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	Now the fun begins as pieces fall quickly into place. Slide side plates into the mold. The plates are retained by the external hull stations so that they do not flop all over the place.
	Soft copper wires of longer lengths are great in these tight spots.
	Wire each plate loosely from the middle towards the ends.
	Bending the wire helps to engage into panels at different angles.
	Here is the nicely curved chine after the addition of the side plates.

	Most of the kayak plates form an angle which leaves a small groove to inject filleting epoxy. In a few areas of the kayak, however, the plates butt (head to head) straight which leaves no groove (inside or outside) for the filleting putty. There are only two such instances in the Cirrus. Both are between plate # 1 and # 2 at the bow and stern. See the red dashed line in the pictures below. Rather than making a visible fillet joint on the outside of the kayak, the plywood is beveled on the inside with a knife, block plane of a sanding block.
	The stern section. The epoxy putty can now be forced into the groove, thus gluing the plates together.
	The effected bow section.

Now open the big picture and check out the laser precision of the deck centerline as it aligns with the bow and stern tip! Note that this is solely due to the effort that went into having the strongback and external hull stations nicely level. OK, also notice the "unfair" plate edge between station 2.5 and 5 on the left side. Despite the "loose plate edge fairness" rule from the previous page, what can be the cause? First, both plates were cut at the same time so they are identical and the stations are also perfectly symmetrical so size or shape is not likely the problem. One definite possibility could be a scarf between the stations which alters the bending properties at that section. Another possibility is the grain orientation of the plywood - even though both plates are of the same size and shape, they are not cut from the same section of plywood. The grain orientation on the opposite plates can be significantly different and it probably is since the plates are cut as mirror images of each other and may come from a different plywood sheet. Yet another significant possibility ( and I believe that is the true cause) is the amount of force that the plate is wired to the adjoining stations. Note that the plates do not fall flat on the station edge but only on one edge. Over-tightening the wire will crate a sharp bend at the station which seems to be the case here. Nevertheless, the addition of the first deck plate will completely cure this problem.

Couple hours and it's done. OK, deck plates are next. Well, before we put on the deck, it's a good idea to fuse the hull plates together with epoxy stitches.

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Mail:
Vaclav Stejskal
10 Colonial Court apt. 73
Stoneham, MA. 02180
           USA
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Last page update: 11 January 2020