Oops...

I discovered my first big mistake on the Pelican today.

It started with I looked at the design in the plans for the center board trunk. I didn't (and don't) like it at all, and decided to modify it such that the sides of the trunk would extend all the way through the hull, rather than be fitted to the keelson.

Makes sense to do it that way, at least to me. It will make it easier to fit the centerboard trunk sides, and make for a stronger result.

So I cut the centerboard slot extra wide to accommodate the trunk.

But I cut it too wide. Quite a bit too wide. I can't find my calculation sheet, but I blew it. Its a good inch wider than it should be.

I spent some time in the thinking chair on that one, and think I have sussed out a solution. Basically, I am going to continue per my (modified) plan, and then fill in the excess gap after the boat is turned over again. This approach was always going to require a flip: The whole idea is that by running the centerboard trunk sides down through the bottom, they would need to be planed/sanded flush underneath later. All this mistake means is that there will be a gap to either side of the trunk on the bottom. I'll just fill it in with wood strips and/or a big lump of epoxy.

But the main thing is I am still going to work it out where I glass into the centerboard slot from the bottom of the hull. I hope to be able to reach in a good four or five inches, overlapping the glass I'm going to put inside the trunk (pre-assembly) as well as the glass on the bottom. Should make for a perfectly waterproof result.

One other little tweak: The Barlow plans call for bolts through the hull into the "logs" at the bottom of the centerboard trunk. I don't see the need for that, and am just going to glue and screw them into the keelson from the top. Among other things, that will eliminate the necessity of countersinking the bolt heads on the bottom of the hull