So switching up the tasks from laying the strakes is a big shift and the boat is really feeling substantial under my hands now. Each action is now in relation to this compound shape and having to add or remove material to fit something new. I have started working on the stems.

Just placing the outer stems on the hull before I had done any preparation just started to transform my conception of the hull further.

I have now started to plane down the faces of the stems to match the curve of the outer stems I had laminated with the inner stems months ago.

I have now also cut the douglas fir stock I had been keeping for the outer keel pieces.

I decided for simplicity’s sake to build the keel in four pieces and glue it together rather than shape one single piece of wood with the centre board slot cut out.  This approach should be just as strong and offer much more  ease of building.

I have also started to look for materials and hardware that will be needed.  most pressing will be more fir for the gunwales which I still have in stock. Early in the process I bought rough dimensional 2×4 fir from Dicks lumber that was still green. It has now seasoned for several months, I used some for the stem lamination and kept the rest for the outer keel and the gunwales.

So the hardest piece of hardware for me to source in Vancouver so far has been the half oval brass rub strips to go on to protect the keel and stems.  Either it is not possible to ship from US based distributors to Canada or shipping from Classic Marine in the UK would be cost prohibitive. I did find Tendercraftboats.ca
who are based in Ontario as a supplier of 1/2″ half oval but not 3/4″ half oval that is necessary.  Their catalogue was however very good and I was able to find 6″ long bronze machine screws for the rudder gudgeons that will get through both the outer and inner stems.
I also found that the supply a bronze bow eye that will work well with a 6″ machined bolt.  Peter at Tendercraft boats has been very helpful and I am looking forward to my shipment arriving.

For the half oval after some searching I considered UHMW (ultra high molecular weight plastic) which was done by Yeadon on his Hvalsoe 18.  I found a quote from Associated Plastics that was almost the same price as what I found from Alaska Copper & Brass who have an office in a suburb of Vancouver for brass half ovals. Going trough their catalogue I was able to find exactly the half oval dimensions I was looking for. Both 3/4″ and 1/2″ in 12′ lengths. I will end up with a little left over which I’m sure I’ll find used for elsewhere on the boat as rub strips or chafe protection.