Oxford II hull/deck alignment issues

Builder's Forum
1

First boat, first post! Hope everyone is well.

I am building an Oxford II. Stitched and glued the hull and deck a few months ago then had to set aside. Now back at it and preparing to join the hull and deck. I noticed right away that I was having trouble lining everything up, so I am taking my time over a few days to work on realignment and not rush.

1. So far, it seems that my hull is shaped a bit differently from the deck... the bow seems to have bowed downward a bit (weight from hanging off the table?), while the stern bowed upward. I found this after several "rounds" of working the two pieces to find the best alignment, settling on aligning from the center outward to observe the bow and stern. Over a few days, I have been gradually realigning the ends by propping the bow and weighing the stern down, and letting the boat re-settle. It seems to be working well, as the alignment is becoming more satisfactory all along the shell. Any thoughts, hints, or amens on this would be appreciated!

2. I've done some heat gun and putty knife work on the bow because the hull retained a shape that was a bit too wide for the deck, so I heated and re-shaped some of the epoxy work to narrow the hull into a width that better matched the deck. I add this bit because I have a similar but more significant problem at the stern...

3. First, the length of the deck and hull don't match at the stern no matter what I do. After bowing the hull back "downward" at the stern, the alignment is far better, but the deck remains a bit longer even as the stiching holes match almost all the way. Of more concern is that the widths are prohibitively different (see pics). It seems that, no matter what I have done so far, no amount of bending, stretching, or heat-gunning will bring these two together. Note that this is not a deck curvature issue because the hull is wider (!)... the deck is basically flat at the stern, so I don't think anything can be done from that side. Removing the transom doesn't seem to be the best option, as it would mean a lot of work with the removal and re-shaping (by best guess?)—with no guarantee that the second filleting would be as good at this point of construction. I am thinking of cutting a line in the center of the transom to about halfway down, filleting/epoxying the small "gap," and clamping the two sides of the hull in order to "squeeze" it into a slighly narrower shape. Still seems like some work, but with more chance for success? Since the transom will be doubled, I am confident that I can get things sealed up properly.

Thoughts? Suggestiong? Anyone with this problem? How did you address/solve? 

Thanks so much! - Bobby

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vt8z2gldxfgl68w/starboard.jpeg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/t3oemurcvm5nf4j/sternS.jpeg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/l2day9yxrsjr7mo/stern.jpeg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/onl7b1gih84qp7g/sternP.jpeg?dl=0

2

Posting pics and links here are not intuitive to me... let's see if this is better.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vt8z2gldxfgl68w/starboard.jpeg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/t3oemurcvm5nf4j/sternS.jpeg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/l2day9yxrsjr7mo/stern.jpeg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/onl7b1gih84qp7g/sternP.jpeg?dl=0

  

3

Update:

So I figured some more things out about my main alignment issue. It's amazing what a couple of days of considering and a couple of nights of sleeping on it will do.

The sides of the deck changed angle at the stern such that they are more vertical than they should be. I thought i was doing a good job of mating the bevels and filleting as the wood wanted to go, but evidently not...

So more heat-gunning and flexing, but it means I'm pulling the glass away a bit and breaking the fillets at the stern—and I'm still not at the needed angles. The question now is this: do I continue to "work" the boat as is and get the hull and deck together, filling and re-shaping the stern after? Or do I somehow take the deck apart near the stern and re-do the work, hoping that I get the angles "right?"

More pictures from today's progress:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ftddjxzivjp6dhl/21working.jpeg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/n1f1qobemad0u09/22better.jpeg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/k1z61z2ot5wa2hm/23sterntop.jpeg?dl=0

 

 

4

   Bongobob:     I have exactly the same issue on my Oxford II.     I've taken a coupole of measurements and wonder how they compare with your kit as my deck panel looks narrower at the stern than what I have seen in the manula and other blogs.    Top of my transom is 3 1/8" but the width of the deck (between mitres) is only 2 7/8".   Seems like I'll need a 45 degree flare on the deck verticals at the stern?

5

Very interesting comments here. Thanks for posting images; I've not built an OxII so my interest is based on some posts on a UK forum hosted by an outfit that sells CLC kits in Europe.

Builders there are having the same questions.

My take is that the overlap is to be trimmed off once everything's bonded together. The extra lengths are there to facilitate clamping during the bonding operation, then is intended to come off.

Here's hoping others more familiar with a successful build will add their experiences to this thread.

 

6

@spclark, can you please share the name/URL of the UK forum you mentioned? I'm looking for additional reviews and forum issues related to the Oxford II before making an informed purchase. Thanks!

7

Sure (wow... I just looked in on this thread since it seemed familiar after I posted my earlier comment last... July!) here'tis:

https://forum.fyneboatkits.co.uk/index.php

This is the thread I got involved with after reading of some builder's issues here:

https://forum.fyneboatkits.co.uk/viewtopic.php?id=678

Hope you find what you seek, and that it might help you navigate your course.

8

   Folks, I'm building the OxII now. I had similar issue where side panel length the were longer than transtom end but Looking at the instructions for installing the transom doubler later in the flow they clearly show a lot of overhang of the aft deck and sides such that final rasping/sanding is expected. I had to add a stitch hole to get the last stitch in since the one on the side wall was over hanged. And I had to squeeze the hull into a V to match the transom V at the bottom, squeezing while stitching together the transom shaped.

I have a current issue/question about the decks; mine were cambered but the beveled edges are such that the deck bows out/away from the molds if the bevels are facing in, per the instructions (looking down on the upside down deck). So now the decks are forcibly bowed180 away from the natural camber when tightened to the mold. I don't like this prestressed condition and second, it looks like there are slight waves in the deck. Also can't get the bow end stiffener to curve the deck. I think I need to reverse the decks so the natural camber lags into the mold curvature and live with the bevels on the outside; just finish w/epoxy and glass. Did your decks go in to the molds with the natural cambers or did they need to be forced into the molds like mine? 
 

9

I found two pther references ro OxII deck issues, this one from 2019:    I'm a first timer. I'm attaching the coaming to the rest of the boat. The foredeck is not arched enough where it joins the hull sides, so the deck does not easily come flush to the forward coaming pieces. I places some spacers on the inside (b/n seat and foredeck) to approximate the two pieces while they were stictched and glued, but the AC welds popped the moment I cut the stitches.

this fellow describes what i think im seeing with a counter bowed deck where the edge to the sidewal is max stressed at theattach seam to sidewall. The center is forciby bowed as i describe in my intial post but the edges would be flattened. I think theres some issue with the instruction to keep the bevel edge inside or the bevel edge is done on the wrong side which creates the error of imstslling the decks with reversed cambers. I was also concerned about breaking the tac welds when cutting wires due to high stresses. It my be that some of the decks are beveled on the wrong side s s/ b looked into and maybe noted in the instructions to install for the right camber not the bevel since this is easier corrected if it ends up on the 'outside'.

Hey CLC, what do you think? Im ready to tac weld- glue but am at a standstill whether to flip the decks and rewire.