I have finished lashing my ribs to the stems and the keelson.  Next it is time to attach the stringers and the gunwale to the stems.

I cut some of the length off of my stringers and gunwales keeping a piece of each.  These I use to help get the right angle cut where the stringers and gunwales meet up with the stems.  I would put this extra piece of wood up against the side of the stem, bend a stringer in towards the stem until it touches.   Then I would draw my line on the stringer where it goes underneath that extra piece of wood.  This is where I cut the stringer or gunwale off.

Once they are all cut down to the proper angle so they bend towards the stem and sit flush down its sides.  For myself this also required extra sanding and filing.  Zap the adjancent stringers and gunwales together so that they are sitting snug against the stem.  Then drill a couple holes through each set for the dowels to go into, and drill some holes above and below each set for the lashing.

Here you can see how the stringers are sitting flush against the stem and I've got a couple holes drilled in with my dowels in place.  I am using glue on my dowels and the dowels I am using are simply bamboo skewers that I got from the grocery store.

After I assembled the station mold together, and cut the slit in the two end pieces for the stems to rest in. I needed to attach an extension to either end so I could clamp the tips of the stems to it. Once the stems were in place and lined up properly I cut down the keelson to the required length and lashed it to the stems.

I'm not much of a wood worker, somehow that gene missed me as everyone else in my family for generations has done fabulous work with wood.  Not sure what happened with this project maybe it is because I am a little older and I have more patience, or maybe it is because this design is so simple even I couldn't mess it up.  Hmmm... maybe I shouldn't say that yet.

This is my first build and I am attempting a Toto double paddle canoe/kayak.  I have opted for 1/4" ply Aquatek as a base which should be good for years to come.  I have opted to use fiberglass resign in lieu of epoxy for budget reasons.  Reading the differences between the resins, I know epoxy is much better but I believe it will hold up for what I plan to use it for.

The gunwhales are made of red cedar.  I simply ran them on a table saw out of a 2x4 from my local buidling supply store.  Brass screws here and there.  A few pine blocks to hold the vertical interior dividers.

Any thoughts on my choice of material?  Does it look ok?

 I am planning on putting an outer coat of Spar Urethane (maybe three coats) for added protection.  Is this a good idea?

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Put the 2nd of 4 strips in to the frames to give the entire frame assembly stiffness and have a place to land and anchor the plywood sides and bottom pieces.

The next 2 strips will be about the same but now that I have a "system" for installing them, it should go fairly easy!

Some jobs are not very large but present their own set of unique challenges. The setting of the strips is a difficult job mostly for the complexity of the angles where the strips meets the stem or front of the boat. It took 2 cuts and a bit of fine tuning but I managed to get it fastened into the stem, as well as frames 1 & 2!

After putting the frames yesterday, today I secured them in place by fastening small wood blocks to the 2 x 6, I glued the frame pieces to the blocks. This is the last step of the centerboard box installation.

Realized I needed a better place to "land" the strips that reinforce the frames to the front of the boat. Decided to add another piece to the front piece.

Cut the angles on the table saw.

Routed it out for the metal angle bracket and this is how it will look.