Inner Keel and Stem - continued

Cleaning up these two large laminations was a time consuming process but the clean up was easier to do at this stage rather than putting it off until the hull is built around them. Then the trial fitting and cutting the long hooked scarph joint that will join them together was complicated by their size. Here are photos showing the pieces in place but only the keel to stern block has been glued.

The aft section of the keel has to be tapered as it approaches the stern. The whole length of it has to be beveled so the planking has an appropriate surface to land on.

Here is the inner part of the stem sitting in place. I was impressed at how well it fitted, matching perfectly with the hairpin and first 2 station moulds. The scarph joint is visible where the clamp is at the top.

A view from the front (taken through the window!). Again, a lot of the stem has to be removed to provide a fair landing for the planking. I could do most of this with the stem on the bench where it would be easier to work on or with it glued in place. The advantage of doing it in place is that progress can be checked continually using a fairing batten, hopefully avoiding the need to glue filler pieces on where too much has been removed.