I made another big hole in the boat. This time it was the daggerboard slot in the hull exterior. It was as easy as promised by those who have gone before me.
You may recall that, before installing the center seat / bulkhead / daggerboard trunk assembly, I drilled a pilot hole through the hull. The point of that hole was to make this hole easier to start, without any worries about measuring wrong and cutting a large hole in the wrong place.
That worked out just fine, though that's kind-of disappointing, isn't it? I mean there's no drama. Without conflict we really don't have much of a story here. Sure, we could call it character-driven, but we also lack character. I mean I do.
I wonder if I should name the boat Digression. Or maybe Digression XCXVIII.
At any rate I used a 1/2" flush trim router bit, which I acquired at Lowe's for an unseemly price. It worked wonderfully. The slot, which is nearly parallel to all the other things to which it should be parallel, emerged thusly:
Here is another one of those times when the instructions don't tell me what to do, yet I know should do something. I have made enough cuts in things now to know that somehow it isn't right if the corner is too sharp. Corners should be soft and rounded and curved, like a bowling ball, except for the soft part. (I am practicing for a 'worst simile / metaphor contest.')
So I rooted around for a roundover router bit and found one, and made the slot just a bit rounded over. Then I slapped on some unthickened epoxy, took this next photo, and headed for the showers.
Yikes, when I look at these pictures, I realize how much sanding I have before me. I'd better learn to enjoy it.
