Building ‘Sharpy’ Part 58

The rudder stock and rudder coated with epoxy

Epoxy Putty applied to a keel weight

Keel Box panels

I had a really good day doing parts for the boat. After sanding the rudder stock I coated it and the rudder with epoxy. Leftover epoxy I used for making putty to infill irregularities between the lead pieces of the keel weights. I also laminated a piece of hardwood to a piece of softwood for making the fore and aft end parts of the keel box. I want hardwood on the inside of the keel box, because the leading and aft edges of the keel are made of hardwood. Hardwood rubbing against hardwood will be better than hardwood against softwood. Finally I cut two plywood panels for the keel box and measured where they would be joined to the keelson.


My next jobs will be completing the keel box and cutting a slot in keelson for the keel to pass through. When the slot has been cut I’ll be able to fit the plywood bottom of the boat. It is quite likely that I shall cut a slot in the plywood before attaching it to the bottom so that it exactly marries with the slot in the keelson. Precision will be required because the keel box will need to line up with both the slot in the keelson and the plywood bottom. All of the interior surfaces will have to be epoxied before parts are assembled. There will not be much room for manoeuvre because according to the boat plans there is less than a sixteenth of an inch to spare either side of the drop keel. I can, of course, make the keel box a fraction wider to give the keel more room for sliding in and out. Accordingly, that would require me to make the slot through the bottom of the boat a fraction wider also.