Finishing the Deck Frames

It's a good thing I set up a cover over the work site.  I did it to provide shade, but the sun has hardly shown itself for the last four days- an unusual stretch of rain.  Because of the cover, I've still been able to work on the boat and keep myself, the tools, and the project dry except when the wind blows.

There are 13 deck frames on each side. The first step after cutting each piece to length was to rip the edge which is to lie along the side, at the angle between the boat's side and the centerline. That way the frame will lie perpendicular to the centerline. That job was quick and easy.


The tricky part of the outside edge was make accurate cutouts to fit around the chine and the sheer clamp. I tried several techniques, but what worked best was to make the cross cut with the jigsaw and whittle in the matching lengthwise angle using a jack knife.

As each piece was cut out on the outside, I tacked it in place and made additional cuts or whittles to make it fit. Then, using the gauge you can see here in the background, I marked top line on each frame, and pulled them all off and...

...cut the top edges to the marked line. Then I tacked them all back on to check the fit.The two frames on each side nearest the bow required special treatment.  If I continued to cut the same angle, there would be a ridge down the middle of the deck forward of the mast where the deck goes all the way across, instead of an arc.  So I marked and cut the forward-most frames for an arc and put a little arc in the next frames back to transition to the straight top enge of the remaining frames.

After the tops were all cut I laid a straight batten (a piece of screen mold, actually) along the inside edge of the deck on the starboard side, carefully aligned it for a fair curve, and marked the top edge where the frames needed to be cut for the inboard edge.





After repeating on the port side, I pulled the frames off again, cut the inboard edges, and tacked them back on. The inboard edge is plumb for the top couple of inches, where the coaming will fasten to the frame, then tapers down to nothing at the chine. Here is a look at the frames in their final form.

Finally, I pulled all the completed frame pieces off one last time and put them aside to be sanded. I put all the tools away and washed the inside of the boat. After several months of accumulated dirt, sawdust and mold were scrubbed away, I left it to dry in preparation for giving the inside its sealer coat of epoxy. That will be easy to do now before the thwarts and frames are permanently attached.