Oops.

January 24.

Loads of sanding today, to clean up and round off all of the newly-filled seams in the deck and where the deck joins the hull.  First 120, then 180, and finally 220 grit and the deck is ready for glass.

Putting in the larger of the two ribs that reinforce the deck, forward of the rear hatch opening, didn't go so well.  I tried to get the rib to follow the contour of the underside of the deck, which required the rib to make a pretty tight curve at the center of the deck.  I painted thickened epoxy on the underside of the rib, but in trying to make sure that there wasn't a void under the middle of the deck, i clamped the rib too tightly and it broke.

Merde.  But much, much better than cracking the deck, which is what i thought I'd done at first.

Fortunately i was able to get another made from marine plywood in the shop, saturate it, and get it drying in preparation for a redo on Friday.  I learned my lesson with the first rib, so when i tried to install the second (rear) rib, i put a large blob of thick epoxy right at the midpoint of the deck, then i didn't need much in the way of force to have the full length of the rib in contact with the underside of the deck with no voids.

Friday hopefully i will get the deck glass on.  That's the beginning of the end, with only the following left to do:

• Glass over the two ribs once they've cured.
• Figure out how big to make the (enlarged) cockpit.  The lower coamings for the enlarged cockpit are huge and could result in removing material all the way to the outside deck panel if not trimmed a bit, which is what I intend to do.  I'm concerned about not having enough room on what's left of the deck after trimming to install the hip braces.  I'll call Waters Dancing for advice.
• Shape the lower coamings and add maybe half a dozen coats of epoxy to the inside and outside edges. 
• Trim  excess fiberglass from the front and rear hatch supports, then build and install the hatches.
• Build hip braces, install to complete the seat assembly and install the seat and associated hardware.
• Build and install the upper coamings.
• A final sanding and a final coat of epoxy on the whole boat, including any interior sharp bits i can reach and any edges or surfaces that have been sanded.
• Coating the underside of the boat with graphite for wear.
• Three coats of spar varnish on the outside of the boat, other than the places where I've used graphite, and the cockpit.
• An end pour in the bow, and maybe the stern if i have enough epoxy left at the end.  Thankfully I have the boat in a shop with about 20 feet of ceiling height so i can just stand the boat up against a wall to do this.
• Install the foot braces, front and rear handles, and deck hardware including perimeter lines, regardless of whether they come with the kit.  I've done self rescues in the past in pretty choppy (i.e., real world) conditions, and no boat i own will EVER be without perimeter lines.  I may also install a clip for holding the bilge pump if i can find one without having to order from the US.

Nothing to it :)