while.
Once I have gotten all the screws in, I will add some temporary diagonal braces to the structure, and then we'll have a boat-flipping party. Then it's on to the bottom and bilge panels.