Inside Seams & Side Frames (Day 25 & 26)

Finally finished the inside seams and managed to get a couple of hours in on Sunday morning as well to get the side frames and gunwales tacked & positioned ready for final welding. I also tacked in two of the floor stringers & put in a temporary piece of 3mm deck. I am putting off getting the deck in until I have welded both sides of seams and flipped the boat back over. I can then test for leaks using soapy water & a hi-pressure blast of air on the other side. Already found some tiny pin-holes at weld joints but I am sure once I weld the other side there won't be leaks. I was aiming for a leak free weld first pass but it's not that simple I don't think with MIG starts especially.

Welding Notes - If they go into a book I'll forget they are there.

Cleaning with a small dremel stainless brush, they don't last long but are very handy in tight spaces.

Literally hundreds of welds - Like little soldiers they are.

View of bow section fully welded on the inside.

Continuous chine welds

Slight warping of the frames but they are easy pushed back into position, ideally, use a strong-back to minimise this issue.

Gunwales nice & level, check measured, boat is symmetrical, thank goodness!

Side frames tacked-in, ready to be welded.

Temporary 3mm deck for side frame to sit onto.

Transom corner seams

Close-up view - Transom corner is water tight on first pass so it can be done with MIG in one pass.

Close-up - View at the bow

The transom - 'print-through' is evident on the transom which suggests good penetration of the transom bracket welds. Watch those side panels at the transom, they can 'suck-in' so brace them when welding.

Chine at the bow - Frame# 9 is still to be welded in, just deciding on MIG vs TIG, continuous vs stitch weld on the exposed side. Stitching would distort the side panel less on the exposed side.