Been a while...

I got a lot done today.

I started off working on the rear facing seats. I measured up and cut some 1/2" oak plywood to the basic shape of the front and sides. I taked them together with finish nails. For final assembly, I'll use glue and bronze screws. The seat and back rest will be made out of joined pieces of mahogany. I'm picking that up tomorrow.

Next I mocked up the dashboard. Using some clamps, I set the dashboard in place and reattached all of the cables and wires. The mess of wires underneath the front deck will be tucked behind the interior panels.

After that I ran the steering cable back, just under the gunwale, and screwed in some clamps to hold it in. It reached the engine fine. But I still have to figure out a way to attach that end of the cable to the engine. I wonder if there is a way to reverse the action the steering wheel has on the cable.

After that I started tacking up the interior panels. They, too are temporarily held in by some finish nails, just so I can measure and cut them to fit. Once I get everything dry fit, I'll replace the nails with some fancy screws with matching lip washers. That way, If I ever need to get behind the boards, all I have to do is unscrew one board.

I temporarily put the floorboards back in, I was getting tired of losing skin on my shins. Plus, my wife had friends over, and I wanted the boat to look nice when they saw it.

Lastly, I mixed up some marine filler and put it on the stem where there was some old grounding damage, and used the excess to fill in a bunch of fastener countersink holes. I'll sand it smooth tomorrow.