Building ‘Sharpy’ Part 93

Nailed and epoxied

I couldn’t make a start until this afternoon; even then I had to leave off building the boat for collecting turf from a garden centre. Tomorrow, I can see myself spending time helping with laying it at my daughter’s place. I’m grateful I can do such things, but it makes work on the boat a juggling act. Now I’ve got that off my chest I can explain what was achieved during the afternoon and evening.


I had to convince myself that putting in bins either side of the cockpit was a good idea. This entailed plenty of thought which caused me to slightly modify how I would do it. I would add thin strips of plywood between the floor stringers and the panels to eliminate reservoirs where water could collect which would be difficult to remove - even with a good sponge.

Starboard Bin

Because the sides of the bins could be subjected to heavy loading brought about by the weight of my body pressing on them when the boat heels, I nailed and epoxied the iroko frames to the plywood. I had considered relying entirely on the epoxy to keep the components together, but wisdom overruled. Better to be safe than sorry.


There is a 17 inch gap for the seat between the upright sides of the bins. I shall be able to pop it into the space where it will sit on three supports, all of them screwed to the boat, rather than glued. At this stage, I’m not sure the seat will be satisfactory, and I may want to exchange it for another. Hence my diffidence regarding making the seat a permanent feature.


My next job will most likely be trimming the bin sides and fixing them to the boat. I have yet to prepare the edging of the cockpit for the coaming and make it. I doubt I’ll be able to attach the coaming to the deck panels until the latter have been fixed to the hull.