G’day all-
I thought I’d start off with photos of the end product and my workstation. I really should have gotten into this hobby when we were in NZ with three spare rooms and a huge garage, though this should serve. My commentary may get a bit wordy, but I’m really keen on documenting everything, because I’m sure by the time I start my second model I will have totally forgotten the start of this one.
So far I’ve broken out all the laser-cut pieces, being sure to first cut, at least partially, through the remaining connections from both sides with my X-acto, so as not to splinter the laminations.
I put together a keel holder with a bit of board I had around and a length of 5x15mm lath, which I cut into two pieces just shorter than the base and a good bit longer than the keel. I drilled through one end of the first lath, into the base and screwed it down. While holding the lath firmly against a straightedge, I drilled the other end and screwed it down. I then cut a thin bit of scrap off the keel form (to allow room for me to us my Dremel and screwdriver without bumping the keel) and clamped it between the two laths, along with a sheet of printer paper, so as not to make it too tight. I made sure to clamp with the substitute keel between the jaws so the second lath didn’t bow out in the middle. Then I screwed down the second lath at both ends and the middle and added a middle screw to the first. Then I dry-fitted the frames and decks to the keel. Look, a boat.