Almost-A-SCAMP Progress Report #2-10B . . . .

[Charles Brennan]

More progress on my SCAMP build today, getting ready to attach the coamings, starting with a dry-fit and mounting screws all pre-drilled and pre-positioned.
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Not glued yet; all the mounting details are worked out ahead of time, so there is no wasted time spent dithering around looking for hardware or  tools, while epoxy glue is getting ready to kick off.
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And after some recent bitter lessons, I have learned NOT to try and glue shiny-sided epoxied plywood together, so the area to be glued was scuffed up first with 80 grit sandpaper.
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And then glued down, for real. 
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That gap at the front of the coaming will get filled in later, with a  triangular transition piece.

You can tell you're getting closer, when the required pieces/parts start getting smaller, in both size and quantity! 
Need 3 coats of epoxy on the transom cap doubler ends, the coaming fill pieces (the wooden triangles), the cap doubler tapering fill pieces, and the hard point backing blocks.
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Like this:
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A word about those coaming-to-cabin-side transition pieces: 3 sides with 3 totally different bevel angles; managed to chew up most of a morning, trying to get those things right. 
But the Good News is: I got me a BUNCH of door-stop wedges!! 

After the glue set up and the screws were removed from the coamings and filled with epoxy-coated bamboo skewers, I was able to turn my attention to the transom cap.
It looks like such an inconsequential add-on, that many builders just leave it off, for the sake of build-time brevity.
The designer says that in strong side loads, such as a reach in "sporting conditions" or beached broadside to the surf, there are significant torsion loads on the rudder and the transom cap helps to stiffen and distribute those loads.
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My first challenge, was just getting a flat board to sit on a beveled edge and a curved top! 

And figuring how to get the transom cap doubler installed.
The doubler will need tapering on the edges and cut down slightly to fill in the curve on the sides and not interfere with the curve of the cap, on top.
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Gotta say it:    SCAMP designer John Welsford, LOVES to see how many different planes and angles at one time, he can warp/torture a single piece of plywood, into!! 

Actually glued down.
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BTW, these are the last of the pieces that came with the partial kit I acquired; it jolted me,    when I realized how much closer to hull completion I'm (FINALLY!)    getting.

Added the obligatory epoxy-dipped and glued, bamboo skewers.
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Glued  in the coaming transition pieces:
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Had to use Gorilla tape to position it properly, since there was no way to clamp that thing, that did not cause the wedge to slide into some other position. 

Glued together the spacers for a main-sheet swivel cam-cleat thwart.
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Then glued the spacers to the bottom cleats, that hold the thwart captive.
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And after that cured, glued the rest of the assembly together.
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That slot in the ends, allows the thwart to be positioned anywhere along the bench seat rails.

Like so:
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Got that swivel cam-cleat for 5 bucks at a flea market; guy didn't know what it was, or what it could be used for. 
Thought it might be some kind of Farm Equipment. 
Told him I'd take it off his hands.   

Got it all sanded smooth . . . . .  SO smooth in fact,    I had to apply epoxy again since I was down to bare wood in places.
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THAT'S better! 
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Since I TOTALLY FORGOT!!    To install backing block doublers on the deck, for my anchor painter clam-cleats:
I thought that instead of just drilling some holes for the screw clamps and then filling the screw holes with epoxy dipped bamboo skewers, cutting/sanding them off and THEN over-drilling, filling, and re-drilling mounting holes for the hardware . . . . . .
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. . . . . why not use the clam-cleat mounting holes, to position the clamping screws? 

Sure, it's towards the end of the build,    but I am getting ever more efficient, as I go along!! 
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Trust me, there's a big wooden block and a ton of glue, underneath that deck.

After the glue had set up, I used the mounting screw holes to over-drill, for future epoxy filling.
Lookit me!!    I saved STEPS!! 
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I'm going to have these hard point pad eyes mounted on the front of bulkhead #4, just above the bench seats.
That way, in extreme weather or by myself, I can shackle onto a tether from my harness, keeping in mind the: Two Imperatives of Good Seamanship:.
1) Keep all the water on the OUTSIDE of the boat. 
2) Keep all the the Sailors on the INSIDE of the boat!! 
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I feel like there is much more progress happening, since I'm able to work on different things, at different times.
Was figuring out where I wanted to mount the oarlocks.
There's two Schools of Thought on the optimum location:
1) The plans. 
2) My own opinion. 
 I wanted to be able to brace my feet against the front of the lazarette, when rowing.
Turns out, both John Welsford and I, are in agreement about mounting the oar locks 43 inches (1100 mm) forward of the transom. 

And then THIS happened:
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I was sitting down to find the best rowing location and might have sat down a little harder than normal, when I heard a sudden CRACK!!    And was suddenly sitting a few inches lower on the thwart seat.
Wow!    I went through all 5 stages of grief, in about 8 seconds. 

Denial:  Something could not have POSSIBLY broken!!    I put on FILLETS!! 
Anger: Durn!    And several other stronger Sailorly words, over having a setback of this magnitude, at this stage in the build.
Bargaining:    Maybe I could fill in the crack with some epoxy and it would hold together.    (Not True; the wood edge of the plywood tore away from the epoxy glue joint and failed in the only two places, WITHOUT a fillet.)
Depression:    Not enough 9mm wood on hand, and I DONWANNA    spend 160 bucks and most of a day's ride to go get some more. 
Acceptance: Oh, well. Better to fail now,    than to fail, Out There. 
 
Open to any and all analysis of how I managed to screw this up,    or suggestions on how to build something better.
Meanwhile, there is still PLENTY of other stuff to work on!! 
 
Charles Brennan

[Doug SC]

On the lid that spilt you might add two broads under it at a 90-degree angle running lengthwise as stiffeners. Something like the quick drawing I did.

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[Krusen]

You would be unwise to put one broad on your Skamp, and 2 would be a total disaster!

Stick with boards, they are less fun, but more reliable.

I would go with white oak for those stiffeners, if you can find some cheap.  That small should not risk the budget.  Superior strength, and not "crisp" which the okume seems to be.

Bonus, if your Skamp comes in heavier than expected, you can blame it all on that heavy oak that I added to the build!

Maybe a strip of fiberglass clothe along the crack, to firmly tie the two pieces together?  In addition to the wood pieces.

[Charles Brennan]

Doug and Kruse'n, My problem is typical of most small boats in that everything has to do double-triple-quadruple duty. 
Sometimes, this thing is a foot well grate:
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Sometimes, this thing is a foot well cover, so as to have a level deck to walk on.
(Important, for safely stepping the mast and rigging the sail.)
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Sometimes, this thing is a rowing thwart:
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Sometimes, this thing is a component in a sleeping platform:
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Sometimes, it is even a camping table! 

It is shown here upside down, to illustrate the rails that make it ¾" thick on the ends to stay flush with the other slats (previous pic) and the gap on the long sides that allows it to sit flush on the foot well and stay even with the rest of the decking. (2nd pic.)
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It flexed a little, so I added what I thought would be adequate stiffeners: 
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Coated them with epoxy, glued them down, and filleted them.
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And after 3 coats of paint, I thought I was home free!   
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Walked on it down inside the foot well, walked on it with the foot well covered and admired how stiff it now felt (compared to before) and thoroughly congratulated myself    . . . . .

. . . . . . until the first time I sat down hard, on it: 
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After painful reflection and insight,    I can see that the original two transverse stiffeners in the middle of the grate, were the Achilles Heel of the system.    Had I been able to bridge clear across the length of the grate with stiffeners, it would not have been possible for the grate to fracture at mid point, along the pictured fault lines. 

What I NEED, (and the simplest to fabricate) is a platform with finger holes, ¾-inch thick on the short edges (and clear across!) and ⅜-inch thick on the long edges
With my new-found 20-20 hindsight,    I need two 9mm pieces of plywood glued together and glassed on both sides (and maybe even the middle!) and with the one 9mm off-set edge. But I don't have any 9mm pieces that big, unless I drive clear down to Tarpon Springs and pop for another whole sheet of 9mm Okoume plywood.
I DO have half a sheet of 6mm Okoume that I could get three pieces from, for a total of 18mm of thickness.
But then I have to shave down 3mm off the middle piece to get my 9mm offset long edges.  I'm not convinced, that I'm not just buying a Future Fracture, in a different plane. 

I think that my best bet, may be to laminate all three 6mm pieces together and glass both sides, or perhaps even add two layers of glass in the middle laminations; still mulling it over.  If it too, fails, I haven't lost anything but some time and epoxy and then I'll HAVE to spring for some 9mm Okoume, but not UNTIL then!  Any ideas, or critiques, or gaping holes in my logic, that you can find before Murphy does?!? 

Your suggestions would not really work within the constraints of this particular design, (too much height in the foot well) but they DID help immensely, to clarify my thinking.  Sometimes a suggestion from someone else, is exactly what it takes to get your mind out of shock, and engaged and thinking again.

And for that, I thank you.
Charles Brennan