My name is James Radford and this is my first entry for the Ugly Duckling a 1954 Chris Craft ?????. Yes at this point there would be a  model but I am not sure what she is. I know she is 30ft with a 10ft beam. The back deck is just the right size for a poker table for 4, but that is it. 

Today was a big event, making the final placement of the centerboard box onto the keel.

 I began by drilling the holes for the bolts that will hold the bedlogs to the keel.

 I applied a 3M Marine sealant/adhesive as a gasket between the bedlog and keel. 

My hardware ha arrived and I want to get the centerboard box in place asap. I glued, screwed and bolted the centerboard box together so I can prepare to mount it.

Hello there guys and girls of the blog,

I'm new to the site and to boat building, but will be going to the Lyme regis boat building acadmey to study next year. My name is Sam Williams and I'm 18.

Good any of you fine people define, and possibly provide a picture of kabes.

Cheers  

Not much explanation here.  This went much like last year's Starboard side work.

The Big MAC was hauled in July, and I addressed an issue that I was already aware of...rot taking place BELOW THE WATERLINE!  I was apprehensive about knocking holes in the boat, but what needed to be done needed to be done.  Here's how it went.

I have begun installing the gunwales on each side of the boat.  Currently, I have not downloaded all of the pictures from my camera but the attached photos will show my progress so far.  These gunwales are made of 1/2" X 3/4" strips of pine.  I bought the strips at Lowe's and used them simply to save on the time and effort involved in ripping a board on the table saw.  These pieces,  even though they are about $3-4 each, are nice and smooth and provide good flexibility in the construction of the gunwales. I used 4 strips on the inside.

Prior to their installation I cut 14 braces (7 for each side of the boat) that the gunwales will rest on (see photo 024).  These braces were installed about 13-15" apart and are attached to the inside of the boat with epoxy and on the outside I use 2 brass screws ( 1" #8 size screws).  Yesterday I did a little sanding and I think I will be very pleased with the smoothness and final look of the finished gunwales.  By the way---I plan to leave the gunwales in wood finish while the rest of the boat will be painted.

Over the past weekend I built the daggerboard box.  This box is constructed of 1/2" plywood with 1.5" fur spacers.  I used the fur because it was some of the better pieces of scrap wood I had laying around.  As recommended by several other builders, I built the box 1/2 at a time so that I could use epoxy and fiberglass tape on the inside.  Hopefully this will prevent any moisture issues in the future, not to mention reducing the chaffing /abrasions.

Also in the photos, you may be able to see that I used a little trim on the bottom edge of the box, as well as the top edge.  The bottom trim was done simply to give me more surface for the epoxy to bond with the bottom of the boat.  The top trim was used so that I would also have a little more surface area to epoxy a a piece of plywood trim along the top.  This gives the box a little "neater" or "finished" appearance by covering the edge of the fur spacers.

With the headledges screwed and glued in place, it is time ti get the inside of the CB Box painted before I assemble the 2 sides together. 

I am using an Anti-fouling paint that contains Cuprous oxide or copper powder suspended in the paint. It is a heavy can and the copper will discourage marine life from growing onto a surface, copper being toxic to most living things.

Another glue and screw operation.