I kept pondering on this and really want to try to fix the rower frame. I knew that just gluing it together would not work. The thoughts of having to chisel out the dados to  replace the broken cross piece was not appealing, at all.

Then I had the thought, I could add a cross piece making the cross brace into a T shape. That would make the whole frame much stronger I couldn’t just glue it on top because thew wood was oiled and glue wouldn’t stick. Secondly it would be in the way for the sliding seat  hardware so I need to mill a dado and cut down the broken piece too.

Thinking on how I was going to this I leaned toward making a router jig, but I kept thinking how much faster a dado stack on the table saw would be. Problem was, I was certain it wouldn’t fit on the table.

I was right, it wouldn’t fit but I discovered if I removed the left side extension on the table it would. It was going hit the fence rail at the back but there was just enough space to finish the cut. So I removed the extension. Clamped some scrap the miter gauge and clamped the broken frame together so it couldn’t move.

I am not quite finished with the cut in this photo. I cut it  1-1/2″ wide and centered on the cross brace. By doing this I cut off the top of the broken brace that was oiled. Now I have clean wood across the top to glue too.

I decided I had better add a second piece further back to help prevent any racking. When I slid it over to make the cut it really wanted to tip over without the extension table in place. I didn’t want to replace extension just yet so I grabbed one of the big cast iron clamps and placed it on the end as a counterweight to help balance it. Then I clamped it to the miter gauge and that worked.

Here is the finished unit. It’s now much stronger. I have installed heel cups, added a temporary foot strap (I think I want some wider webbing) and installed the rails and seat.

Here she is, all finished as far as I can tell. All I need to do is check the transom to make sure it is water tight. I don’t expect a problem but I would rather find it now.  If there are no surprises then she is ready for the water.

We are in the middle of a heat wave so I am not sure when I will be on the water. I have been working on the rowing machine at the gym and I know that rowing can be a strenuous workout, so I may have to go by myself early one morning.

3 steps forward and one step back!  No launching this weekend but such is boat building.

And let me apologize for the lousy photos, they are not up to my standards but I didn’t feel like redoing them tonight.

Lets start with the transom. As you can see it is in place and once the caulking sets up it ready for a few more coats of varnish. I had someone tell me I couldn’t do a wine glass transom on a skin boat guess what?  I did. 😉

Finished the oars except for the handles. I still have to refine the shape of those and I am going to oil them rather than varnish them. I have never had good luck doing that but I am going try it again. I had the ‘leathers’ or actually masons twine wrapped and varnished in place. If you think sewing hurts your hand try this! First time in two years my hands are really sore.

Hopefully I have applied the last coat of Varnish to everything. While I was at it I repaired a kayak paddle and varnished it. It has nothing to do with this boat though.

I assembled the outriggers onto the frame and placed them in boat to double-check clearances before I start to install the varnished trim. That is when I saw my serious blunder!

See that big crack in the cross brace? That is not really the problem, notice the grain runs up and down? That is the problem. There is no strength in the joint. It broke from installing the screws that hold the outriggers. This is the most stressed joint on the boat. All of the force from the oars is on this joint., it has to be strong and this is terribly weak. That was a big blunder that I should have noticed.

I have been debating and I am seriously considering just scrapping this one. Keeping the outriggers but building a new frame from plywood. The oak frame should be more than strong enough with the cross brace grain running the right direction. but the time it will take to fix I could probably just build a new one. Plus I think the plywood would be lighter and just as strong, probably a little stronger.

Then again sitting here looking at this picture I have an idea on how I fix this and make it  stronger too. Next post we will see what I decide. As I write this the wheels are turning….