Nirvana 1941 Chris Craft

[Bob Vic]

Fitted the top half of the transom this morning. Very glad that I left the sides of the mahogany board intact as it gave me some leverage with the rachet straps to pull the board around for a good fit against the transom frame on the sides. There's a whole lot of pressure there so I'll leave the clamps on for a full 2 days to let the epoxy fully cure.

[retroboat]

Great progress Bob keep at it its going to look gorgeous

[Bob Vic]

Lockdown is proving to be a productive time. After letting the epoxy cure over 2 1/2 days, I released the ratchet straps and fixed the screws through the transom and into the frame. Then the messy task of gluing in the bungs with West epoxy was completed... I believe about 120 bungs in all here. Tomorrow I'll knock the tops off the bungs and sand the transom. (The knot/blemish to the right of the exhasut pipe falls within the painted area below the bootstrap.)

[WoodRay]

Good stuff Bob. What thickness sheet are you using?

[Bob Vic]

The finished thickness is 12mm. I bought a rough sawn mahogany board that was 45mm thick and 300mm tall and ripped it down the length.

[WoodRay]

The finished thickness is 12mm. I bought a rough sawn mahogany board that was 45mm thick and 300mm tall and ripped it down the length.

Yes of course. Stupid me was thinking ply sheet. Getting old before my time I think.

[Bob Vic]

If the 12mm boards didn't bend, next option was to laminate in situ thinner stuff... which would have been two ply! A couple of pics from a short stint in the shed today. The epoxy is taking a lot longer to go off in the cold weather, so didn't get onto trimming the bungs until mid arvo. Very happy with the way it sands up, but could have lined up the grain on the bungs better.

[WoodRay]

I'm bitterly disappointed with those bungs Bob. You've ruined a classic. It's not worth keeping it now. You better give it to me............................when it's finished though.

[Bob Vic]

Actually I would like to have had those bungs tighter. I'm going to experiment with tapered plugs on the deck and hope that there is enough 'meat' in the timber to pull it off. Transom done & dusted today.

[Bob Vic]

One end of the upside down jig done. Virtually all of the timber used I sourced as discarded off cuts by the framers from a nearby home under construction.