BYYB Forums

I dryfitted the deck on the transom, lazarette front and the bulkheads.  Everything fit.  I was astounded!  The only problem is that the tip of the deck settles on the stem a bit short, and the mast box angle is about 1-1/2 degrees off.  There are two possible fixes.  One is the "shim" the stringer supporting the bottom of the forward bulkhead so the angle becomes 93 degrees instead of 94-1/2.  The other is to use a long clamp to pull the deck forward and the transom with it.  This would reduce the aqngle to 93 degrees, but may introduce too much stress.  I think I'll shim the stringer, and then adjust the bow gussets to fit.

A hypothetical question:  Assume the forward bulkhead is tilted at 97 degrees.  The mast box needs to be at 93 degrees.  Could you glue some wedges in betweewn the bulkhead and the box to insure the angle and give a stable surface to screw the box to?  I'm not planning this.  Just curious.

If I'm understanding your problem correctly, It sounds as if putting a clamp on it brings it all in line the way it's supposed to be? If so, then your transom is simply angled back too far, and you should do the clamping thing. I doubt you will be imposing too much stress. The whole boat is under some kind of stress, the cabin roof, the hull sides, the hull bottom, they are all curved against their will and it is these opposing forces that give the whole thing strength. I would go the clamping route, and if you find that it makes you nervous to do it all at once, tighten the clamp a little at first, then a day later do it up the rest of the way when the wood has accepted its new lot in life. I'm curious, where are you worried the stress will occur? I believe my "dry fit" worked out the same way. I remember having to use straps or clamps or something to pull the deck forward to fit properly into its spot.

Thanks for your input, Keith.  I suspect the sternpost angle was too large, rendering the deck "short' despite measuring dead on as per the plans.  Pulling that small amount of the transom forward against the stern post may be tough.  I'll see how it works on the dry fit, but inserting a spacer between the stringer and fore bulkhead (glued in place, of course) may be the easiest solution.

Dave

It sounds like exactly the problem  had. I forget exactly what I did about it, but if you're sure you can't pull the transom forward, have you thought about putting the shim in forward of the stern post? I'm just thinking that your cure sounds more complex than the problem. In the end, it usually turns out that however you bash 'em together, they turn out just fine.

Greetings Dave,

My boat came out the same way.  I usually end up with cabinet grade finishes in all of my wood-working projects, so being off by an inch really pissed me off.  So I spent a lot of time figuring out that the plans are a little off.  Read the bottom half of this page for all of the gory details.

http://home.comcast.net/~TomsWeekender/Driveway.html
(Anybody, please tell me if I have made any mistakes in my math.)

But it turns out that the plans are wrong in the other direction. Your deck should be 3/8ths inch too long to fit into the slot!  And yet we all seam to be making some mistake that leaves a gap at the front of the slot.  I just screwed mine down where it was and then filled in the 1 inch gap with scrap plywood.

Later, when it was time to fit the side panels, I first cut a template from 1/8th masonite to check the angles at the front.  You will have to move the lower front corner of the panel 1 inch forward to get an exact fit.

But don't worry.  In a few more days you will come to realize that as your boat progresses, the plans turn into just a guide for what to do next, and the exact dimensions of the next part will have to be measured off the boat to fit what you have already built.

Cheers,
Tom

P.S.
If you read through ALL of the posts on the BYYB, you will find that most Weekenders end up with too much weather helm, presumably because the cockpit and wheel setup makes the crew sit too far back in the boat for proper balance.  If you make your mast more vertical, you will only add to the problem.  If the mast were to rake a degree or two more than the plans indicate, you will end up with a better balanced boat.  Just remember to make allowances for this when you cut your sails.  Remember, the plans are only a guide.

Thanks Tom.  I feel better.  You feel that adding 1or 2 degrees of rake (from 93 to 94 or 95 degrees) improves performance?  Anyone else had similar experience?

Dave