Cut out and glue the base shelf. A bit of weight keeps them flat...
If you want boarding on the cockpit floor, now is the time to draw it. In fact, now is the time to varnish it as well...
Assemble the Bow Hook, F1 and the Bow Former...
Here are the chine formers going in. They can be quite soft balsa - pre-curve them over a glass to maintain their shape while pinning them...
...and then you can add the rest of the formers, using the superstructure sides to hold them in proper position. I didn't glue the sides or the cockpit floor at this point, as I was going to stain, sand and varnish them before assembly....
Now is a good time to install the engine mount and prop-shaft. Use epoxy and get it straight by marking a centre line on F2 and looking through the hole in the prop-tube...
Note the pre-varnished F4. If you want to do a stained finish it's much easier to varnish and sand the superstructure before assembling it.
The front shelf is tilted up using the F2-F4 braces - glue F2 and F4 in to hold it in position.
Here you can see the traditional mahogany stained superstructure finally glued in place...
The keel can also go on at this point. Note that the prop shaft angle rather depends on your motor, so you may want to adjust it a bit.
If I were doing this again I would use 1/8" ply for the keel. It was quite hard to keep a long thin length of balsa dead straight...
I thought the 50+ range ought to have a Flagship. At 23", it's a decent size - pushing the limits for all-balsa construction. It will be more robust if 1/8" ply is used for the superstructure sides and keel, and 1/16" ply for the skinning. But that's harder for the kids to work with...
You might recognise this general shape from a certain well-known range of plans - my tribute to Les Rowe, if you will. Hope it sails half as well as his...
Add the lower formers, KF 1-5. Each one goes directly over the respective top former. Note that I did not originally have an extra KF former between F1 and F2 - the plan now shows former KF1a which locates in a slot in the keel, as shown in the picture below....
Finish off the hull structure by putting rebates made from thin 1/16" strips along the keel and the superstructure. These will help to hold the hull and deck skins.
Note the metal reinforcement for the motor mount bolts. A bit of epoxy holds pins in the bolt slots to prevent rotation...
