Gunwales

Gunwale is probably the classic example of marine terminology being just bloody odd. Its pronounced Gunnel, like tunnel.

I wanted a classic look to this little boat so I went with a spaced gunwale. This means an inwale (innel) spaced from the gunwale. It really stiffened the top of the hull when finished. I think its actually a bit stiffer than just a gunwale because of the width of the laminate. Its a bit of a work boat thing.

The spacers are cut either end using a large spade bit drill to make scalloped ends. Its notched intot he breasthook in the front and the quarter knees at the back. Its a bit unclear in this photo but you can see the completed gunwales and floors.

You can see in this photo I've also added the thwart and a cross member for the rear sear. There's probably a name for that too but I haven't got the

plans with me now.

By this time I had filleted all the lands inside and out. Thats the joins between the planks. I mixed up filler thickness epoxy and used a big syringe top squirt it into the joins. Then its just a matter of sort of squeegeeing it to a neat profile. Its a bloody lot of bending over.

Because the width of the join between the two bits of timber is increased it adds to the strength a lot. you can sort of see the finished join below.

You can also see some bubbles in the epoxy painted on the ply. Thats actually good. It means the epoxy displaced gas in the timber and soaked it. I'll sand it all with fine paper (800 grit) and give it another coat.