The aft deck went on just fine because the radius did not require a significant bend in the 4mm plywood. First I coated the underside of the deck with epoxy, then I put thickened epoxy along the sheer clamps, fastened the tip of the deck with a bronze ring nail, and then used a nylon strap placed at the bulkhead to hold it in place. I then used a marking guide to draw a line on the deck along the edge to serve as a nail guide, and predrilled holes every 4 inches along this line. I spaced the nails on the aft deck at 4" rather than the recommended 3" because I'm using nails left over from another boat and I only have 112 of them. So, 4" aft of the rear bulkhead where it's relatively flat, and 3 1/4" forward of the rear bulkhead where it's gotta hold a steeper curve, will require 110 nails, which means I can (a) bend two (b) lose two, or (c) bend one and lose one. I'd order more but I'm a cheap bastard. Also, I hate waiting.
The fore deck was a bit trickier because of the 16" radius curvature. I wound up using about 6 nylon straps (the ratcheting kind) to hold it in place while I nailed. Also, the butt blocks were hard to clamp tightly enough to ensure a smooth and level join, so I had to use a couple of drywall screws to draw them up. Once it was nailed, I flipped the boat over and filled whatever gaps there were between the deck and the chines with epoxy thickened so it would just barely run into the gaps on its own. Tomorrow, I'll glass the deck.
The fore deck was a bit trickier because of the 16" radius curvature. I wound up using about 6 nylon straps (the ratcheting kind) to hold it in place while I nailed. Also, the butt blocks were hard to clamp tightly enough to ensure a smooth and level join, so I had to use a couple of drywall screws to draw them up. Once it was nailed, I flipped the boat over and filled whatever gaps there were between the deck and the chines with epoxy thickened so it would just barely run into the gaps on its own. Tomorrow, I'll glass the deck.
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