I have stitched my passagemaker dinghy together, and I am not happy with the way that the bow and stern transoms fit. I have not flipped the boat to tighten the stitches yet. The otherwise excellent construction manual is sparse in details regarding foe the transoms are supposed to lay up against the hull planks. The doublers on both the bow and stern transom are notched where it would seem that the ends of the #4 hull planks should rest; however, I cannot seem to get things aligned properly. I’d appreciate help/suggestions.
I have photos to attach, but not sure how to do that.
Thanks! -Ted Turner, Hollywood, MD
Not much for it but to keep loosening, jiggling, and retightening until things line up. I assume this is from a kit, right? If it’s a kit, it will go together; you just gotta trust it. <;-)
Just keep working out from the middle, being aware that getting a plank lap a little bit off in the middle will multiply the misfit by the time you get out to the ends, so don’t set any tie up very tightly until you get everything gradually worked into place. Having a helper to help you jiggle the boat as things come together will help. A string down the centerline is also very helpful to eyeball what’s going on and keep things aligned and symmetrical as you work out the slack.
Find a comfortable chair and mug up before you give up!
…Michael
It is from a kit, and for the most part it has gone together very well. I had fine what you suggested, in starting from the middle of all the panels, and working out towards the ends. Forward and aft bulkheads went in perfectly, the midship bulkhead - which is free-floating, and not tabbed into the bottom like the other two, was off - as in not flush on the stbd side.
I need to jigger with the larger stern transom to get that to line up properly on the starboard side.
I think I may have tightened too much on the initial stitching.
Thanks for the advice!
