Last night, I finished painting the sculls and spent some time prepping for today’s deck work. I got one actual task accomplished — I marked the spots for deck screws on the fore deck — and then got prematurely concerned with aesthetics. In particular, the screws already installed in the aft deck caught my attention. Some were very slightly above the surface of the wood. It would make sanding and polishing tough. I backed them out and reinstalled them with enough force to take them slightly below the surface. It took several tries with a few of them. The slots and finish were damaged on some. I replaced them. I sanded around some of the screws where the surface had been gouged by slipped screwdriver blades. It smoothed out nicely, by hand, with 150 grit, but the screw holes filled with wood- and epoxy-dust. Most of it blew out. But I wonder if I’ll need to remove all the screws prior to finish sanding? CLC’s instructions say I can remove these screws (“to save weight”), filling each of the holes with epoxy. Saving grams is not one of my priorities. I think it would be better to refill the holes with the screws, maybe after modest countersinking.

But all that is so premature! Get the fore deck on, put the sleeves back on the sculls, get the damn thing built first and then start filling and sanding and polishing and addressing gaps. Stay focused on the structure first!

The foredeck is on (25, 25, 100 mix plus a lot of wood flour). I did as planned: release the three marker screws, butter the tops of the sheer clamps, the bulkhead, and the thwart, put the deck back in place by reinstalling the registration screws, then strap it down, drill the remaining holes, put screws in the holes, wait and hope.

I forgot to charge the drill last night, on oversight which I remembered only after I was well into spreading epoxy. So I started out drilling every third hole, and then every third hole again. Then I installed some screws. Then I drilled the remaining holes (except where the straps blocked them) and installed those screws. Considering it’s an almost 50 foot walk around the boat, this was good exercise. The drill made it with charge to spare.

Tip: drill a pilot hole through the deck and sheer clamp, then slightly enlarge the hole in the deck. The wood of the deck will then hold the screw in place while it’s torqued down into the sheer clamp. Less fumbling, less gouging. There was still plenty of each.

All but a couple of screws are in place. I used every drop of that 150g of epoxy. And I will almost surely need to buy more slow hardener since I’m not sure the fast stuff will leave me time to do the decks or, especially, the rigger.

Looking it all over now, I think maybe I will remove the screws after all and fill the holes. Maybe I’ll use pigmented epoxy. Copper, thank you. Or wooden dowels / plugs / bungs. Experiments are in order.