JacquesCousteau

I think it's still very salvageable, and the deck looks great so it would be a real shame to stop work on it. My one recommendation would be to apply the filler with a light touch. It's easy to add more if you need it, but sanding away excess might be tedious, especially if you've already done a lot of sanding.

Some good news on the Cargo Canoa and some bad (though correctable) news on the Canoa de Rancho. Good news first: I took out the brace in the Cargo Canoa and, after letting the boat sit for a day, it's clear that the hull has been untwisted with the stern seat/platform! I'm very happy that I was able to untwist it, as it was going to cause all sorts of problems down the line and really screw up the look of the model. Besides that, I glued in the frames as well as some cleats so that the interior decking has more points of connection. As discussed in an earlier post, I have clear photographic evidence that they used cleats along the bottom at least sometimes, so I think this makes sense for the boat. I also added a long, wide piece to create the base for the mast step. The step itself will be added in later, but I had to leave it off for now so I can fair the tops of the frames/cleats so the interior decking fits well. Finally, I also scribed some lines at the triangular bow plank to simulate multiple planks there. Having it be a single piece was bothering me, so this will be more accurate. Overall I'm happy with how the Cargo Canoa is turning out! Now the bad news: I've had a bit of trouble planking the Canoa de Rancho, although I've corrected it. First, I noticed that one plank (in the photo, the second plank on the right side) wasn't sitting right on the transom, so I used alcohol to detach it at that point and reglue, which fixed it. It's a good reminder to make sure that I'm not pushing the planks into odd angles when I use clips to push them against previously-placed planks. (Hard to see in the photo, but it's there.) Second and more seriously, after placing the third plank I noticed that there was a gap between the plank and the second mold from the back. (Sorry for the poor photo quality.) After checking, I realized it was because I didn't fair the aftmost mold on that side enough, so the more strakes I added, the larger the gap would be. I have no idea how I missed this--I thought I checked everything with a batten) but it's a good reminder to triple-check the fairing. I used alcohol to partially unglue the third strake so I could insert a thin sanding stick and better fair the mold. The gap was negligible at the second strake, so I didn't unglue that one for further sanding. After a bit of sanding, I was able to check carefully with the plank and a batten and found that everything was smooth, so I was able to re-glue the plank. Other than that, not much more to report on the Canoa de Rancho. Planking has been slow as I've been doing a lot on the Cargo Canoa at the same time. I'll be continuing planking on the Canoa de Rancho, and adding interior decking to the Cargo Canoa.

The images are very interesting, and many do indeed look similar to the Guadalupe! I have to confess my ignorance of Spain's many, many images of the Virgin, but given the Guadalupe's very limited spread even within Mexico by early 1600s, I would suspect that they were different images. Perhaps something like Nuestra Señora del Rosario from Seville? It also has a radiant glow (not sure what the technical term is) surrounding it. On the limits to Guadalupan devotion in the colonial era, William Taylor has a very good and accessible essay, "Our Lady of Guadalupe and Friends," available here: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9nn001h8 Among other things, he notes that the Guadalupe was one of many local holy images in the 1600s, it took until the 1740s for the Guadalupan devotion to really move much beyond Mexico City itself, and even in the later War of Independence, many rebels (who did not come from Mexico City) preferred their local Virgin Marias, seeing the Guadalupe as still too closely associated with the royalist capital. Anyway, food for thought! It could be interesting to figure out which Virgin Marias were venerated in whichever Spanish city you want the galleon to come from, and model it after that?

You may want to double check if the Armada had specifically Guadalupan imagery, though. While the apparition is dated to 1531, all sources on it come from decades later. The earliest, very scattered written sources are in Nahuatl, not Spanish, and it isn't until the late 1640s that the first Spanish account of it appears (apparently transcribing what had been mostly an oral tradition until then). It's not until the second half of the 1600s that the image started to be more widely promoted, and even then, the Virgin of Guadalupe was strongly associated with Mexico City, specifically, without much wider spread until the 1700s. Not trying to be nitpicky, but you seem to be working hard on accuracy so I thought I'd bring it up.

The build looks great! Quick question about the flag, though: were the Spanish putting the Virgin of Guadalupe on flags as early as 1607? My impression was that the earliest firm, written evidence of the Guadalupan devotion was in the late 1640s, so an appearance on flags earlier would be very interesting. But I could be wrong, though.

Thanks! I think I like that arrangement best too. I was a little worried it would be weird having three frames on one side and two on the other aft of the crossbeam, but I suppose the asymmetricality is part of this type of boat's charm!

Great attitude toward the inevitable challenges of a build!

More on the Cargo Canoa: The frames keep breaking when I try to bend then, so some are just made of two pieces glued together. Oh well, they still look right. As can be seen in photos below, I'm still experimenting with placement. What do people think looks better: four half-frames ahead of the central crossbeam and four behind it? (Ignore the diagonal brace) Three ahead and five behind? Or two ahead (with extra cleats added later) and six behind? As can be seen, I've also made significant progress on the helmsman's platform/seat. A note about my design for it. In Rubín's La canoa perdida, the protagonist hides valuables in a "box" under the stern seat of a small fishing canoa. This doesn't make much sense on many of the fishing canoas I've seen, as their seat is just the stern cap rail. But, on the larger cargo canoas and canoas de rancho, it would make more sense to have a box under the helmsman's platform, which is rather large. Unfortunately, I have found only one photo that shows this platform/seat (in a rather small canoa that seems similar in size and proportion to my Cargo Canoa) and it's from a distance so not very clear. It's the smallish black-hulled boat just right of center in the photo. Source: Undated image from minute 1:40 of Martín Sánchez, “Lago de Chapala Grandes Constructores de Vapores y Canoas” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBjWIcdy6KY It doesn't show whether or not there's anything underneath the seat. It could be a totally empty space, which it looks like it might be, or there could be a bulkhead (perhaps a bit farther back in the shadows) that could be part of a box. Of course, the box Rubín mentions could have just been a crate loosely tucked under the seat. But the protagonist hides valuables there for the long term, which would make more sense to me if the box was fixed in the hull and not going anywhere. So, originally I was going to just make the seat/platform as a sort of bench, but Rubín's description of there being a box intrigued me, and I need to add a fair bit of internal bracing at the stern anyway to help deal with the hull twist. So, shaky evidence or no, I decided to make the seat as a sort of trunk with a hinged lid (although I'm not building it to actually open as I need it to be sturdy enough to brace the stern). This box would be useful on a passenger/cargo canoa to store anything that can't get wet, so it sounds reasonable to me. One issue is that the box couldn't be opened while the helmsman is steering, but I realized that this could be fixed if the box lid wasn't the entire seat/platform--that is, if the hinges were somewhere in the middle of the seat. So I decided to make the box with a fixed top plank running across the stern end, and a lid across the fore end. As can be seen, I made the lid pretty large so that large items could be stowed, and the fixed top plank fairly small. The "hinges," which will be made of card and will not actually open, will be added later after completing and painting the platform. The interior of the box will be sealed off and never see the light of day, so I took the opportunity to add a diagonal brace. Probably doesn't do much, but anything to hold the stern in place helps! Finally I added the "lid", carefully cutting and sanding it to size. I also lightly chamfered the edges so that there's some definition between the lid and the sides of the boat, hopefully adding to the illusion that it's an openable lid. I also cut out the slots for the crossbeams. These won't be added until I deck the interior, but it was necessary to cut the slots now so that I know how high the frames should be. Meanwhile the Canoa de Rancho is getting the third strake set up. Let me know what you think about the frame placement of the Cargo Canoa, any suggestions would be appreciated!

Good job working it out, it looks like it's coming along great!

That makes sense. I've found that its helpful to use not just the sanding stick, but a thin batten as well to check for fairing and to make sure that everything is smooth. Fairing the bulkheads a bit more can also provide more surface area for gluing and can help better hold down the planks. I've often read that you usually want to fair until the char on the edge of the bulkheads has been almost removed, leaving just a hint of a line. But there are a lot of useful resources on this site for planking, from people who know more than I do. Good luck with the hull, I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out!

I'm not an expert on planking, but looking back at earlier photos, I'm wondering if the bulkheads were faired enough. Not sure how that could be fixed now without pulling off all the planking, though. Also, are you soaking or heating the planks before bending them, and of so, are you letting them dry before gluing? If not, they can shrink and warp. Finally, are you beveling the edges of the planks around the curve?

Brief bit on planking the hull of the Canoa de Rancho: With the garboard strake on, I sanded down where it connects with the bottom. I'm leaving the planks long at the stern for easier clamping. Then the second strake. I realized that, despite my best efforts, there was going to be a bit of a gap on one side due to some unevenness is the top of the garboard. I decided to fill it with a mix of sawdust and glue. I have seen a lot of people mention its use, but rarely with pictures documenting how to do so, so my apologies if the following is very basic knowledge. I read somewhere on this site that you should also add a bit of water to the mix. Given that my previous attempts at mixing sawdust and glue had been very inconsistent in texture, I decided to see if water would help. I placed the mixture along the gap before gluing the second strake in. It wasn't drying right, though--too much water--so I added some glue over the top. I then alternated a few times between using a toothpick to press it into the gap and a moist brush to clean glue residue. I also made sure the interior was clean, as well. After letting it partially dry, I sanded. No more gap!

Planking the Canoa de Rancho is temporarily on hold as I focus more on fixing the twist in the Cargo Canoa. I think I've figured it out! I wasn't ready to throw in the towel let after the frame failure discussed above. But nothing seemed practical or accurate. I considered running a stringer as a gunwale and simply holding it so there was no twist while it dried, but the actual vessels don't have a gunwale, per se: the wide cap rail is just set on top of the uppermost strake and supported by the crossbeams forward and outboard supports aft. I also considered trying to use the interior deck planking to force out the twist, but it wouldn't be practical. It would take too long to dry and I can hardly hold it in shape for all that time. Not to mention that each deck plank alone isn't going to be strong enough to fix the twist, especially as they're only glued at a few points, so I would have to somehow hold it in place for the entire decking process, which is hardly feasible. Then, a breakthrough! I realized that I could fix the twist at least temporarily by placing a spacer running from the starboard corner of the crossbeam to the port stern corner. This pushes out the hull twist quite well. It also leaves space below to work on the decking. With a way to hold the twisted hull in the proper position, I also realized that I could probably use the rear seat or helmsman's platform to also hold the stern in shape and help work out the twist. With that in mind, I've started by placing the side supports for the platform, using a bit of marked scrap to make sure they're consistently spaced below the top. Later I'll be able to add a support across the transom, a support running across the hull at the fore end, and then the platform itself. All of this can be added underneath the diagonal support that keeps the hull untwisted. Once it dries, the box it forms should help hold the hull in its proper shape, which will only be helped by the frames and interior decking. On the frames: I haven't totally given up on making one-piece frames, but as mentioned earlier, it's clear that 1/16th inch basswood is too flimsy. Instead, I experimented with a toothpick, sanding down each side to flatten it a bit, soaking and heating it in the microwave (wrapped in a wet paper towel) and molding it along the edge of the bulwark piece that was used for planking. There was some fraying as it's a very sharp turn, but it held up overall and adding glue to the turn firmed it up and kept it at the correct angle. Unfortunately, not all toothpicks survive the sharp bend. I might sand down the edge of the mold a bit to make a slightly gentler curve. I also started work on the tiller. For this, I wanted to use a bit of the mango wood I got from my in-laws' yard. It was easy to work with and doesn't get fuzzy like basswood. I can really see why people like using fruit woods! After carving it roughly to size, I moistened it and clamped along a hot coffee mug to put a light curve in it. One frame ready, one frame being made, and one tiller awaiting some extra carving at the handle. Finally, I also added the bow cleats. (The frame is not glued in this photo.) I'm excited to see if I can actually correct the twist!

Sounds like a fun build. The mahogany strips really add a nice touch to a simple hull!

Planking continues on the canoa de rancho. I'll post about that once I have a few more strakes on. But in the meantime, a quick update on the cargo canoa. Originally I was planning on making its frames--which, if you remember from a lot of posts ago, are actually staggered half-frames--out of two strips on wood each, one on the bottom and one on the side. Extremely simple, the most complicated thing would be cutting the joint at the right angle (which is to say, not complicated at all). But, seeing as how I would like to fix the hull twist, I thought that maybe it would work better if I made each frame was a single piece. That way, the frames could hold the hull in a better shape. Unfortunately, I don't think that idea is going to work. As can be seen, the frame split in two parts when I was cutting it. The 1/16th-inch basswood is just too thin to work for cuttingout single-piece frames. Especially if the frames would have any pressure on them from trying to correct the hull twist--even if they survive being cut out, the pressure could split them very easily. So, I suppose my other option would be to try to bend a basswood strip to the correct angle, but I don't think that's going to work very well for making a frame that can pressure the twist out of the hull. At the moment, it looks like I might have to live with the twisted hull on the cargo canoa. Hopefully all the molds and time spent getting the canoa de rancho right will keep it from twisting too.

Garboards are on! The microwave method worked ok for bending the planks to the gentle curves here, but I don't think it would work very well for a tighter curve. Maybe unless the planks were thinner than these 1/16 inch strips. The microwave didn't seem to heat them very evenly, and the middle seemed to dry out a bit, making me worry about it possibly scorching if left in for too long (even though it was wrapped in a wet paper towel). But, the planks did get bent enough for this boat. Not much to say about attaching the garboard strakes. They took some creative clamping. One issue with this narrow-based build board is that, with all the protruding molds, it's a bit annoying to place rubber bands in the middle as they catch on everything. I'll be trimming the bow as I go, but leaving the stern untrimmed until the end so I have more areas to clamp. Oh, and also: I didn't add tape to most of the molds so the glue won't stick until after I had the starboard garboard on. I forgot about it until I had it glued at the stem, added tape to one mold, and realized that the glue would mostly dry if I tried to tape the rest first. I added tape afterward, but it doesn't stick well to the wood, and I'm not sure how much help it will be. Suggestions welcome.

Actually, fairing was very quick and I've started planking. The building board looked better once the rubber bands and clips were removed, but they were to be back on it soon enough. Between the pre-fairing sanding and having more or less completed the middle four molds, finishing fairing was a snap. After a bit of sanding, running a scrap 1/4 by 1/16 inch balsa strip along the molds revealed very little that still needed to be smoothed. Once I did that, I cut the garboard strakes from a sheet of 1/16 inch basswood. While I had bent the planks by boiling them on the dory, that wasn't going to be an option for this build as the planks are too long (and, in any case, all our big pots and pans were in use as we just made meatballs). Somewhere on the forum I had read about someone wrapping planks in a wet paper towel snd microwaving them, so I decent to give that a try. We'll see if it holds its shape when I take it off the mold tomorrow, but it took the curve easily enough. I'm also happy to see that my plan to use straight planks looks like it's going to work. I was worried that the rocker wasn't going to be quite right for the angle of the sides, or vice versa, and that I would have to figure out how to cut the planks to a more complex shape. That would be a good skill to learn... but it's not happening on this build. The straight plank runs well along the bottom at all points except at the very stern, where it's off by about 1/32 inch. I think I can just sand that flush with the bottom and get on with things, leaving the top as it is for continuing use of straight planks. It means that, when viewed from the side, the boat's sides will be 1/32 inch narrower than they would be if it was a perfect fit, but I can live with that. Changing gears a bit: Thinking about the cargo canoa's twist, would it be possible to correct it by adding a new mold or two, cut very precisely, to hold it into shape, and then to add the frames? My main concern with trying to use the frames to correct it is that they'll be relatively few in number and I was planning on using 1/16th inch basswood to make them, so I'm not sure if they'll be too flimsy to hold it in shape.

Brief update: I've started fairing! As mentioned earlier, the transom was a little off, so I detached it with alcohol, added a very thin shim to one side, and reattached it. Next, after making sure the heights of the molds were correct, which required adding another thin shim to the bottom of the #2 mold, I dry-fit the bottom assembly in place and lined up the molds to be even with the edges. Then I removed the bottle assembly to glue the molds to the board. As I couldn't remove them to place the glue correctly--a flaw in my build plan, though I later realized I could have just marked the location--I ended up just slopping glue around all the edges. I was concerned about this being a weak joint, so I added extra supports out of scrap 3/32 balsa. I further added small supports between the molds further up. While fairing the bottom, I realized that it was still a little more fragile than I wanted, so I added extra supports, made of a coffee stir stick, between the frames. I also attached the transom holder and some supports of its own. My strongback/building board is far from pretty, with a lot of ad-hoc parts, but as long as it does the job, I'll be thrilled. I did a bit of fairing on the sides after finishing the bottom, then went to affix the bottom assembly. I couldn't figure out how best to hold the bottom assembly to the right rocker, as the stem is too fragile to itself hold the bow down, so I ended up using a single drop of glue to attach the bottom to the foremost and aftmost frames. It should hold things in place but be easy enough to remove after planking--I should have enough space to even brush on some alcohol there. I held the bottom in place with rubber bands, themselves held in place with numerous clips. I also used scrap to ensure the stem is in the correct location. At this point, it was actually quite sturdy and I was able to fair the middle 4 frames. Despite my best efforts, I realized when I re-placed the bottom assembly that the #5 mold was slightly off by something between 1/64 and 1/32 inch. Maybe it moved during gluing? In any case, I added a thin shim to the short side, which will be cut to size after it fully dries. Looking forward to finishing fairing and getting started on planking! And also to figuring out how to fix the cargo canoa's twist, somehow...

Thanks, that's very kind of you to say! We'll see if it all breaks as soon as I start fairing... But first, I realized that the transom is slightly off from square, so I'll be removing it with alcohol and re-attaching it.

Very interesting build, it's cool that you've been able to pick up the hull again after all this time to substantially modify it! A couple quick questions: First, on the davits. I feel like they'd have a lot of pressure and weight on them in real life. If they're connected to the rail and not directly to the hull, would it make sense to at least add extra supports directly underneath them so all that weight isn't going straight to the rail? I tried to look at the plans but couldn't really make out what they show. Second, I may be totally wrong, but I feel like a vessel modified for carrying cannons, with the possibility of a fight, would probably build up the wales a bit higher to provide at least some protection for the crew. (With gunports, of course). It could actually be interesting to model a sort of jury-rigged extension of the wales while still keeping the rail you have. Or maybe some other material--I know they used bales of packed cotton during the civil war, although I don't know about earlier, and if I remember right hammocks were often packed along the rails for a similar purpose? Just a thought, but it might add visual interest to the rail area.

While I figure out what to do about the Cargo Canoa, I've been making progress on the Canoa de Rancho. I was concerned about getting a strong connection between the stem and the bottom, and about keeping the stem straight, so I added a couple small support pieces. This way the stem fits into a groove. They will be covered by decking later. I glued on the stem using a square to make sure it was vertical and straight. The transom also went on. Note that the triangular support piece will be removed later, so I didn't bother to perfectly center it. With the widest mold placed (not glued) in position, and the stem and transom in place, the hull form is more apparent. Next, the strongback or building board (not sure exactly what the right term is, the lengthwise piece that will hold the molds, transom, and stem in place). I still have the building board from the dory build, which is usefully thick and won't bend lengthwise, but it's slightly too short for the canoa. So, I added a small piece of scrap at the bow end to hold the stem in place. The building board is also slightly warped across its width on one side, so I placed the canoa strongback on the flat side. I ended up cutting the board in half lengthwise, as having it off-center would impede using rubber bands to hold the planks in place. I also marked a center line and the locations for the molds. The aftmost mold, which was the first I made, turned out slightly too narrow, but it works if it's moved back by 1/8th of an inch. The molds are only temporary, so it's fine if they're not perfectly evenly spaced, as long as they are squared to the center line and will work for planking. After the twisting issue on the cargo canoa, I'm trying to make sure that everything stays where it should on this one. To hold the transom in place, I used two pieces of 3/32 inch scrap balsa wood around a 1/16th inch bit of basswood to make a slot. It's been marked so it can be centered, but hasn't been attached yet. I also cut a slot in the strongback where the stem will be held. The molds were made only to the size of the hull cross-section, so I attached extra pieces to their tops to hold them on the building board to the correct height for the rocker. I was concerned about getting them vertical and about breakage during fairing, so I added some supports first that will help hold them in place. The supports are made so the molds can be moved side-to-side. In theory I could measure everything perfectly and just center them on the board, but I think it might be useful to have a little wiggle room, so I can match them up perfectly with the bottom before gluing them in to the strongback. I added supports on both sides so the molds will be held in place firmly and will have a greater surface area glued. I then added the pieces that will hold the molds up to the correct height. Once I made sure they were themselves square, I glued them to the molds, using the carpenter's square to make sure they were on right. Once the glue dried, I placed them on the building board to get a sense of how it's coming together. While test-fitting the bottom, I noticed that the 3 and 4 molds were slightly high, so I sanded them down slightly. The 5 mold was also low--whether I cut it to the wrong length or sanded too much while squaring it, it was 1/32 inch too short. So I added a small shim below. Once the glue cures, I'll sand it square. Finally, I marked the location of the half-frames frames on the bottom. I decided to space them completely evenly, half an inch apart (so eight half-frame pairs, which seems to follow photographic evidence), although it's not totally clear to me that they actually did that. The photos in the earlier post about hull construction are not super clear, but the half-frame pairs may have been placed somewhat closer together (but not touching) with wider spaces in between the pairs. BUT, at least on larger canoas, the frames seem to have been more or less evenly spaced on each side. So if I later decide on closer spacing within each pair, I'll still have markings for a consistent distance between each pair, if that makes sense. As soon as I get the molds set, I'll make sure the molds are properly aligned and glue them in place, then add some supports between them higher off the building board to better keep them in place for the next step: fairing. I'm glad to see it all coming together!

Congratulations, looks great!

Work continues on the strongback, and I'll post about it soon. But first, I wanted to ask for advice. The cargo canoa is twisted along its length, not just at the stern, as I noticed earlier, but also at the bow. Undoubtedly this is because of how I planked it quickly, carelessly, and with minimal molds to guide the planking, and so I'm working slowly on the strongback to prevent this issue on the canoa de rancho. My question is, does anyone have any suggestions about correcting the twisting on the cargo canoa? Even just a partial reduction in the twist would be an improvement. I can twist it into a better shape by hand, but of course it springs back immediately. I still have to add the frames, decking, and crossbeams. Is it possible that those can be used to reduce the twisting? And, if so, how? Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

I got some work done on both models. Hopefully going through both builds at once isn't too confusing, but I'm not sure how much sense it would make to split them up. One quick bit of research first, though. Earlier, I said that the smaller model (the slapdash one I made to figure out some hull form stuff but decided to keep working on) would work for a 28 foot canoa at 1:48 scale. I've rethought that, because the proportions just looked off to me for that sort of vessel. It looked too wall-sided and wide. Instead, a number of photos (many of them in posts above, but also the photo below) show small, high-sided canoas, around 20 feet long or so, carrying passengers or cargo. Source: https://mediateca.inah.gob.mx/islandora_74/islandora/object/fotografia%3A194360 These vessels are much boxier than the lower, narrower fishing canoas (many of which are around the same length), and I think the proportions look closer to the small model. At 1:32 scale, the smaller model comes in around 19 feet long, which is close enough for me. I've decided to instead build it as one of these small cabotage vessels. So, both models are now at the same scale. To keep things straight for now, let's call the smaller one the Cargo Canoa, and the larger one the Canoa de Rancho. Cargo Canoa I sanded the sides of the Cargo Canoa and straightened up the bow. Already it looks a lot better than earlier, although the starboard side is a bit rougher. The interior was sanded as well. As you can see, I also removed the molds, although I ended up temporarily putting the center one back in as the sides tended to move in a bit. I mentioned earlier that I had stupidly glued them to the bottom, and removing them left some damage. But I'm not worried about it, as the view will be blocked by internal decking. The stem had ended up a bit off-center, as it was a late addition. I used an x-acto knife to trim it a bit so that it looks more vertical. I should note that, in real canoas, the stem appears to have been very narrow, this one is still a bit bulky. But I can't really cut it out know, so I'm going to have to live with it. On the Canoa de Rancho, the bow will be covered by a deck/platform, but for these smaller vessels this seems to have been smaller so more will be visible. Oh well, nobody will know but me (and everyone who reads this). I scribed the bottom as well to simulate the planking. I decided to add the center crossbeam now. The others will have to be added later so I can add the decking, but the center beam will help strengthen the hull. Finally, I added a false stem (very thin), and the rudder post/support that many canoas had on the transom. I'm still hoping to use the Cargo Canoa to test things and figure stuff out for the Canoa de Rancho. Hopefully, despite its problems, it still turns out to be a decent model. Canoa de Rancho Things are moving slower on the Canoa de Rancho. I started making the molds and the transom, beginning with the latter. I traced a half-form, cut it out, and used that to make the transom, but I found it more complicated than I expected. The thin paper, necessary for tracing from one sheet to another, is flimsy and it's difficult to use it to outline the form, and it was tricky to get the angle of the sides right. So for the molds, I decided to build them from 1/4 inch wide strips of basswood (which also saves a bit of wood, compared to making each a single piece). This was also tricky at the start, but I found that taping the sides in place on the plans first and then gluing the horizontal pieces worked better. I've checked and they more or less fit where they should, and fairing them should fix up anything. As can be seen, I also added the bottom support to the transom, with a small piece which will be removed later to make sure the angle is correct. (It can also be seen that the top side of the bottom is a mess from my multiple attempts to get a plank width I liked. It will be painted and decked over, though.) Finally, I cut the stem, making it overly long so it can better provide a clamping location. It will be cut down later. Next up, I'll be making a strongback to hold the molds and bottom in place for planking.

I was honestly surprised, the machete worked pretty well for whittling. The sharpest part of the blade was close to the handle, otherwise it would have been unmanageable, but it was pretty easy to handle. That said, a small knife would have been a lot more precise and I probably would have been able to better shape things. My in-laws offered one, but I didn't want to ruin their kitchen knife! The scissors, on the other hand, barely worked even for removing the spongy material at the center. I only used them because trying to use the tip of the machete didn't work at all.