the deck

Finally it's time to add the deck. We've left it as long as possible so that we didn't do it any damage while building and painting. It's going to be bright finished Fijian Kauri, and every mark and ding will show.

Marking out the first piece. 4.5mm 3 ply bends nice and easily.

I'm pretty pleased with how it looks.

The bottom of the deck is epoxy coated before we glue it on. We're currently debating whether it needs painting or not.

Since we're varnishing the deck, we've taped and papered it while we work on it to avoid making any marks. Epoxy with glue powder will leave a stain that you'll never sand out. (A lesson I learnt the hard way when I replaced the deck on my Starling dinghy a few years ago.)

We cut the deck oversize and screwed it to temporary battens along the side while the glue dries.

1:30 this morning, getting pretty tired!