Hi all,
I'm building my first Chesapeake Light Craft vessel - a Wood Duck 12, and have a question about assembling the hull panels.
The first two went together perfectly, the bulkhead and temporary formers went in smoothly - no gaps, all good. I wet out the fore and aft surfaces, kept them wet with a misting bottle for about an hour or so, and they bent into position easily. So far, so good.
Next, it was the "side panels" (not sure if that is the proper term for them), and I started on one side, in the middle as the instructions state. Joined the tops of them to the formers/ bulkheads as per instructions, started joining the two panels to gether along the seam, working to the back. No problems, all looks good and true.
I then work my way from the middle forwards, making sure everthing lines up as it should, and when I got to the bow the panel that I was installing was about 1/4" short of the lower hull pieces. What? How could that be?
I loosen everything, repeated the process and after an hour of making certain, double-certain, that everything was as it should be I ende up with the same result - short on the bow. Okay, these are precision cut panels I tell myself, I must have done somehting wrong. As near as I can tell it's dead on. *I build and fly radio controlled sailplanes, so I know when something is off or correct - at least I think I do..."
After about 10 minutes of scratching my head, wondering how this could be, I open the manual up again and look through it. What do I see??? NO, it can't be, a photograph showing the exact same thing in the manual, the lower hull section protrudes further forward than the upper section!!
At least I feel a little better, but now I'm really scratching my head wondering how one fairs the two together? If I take off enough of the upper bow (in profile) to align nicely with the sweep of the lowest hull portion, odd wood detailing is going to appear, maybe even some of the filleting material that I will eventually put in the nose.
All this to say, does anyone have any words of wisdom as to how to proceed? I want this to look as nice as possible, and the thought of painting the hull to hide inconsistencies in wood/epoxy at the nose just doesn't appeal.
Thanks!
Rob
P.S. Is posting an image here as difficult as it seems? It could be much easier, just a comment.