McKee Craft 14 gets a new sole

Chances are, this boat will get some heavy use and possible abuse at the hands of my 14 year old son and his friends. Therefore, the three objectives for our sole repair are:
Nice and stiff
Not too heavy
Not too exotic / expensive
This eliminates the possibility of a foam core structure for cost and abuse reasons.
Things quickly got narrowed down to a thinnish wood ply encapsulated in glass set in epoxy.
The Goldie Locks solution is 3/8 Fir ply.
Quarter inch is too flimsy and anything over 3/8 ths starts to get heavy.
We fitted the sole which is just shy of 4x8 feet.  So the ply dimensions are perfect.
Just a little trimming was needed.
After the sole was cut to fit, we drilled in holes that will allow us to add pour foam at a later date.  The foam will support the sole, add the missing flotation and stiffen everything up.
Next we added three cross braces to the underside of the sole in areas of most likely traffic.   The hull will eventually get one and possible two cross wise bench seats so bracing was placed elsewhere.
We fastened the treated 1 x 2.5 inch treated braces with Titebond 3 and stainless steel screws.

The original design included a recessed channel to allow the well at the bow to drain to the stern.  We plugged the well drain and abandoned the channel idea as un-needed.  We will be using the well for extras PFDS and line.  We will sponge it out when needed.

Here is the fitted sole. Next up is glassing the underside then reinstallation with tabbing all the way around.
The well area in the foreground will become a recessed sump for a bilge pump.

Here is the underside of the sole.   Today we glassed it.  The cross braces are visible.

McKee Craft: Project boat

We picked up a 1972 McKee Craft 14.
The previous owner discovered water infiltration into the foam floatation.
The boat probably weighed an extra 300 pounds.
Apparently there where breaches in the sole.  He cut out the floor and removed the waterlogged foam.  The boat then sat in his garage for 2 years.  Just recently he decided to let it go.
It is now super dry and with the dirty work done, we are looking at a fun project that won't take too long.
The McKee craft is a nice shaped boat that looks to be a derivative of the Boston Whaler.
It is slightly larger in all dimensions than the 13 foot whaler.
From what we can observe of this hull, it has sound gelcoat and a good thick layup of glass.  This is why it still has a fair shape after 46 years.
For other posts about this boat, follow these links:
https://seastatemarine.blogspot.com/2018/02/mckee-craft-14-gets-new-sole.html

https://seastatemarine.blogspot.com/2018/04/mckee-craft-update-thar-she-blows.html

https://seastatemarine.blogspot.com/2018/03/mckee-craft-14-hatch-lid-replacement.html

Catamaran: the connection

Here are photos of the big lift.
A temporary scaffold was built to support the connecting structure above it's final position.  In future sessions, this will be precisely lowered into place and faired to the hulls.
The excavator made quick work of it.

Catamaran: Some assembly required

Captn Mark is ready to start placing the connecting structures on his gargantuan boat building project.
I was happy to lend a hand.
We used a rotating laser and a steel tape to check for level and proper geometry of the hulls.
He had placed the hulls close to their final positions previously.  Today we were just moving the hulls the final few centimeters in several dimensions.

The connecting structure will be lifted by machine tomorrow.  I will try to get photos.
The boat is a Kurt Hughes design.