The French have a Different Word for Everything...

I once ran a radio station while going to college.  It was a small radio station.  We had about 8 people working there when I started.  Shortly after I was hired the station was bought out and everyone was let go except me.  I think it was I worked the cheapest.  Anyway to make a long story short I was on my own and was pretty much self taught in radio.  About a year later the station sold again to some real radio people in a town about 45-55 minutes down the road.  Most of my interaction was on the phone with them because they didn't like to drive.  Being self taught, my terminology I used was looked down upon by the "real radio" guys.  I used to refer to commercials as "ads". This turned out to be a real faux pas.  Turns out you don't call an advertisement an "ad" in the business.  An "add" is a new song in the music rotation.  An advertisement is called a "spot" usually 30 or 60 seconds long. oh well, who knew?

Well I tell this story because like radio I am self taught when it comes to building boats and don't have a lot of interaction with guys that know their stuff.  So I finished the installation of the floorboards.  I believe this is called the sole.  Hope "real boat people" don't laugh at me.  There are a bunch of other terms like lazarette, Bomar, companionway, tabernacle, gaff, gudgeons & pintles, that I will be working into future posts...hope I don't misuse them.  Boat people are like radio people and the French...they have a different word for everything.

Installed floorboards.

Trim line drawn using a wood strip left over from one of the kayaks to draw the line.

Tight quarters required a tool purchase.

Aerial view.

Implements of construction.

My "feeler gauge".

Everyone seems to have found their own way of installing the floorboards.  I found using cheap drywall screws for the first installation would be a good idea so not to tear up the bronze screw heads.  Ultimately after the boards are sanded rounded over with the router and varnished they will be installed with bronze screws.  The piece of paper I used in the last picture was used kinda like a feeler gauge.  I would slide it under the floorboard and found where it would make contact with the hull.  I would then sand or hand plane that area.  After lots of back and forth the clearance was perfect.

Also in the last picture the floorboard second from the bottom is flat sawn.  All the rest of the boards are quarter sawn.  OCD and being a woodworker this drives me nuts.  All the boards have perfectly straight grain with the very close tight grain, except that one with Cathedral grain...aaaaaaawwww.

While installing the floorboards here is a tip for future builders.  As you work your way out from the center it is very difficult to reach your hand under the installed boards once you get a few boards installed. It is also really easy to drop stuff during installation and when you do they all slide or roll to the center on the hull, just out of reach.  I just took the floorboards out for finish work and exposed enough stuff to build another boat!  Drill bits, screws, screw drivers, shims and lots of pencils.  It was like opening a treasure chest.  Have plenty of these things on hand before you start.

It was a nice change of pace from all the sanding doing the floorboards but now that they are out, back to sanding.