October 2005

The timber has arrived and on time, supplied by 'Capricorn Timber' who was recommended to me by a local timber wholesaler whom I found through the Timber Trade Federation website.

Bulkhead trim for the shere clamp The first task was to fit the shere clamp, a laminate construction of 2 off 50 x 18mm sections. This required trimming each of the bulkheads by 18mm. They were originally cut to full width to allow for lining up with the hull side panels but with a quadrant 50mm deep removed so that the depth for the shere clamp was correct.

shere clamp stem shere clamp stern That was the easy bit. Fitting the full length piece of timber was quite a struggle, especially single handed. I did wonder whether 18mm was a little on the ambitious side and that 3 laminates of 12mm would have been a better idea. However, it did eventually go in as you can see. My plan it to leave it as a dry fit for a week to stabilise before I glue it in position and attempt the second laminate...