Department of Interior

It's a messy,
a dusty,
a tedious,
a frustrating and at times
awkward-contortionist type of thing...

working on the interior of the PMD.

But then there is relief and satisfaction in giving birth to a tubby little craft AND getting the job done - well, more or less. 

Aside from the rub rails, the knees had to be fitted and glued.

I actually had to work quite a bit on these two pieces - sanding that is - before they fit snugly into their respective corners. Then the motor pad on the transom needed the epoxy and sanding treatment prior to getting installed. I had also subjected both knees to that same treatment prior to installation.

So after the rub rails were glued on, they needed to be sanded, rounded and trimmed.

I opted for a nice taper toward the bow. Aside from the somewhat intimidating experience of working with a super-sharp and elegantly flexible Japanese saw, this amazing tool got me off to a good start.  The first "bite" was a bit scary but the shark-toothed blade sank through the relatively hard wood like soft flesh. WOW! Power at your fingertips, this tool - not unlike a Samurai sword - could inflict some serious harm!

This act of courage was then followed by more prosaic
rasping,
shaping,
and a by now familiar routine of 
sanding 120 grid
sanding 220 grid
epoxy coating 1,
sanding,
epoxy-coating 2,
sanding...

I think you get the picture

Oar Lock dry fitting

 

 ...and then fitted for the oar lock risers





 If you have followed this blog from the beginning, you may recall that the very first thing the manual instructed us to do was to glue together the rail scarfs and put them aside. Here a picture of the rub rail at the point where the scarfs meet.

Lug rig mast step

I decided to install the mast step as part of this phase of construction.

It made most sense to do it at this point so that I could subsequently seal the bottom at the next turning of the hull.

Ready for the 220 grid treatment

So, prior to turning the hull back around, I needed to sand every surface, every corner, nook and crevice that will be eventually varnished.  220 grid being the order of the day.

As I started the process, I found quite a few unexpected bumps - especially on the undersides of the seats - which had escaped my attention when it would have been much easier to fix.... and now required special effort and attention.

I am happy to report that this inside job has now been concluded - phewww!