Now that the leeboard guards and lightning ground components are installed it's time to install the center deck section.

Oops!  First we better paint the cockpit area since it will be hard to reach after the deck is on.


I masked off the floor and primed the sides using the System Three primer.  I masked a strip at each hanging knee location so those could be installed directly to the sides and not the primer.


I decided that the knees and long carlins had to be installed before painting so that came next.  I could easily have done this before priming, but sometimes I get ahead of myself.


At the same time I decided I could complete the framing and still have enough "holes" to reach through and paint everything.  Here the mast partner is being bonded to the forward carlins.  The mast partner is made with either two layers of 6mm ply or three layers of 4mm play - which ever you have available.  I used three layers of 4mm ply.


Here's what it looks like after bonding and sanding the edges for a nice fit.  I admit I made it a bit wider than the plans called for, but I wanted to tie it in a bit with the aka mount doublers.


Here's how the center deck framing looks after all pieces are bonded in and ready to go.


This shows the cockpit area after painting.  I used System Three paints.  Whidbey White was used on the sides and clear topcoat was used on the floor with some non-skid added between layers.  Both the sides and the floor got three layers of paint because it goes on thin.  Not being a painter, I did not realize that masking tape DOES NOT prevent paint from creeping under it.  Also, if left on for a full day with very tough paint it is hard to remove.  The paint job would have been neater if I had known these two facts.  Oh well, it will have to do.  At least the cockpit area is protected from UV and is non-skid.


Dry fitting the center deck. 


Bonding with EZFillet.  I used 4 cargo straps to hold the deck in place while I went around the perimeter with copper ring nails.  When nailing start with the aft center location and work out to the edge of the boat.  Then work toward the bow alternating on each side.  Some people don't like to use ring nails or other hardware but I find that decks go on much better if they are used.  It's your choice.

As the perimeter is getting nailed down make sure that some EZFillet gets squeezed out all around and there are no gaps.  What do you do if there is a gap?  Heck, I don't know and don't even want to think about it.  Make sure you coat all beams and carlins with just enough EZFillet so there are no gaps.  But don't put on too much or it will drip down the sides of the beams and carlins and look ugly. 

With the perimeter nailed down I like to add weight to the center sections and along the long carlin to sort of make sure those sections bond.  BTW, I didn't use nails along the long carlins - only the outside edge and the deck beams at each end.


This is how it looks after the epoxy cures.


Glassing starts using 4 oz. E-glass.


And is finished.  Glassing the deck was easy compared to the inside and outside of the hull.  If you think the surface looks a little off, you're right.  I added non-skid to the deck.  This seemed like a great idea at the time, but after I added it I wasn't so sure.  I didn't sleep more than 2 hours all night thinking I had ruined a beautiful, bright deck.  Then as I tossed and turned I realized another problem -- you're supposed to add the non-skid to the paint or varnish, not to the epoxy coating. 

The next morning I came in and it didn't look as bad as I thought it would.  I was going to add non-skid anyway so no big deal.  If you plan to build a show quality boat, I would suggest you not add non-skid anywhere on the deck.  If you are building for adventure racing or cruising, non-skid on the deck is probably a good idea.  However, you should add it during the painting phase - not the epoxy phase like I did by mistake. 


Finally it was time to cut out the cockpit opening to the actual size.  Looking good!