This is a big moment in the building of a boat. This is when we get to see the hull form – and here it is:
Remember those uneven chines? Well they didn’t go away but sanding the chines allowed me to smooth out the ripples to an extent and the canoe is becoming more boat-shaped:
But, using cheap exterior ply has its drawbacks. Some ripples developed in the outer ply after the unprotected sheets had been sitting in the cool and slightly damp garage for a while. Sanding them revealed the reason why. The inner layers had been crudely overlapped so when sanded flat, they showed through the outer veneer:
Not to worry though because I’m following a belt and braces approach. Although not specified by bateau.com, I am going to sheath the boat in glassfibre. The main reason is to learn to work with the material, but now I’ve seen the quality of the plywood, I’m glad I’m doing it.
More of that next time.