“Necessity Is the Mother of All Techniques.”

It's actually, "Necessity Is the Mother of All Invention" but I was not really inventing anything. Now that the side planks were on, I needed to trim them closer to the chine log and sheer clamp. I had to come up with a technique that would let me trim the side planks just short of the chine log and sheer clamp (about 1/4 inch). Specifically with the sheer clamp since it would have been a “blind cut.” So here is what we did. Disclaimer: Though I actually came up with this technique, I am sure it was already invented. After all, people have been building boats for centuries.

Note how there is a small over hang from the side plank on the top as well as the bottom. The goal was to reduce this over hang to get it closer to the edges WITHOUT damaging the sheer clamp and chine log.

What we wanted to accomplish was a straight line as close to the edge as shown here. The sheer clamp was a blind cut because you don’t see it as the side plank is covering it. Cutting on my back with an electrical cutting devise held up over my body is not a good option. Other than the occasional splinter in my finger, I've had a good safety record and OSHA would be proud.

Let's begin with the technique. Here is a step by step lay out of how we cut the edges down to 1/4" from each edge.

I created a small templete with a predrilled hole 1/4 inch from the top.

I crawled underneath the boat on a creeper and set the template under the first support frame. Once the template was in place, I drilled through the template…all the way through to the outside of the plank. This was repeated for every frame.

Once completed, my partner would then place a nail from the outside into the pre drilled holes.

We then place a 6 foot flexible ruler on top of the nails and drew a red line on the bottom of the ruler. Why red? I'll tell you in a moment.

Once we removed the ruler and the nails, we had a red  line or our "cut here" line. This made it much eaiser. If you miss cutting, remember...always miss down.

We then patiently cut across on the line making sure not to “deviate’ or “wander” to the top of the red line. A wise squirrel once told me to use red pencils for extremely important cuts – Perhaps the smartest squirrel I’ve ever met.

Once finished, you will have a nice line. Sanding flush should be much easier.

Let me reiterate this technique: I only used this technique because I did not have the man power to help place the 4x8 sheet in place, clamp it, trace the pattern, remove it and cut just outside the line. If you have the man power that is the way to go. But if you don’t, this technique may help you. As an aside, if I did have the man power, I would opt for this technique. The quality time spent with my first mates was priceless.
Only one side was done. I hope to get the port side done by Friday so that I can begin to sand the edges and prep to put bottom hull in place over the weekend.