SAME THIS SIDE
WING TRANSOM
FILLER BLOCK
FIT ROUGH SHAPED BLOCK
FINISH CARVING ON MODEL
RABBET
BEARDING LINE
BULKHEAD
“R”
BEVELED
FIG. 1-9 FRAMING THE STERN
SLOPE AND
BEVEL PER PLANS
STERN FRAMES
BULKHEAD “R”
WING TRANSOM
END BLOCK
CARVE ON MODEL
WINDOW
HEADER
AND SILL
CENTER
KEEL
10
Be certain the bottom of each bulkhead
feathers out at the bearding line. Trim as
necessary to line up. Bottoms on the
most narrow bulkheads may be slightly
above the bearding line caused by laser
burning the narrow wood (
Figure 1-6
).
Next, sand in the bevels that were not
precut. Lay a 1/8" thick square basswood
batten against the bulkhead edges at vari-
ous locations to check the hull’s fairness
(
Figure 1-7
). Sand or add shims to correct
bumps and dips. This is an important
check; hull planks must lie flat against the
bulkheads. Due to the
Virginia Sloop’s
numerous bulkheads, manufacturing or
assembly errors can occur. Beginners tend
to rush this step and jump right into
planking. Take your time and check the
fairness thoroughly. Then, you won’t run
into problems when you start planking.
6. Installing the Wing Transom,
Filler Blocks, and Transom
Frames
Carve the wing transom (two halves) from
a basswood block included in the kit. Use
the shape shown on Plan Sheet 2, and
glue the wing transom halves to the aft
side of Bulkhead R and to the center keel.
Below the wing transom, fit and carve the
basswood filler pieces. This is nothing
more than a filler between the edge of
Bulkhead R and the wing transom so the
hull planks have some gluing surface. On
a real ship, this area would also be filled
with stern framing (
Figure 1-8
).
On top of the wing transom and against
Bulkhead R, glue the six laser-cut bass-
wood stern frames. You will need to taper
the top and bottom first, as they sit at an
angle. Also, the center frames (one on
each side of the center keel) must be
tapered from bottom to top, or just taper
an area in way of the windows. Angle the
frames so they are in line with the sides of
the stern windows. Double check the
location of these frames, because the stern
window frames (these windows are also
called
stern lights
) will fit between them.
Fit a header and sill piece for each win-
dow. These can be basswood, since they
do not show after the window frames are
added. The header piece also serves to
provide end support for the cabin top
sub-deck and planking. Finally, fit and
carve the filler blocks on each side out-
board of the outer stern frame. These butt
into Bulkhead R and are carved to the
hull form.
Figure 1-9
illustrates the stern framing.
This is a good time to paint the interior
black so that nothing will show through
the windows after the planking has been
installed.
FIG. 1-6 BULKHEADS AT BEARDING LINE
TRIM IF
LONG
SHIM IF
SHORT
SMOOTH FLOW
INTO RABBET
CENTER
KEEL
BEARDING
LINE
BULKHEAD
FIG. 1-7 FAIRING THE BULKHEADS
BATTEN
SINCE GAP IS SHOWING UP AT E, G & H,
MOST LIKELY F IS THE PROBLEM
BULKHEAD. TRIM F AND RECHECK.
GAP – NEED TO ADD SHIM TO EDGE OF
BULKHEAD
SEVERAL ADJACENT BULKHEADS OK
FIG. 1-8 STERN WING TRANSOM & FILLER BLOCKS
