Stand up!

Now that all of the frames are built and the stem is formed, it's time to finally start some assembly. I started by measuring the strongback and standing up the frames & stem. This is the first time it's actually looked like a boat, and I love seeing the lines come together.

Started with the transom, and had to figure the angle from the plans

Transom - not straight up

The rest of the frames are ready to go

Next I got frame 1 upright

and the stem! holding in place with a scrap of plywood

also using scrap plywood to hold the front of the stem in place

Human added for size reference

I started with the transom, and getting it standing at the correct angle from the plans (about 10*) was no easy task. I had to start out by cutting a notch in the stem and in frame #1 before mounting them to the strongback. I totally miscalculated the depth of the notch on the stem and had to cut it deeper later, thank goodness I didn't go the other way with that one! Suddenly building a 17' boat seems huge!

Filled in the gaps there

used a string down the middle of the frames to get alignment

Now it seems shaped like a boat

Finally we can start to see the lines come together! Getting a real shape for the hull is a huge breakthrough. I used scrap wood to hold the frames upright to the strongback, and little plywood blocks screwed to the strongback to set the front & back of each frame in place. The plans gave me a distance between each frame, so I started by marking those in pencil on the strongback. Then after standing up #1 and #5, I could draw a tight piece of string between the center of those two, and use that string to align frames 2, 3, and 4.

Now it's time to shape the keel, and cutting in the rabbet is no small task. Then notch the frames again and install the keel .