I glued some more scarfs. I forgot about the second layer of bottom panels, so those are done now. I’m. It sure how I’m gonna handle the bottom panel once they are scarfed together. Any tricks for such long pieces without help?
Long, bulky, really heavy, unwieldy ... hard to handle ... yup! You're getting a BIG boat out of the deal! Personally, I've gotten bottom panels into the mold by myself by lifting end, middle, other end onto temporary supports and sliding into place. I know someone that use a chain hoist to pick up one end (panel on EDGE) and futzed it into place picking up the other end. Tricky no matter what. Easiest is to get a couple of friends and pick it up on edge, set down along the keel, then lay it off to the side that it goes on. Once the whole bottom panel assembly (including glassed one-side chine flats) is done, you can clamp or screw boards across it and lift with a block and tackle or friends to set it aside until it gets lifted into place on the stringers, transom, and bow stem. The good news is that you CAN do it all by yourself if you're careful and think things through. There have been several people that have built the boat entirely alone, using tripods or hoists or block and tackles to assist .... including flipping the hull in-place when the time came, and cranking the hull up onto a trailer. The friends route is fastest and easiest, but not required.
Brian
