Cap Rails installed and shaped, sandin, and getting ready to varnish

The Gaff Rig Handbook: History, Design, Techniques, DevelopmentsThe cap rails are all permanently installed withe the inboard edge jutting out by about 1/4' and rounded over. The outboard edges where sanded flat anf flush with rubrail. The screw holes were plugged with maple which I used throughout the boat. These plugs match the ash wood pretty well and the contrast against the mahogany in the seats looks awesome.I have spent considerable time sanding the seats , caprails and smoothing out previously clear coated inboard surfaces so that I can add a total of 2 coats of clear coat epoxy inside the boat. I am going to use System 3 brand polyurethane high gloss spar varnish on the inboard surfaces...total of maybe 5 to 8 coats with light 000 steel wooling after each coat. Hopefully I'll get a nice glossy surface to all of  this beuatiful mahogany, ash, fir, and oak that comprise the inside of the boat.I really want it to shine and have depth to it. We'll see how it goes.

I did finally find long strips of thin trim pine to use as the molding on  the lower edge of the sheer (uppermost planks). I have dry installed them on the port side already, predrilling holes in the trip to prevent splitting and using 1.25" brads to attach to the lower edge of the sheer plank. I only had to make one scarf joint, which was easy and the molding has a simple , but pleasing, look with flat outer edges and a rounded domed middle. When I get the starboard side dry fitted, I'll proceed on to gluing the molding on and using bronze 1 ' nails which will be inset , then covered with epoxy putty. Also found some nice 1/8" thick birch plywood to make the badges with.

The front oarlock station, starboard side complete with cap rail in ash. 3/4'' thick ash was used for the  cap rail on the oar lock chocks. To make it blend into the 1/4" thick caprail a concave slope was created on both sides. The inboard portion of the oarlock cover was  carved out to blend with the slope but the inboard edge was kept intact so that water that gets on the chock will flow outboard.  This was tricky to do because ash is very hard wood. I used a Dremel rotary tool with a drum shaped sander bit. The outboard edge of the chock cover is flush with the rub rail. The front of the centerboard case is shown in the background, as is the front thwart.

Here is the back of the boat with the side and middle thwarts. The caprail is thoroughly installed now, sanded and shaped and with epoxy clearcoat on it. The hole in the rear bulkhead will soon have a removable porthole style cover installed. This will render the rear bulkhead watertight so that the boat has adequate flotation in case of a capsize.

The front thwart is shown with it's port brace. At this point I was in the process of sanding the epoxy clear coat to get it ready for the first coat of varnish. In the background you can see the middle thwart and to the left you can see part of the centerboard case.

Front of boat showing how upper stringers emerge from front bulkhead. Also note the slight convex-up camber of the breast hook.This  gives a nice curved look to the top of the breasthook. The cap rail is made of 1/4" ash wood, while the thicker middle part of the breasthook is mahogany, the bottom most piece of wood is the same okoume mahogany plywood used in the boat planking.The inner stem is seen as well.

The hull's full length is shown here, bow to the left. The thin strip of moulding on the bottom of the  uppermost plank is not yet installed. Arch Davis stresses the importance of fair, smooth curves to the lines of the planking. This is well shown here and is what makes the lapstrake method so pleasing to the eye. Most of the hull will be painted white or off white. This allows the shadows of the over lapping planks to be seen best so that the beauty of the lapstrake method can be appreciated. The top most plank will have color, not sure what that will be yet. Also decorative badges front and back, not yet installed, but soon to be.

Here is the molding that blends the front bulkhead into the hull planking. White oak was used for this. The port hole in the bow bulkhead will have a removable screw-in cover like the rear bulkhead , thus creating two airtight flotation chambers, front and back.  Because the central part of the porthole cover is easily removed, small items that need to stay dry and safe, like wallets, keys, cellphones, could be stored in the bulk  head but the  boat designer stresses that this is technically not there for storage. A few small items, as mentioned should, I think, will be OK though. You can see the bottom of the stem emerging and then ending on the false keel. If the boat is Lug rigged, which is the plan for now, a small squared area will be cut out of  the top of this part of the stem to serve as a slot for the tenon on the bottom of the mast.

Once the inside varnishing is done, I'll move her outside and , with the hull upside down on some tarp, paint the outside of the hull. I am going with Pettit polyurethane topcoat, as recommended by Arch Davis. Most likely I'll paint all but the sheer planks white. I am thinking of painting the sheer planks a medium blue and the rubrails and badges yellow. Not sure yet.
       I have included  a couple of links to books that I have found helpful and interesting.