Before totally committing to building a boat in the basement, one needs some kind of proof its not going to be Noahs ark waiting for the basement to flood to get some use. While the tape measure said it would make it out...I wasnt sure that I wasnt another idiot building a big project that was stuck in the basement. I have to make a slight turn at the top of the stairs to clear the kitchen cabinets, so its not a straight shot out of the top of the stairwell.
My first plan was to temporarily set up the frames, transom, stem and keel and then fashion some temporary plywood sheers and take the clamped together skeleton on a trial run. But my son Bill said maybe a tricked up 4x8 sheet of plywood would suffice. Not wanting to remove frames from my set-up form it sounded like a good idea. So some temporary plywood strips were used to simulate the shape of the shears, traced onto scrap plywood and cut to shape. These were screwed to the stem and breasthook assembly which was screwed/clamped to a 4x8. The stem and various bar clamps were used to simulate full beam width of the boat and depth of the boat. The trial run into the stairwell and out at the top went with no issues. I took some clearance measurements at the tight spots and I have some room for more length, beam, and depth....but not enough to change plans to a bigger boat and start all over!
The kitchen in the background was a major project of a few years back. My son and I built all the cabinets, doors, drawers, etc. Maybe it will be another blog someday.
There comes a time when the pressure builds and you just gotta do something that you have put off too long....like putting drain plugs in a boat. The thought of drilling big holes in the transom scared the heck out of me, but I couldnt put it off any longer. After contemplating and procrastinating, I reviewed the cross-section of the transom to determine the lowest point in the transom I could drill a perpendicular hole and not breach the plywood bottom planking. I also looked at photos on this blog to see where I had located screws to hold on the bottom planking near the keel as I did not want to drill into one.
The first hole when well, and then I moved to the other side of the keel and located the hole and drilled another pilot hole in the 2x6 in the right location. The pictures show the second hole about to be drilled. 
In order to determine my plan for the deck planking appearance, I made up some sample boards from the scrap cut offs. I did one set in natural colors on one board. On another longer piece of plywood, I made two sample sets, one with the perimeter and king plank dyed a dark brown and another with perimeter and king plank in a vintage cherry redish dye.
I put on a couple coats of epoxy and after a review with my aesthetic advisor, we agreed that the reddish dye was more interesting and seemed to bring out the grain better than the dark brown. The all natural was too much the same. To get a preview of the look of the boat, I set the selected sample on the bow and propped up a mirror behind it to give the appearance of the front of the boat. With the choice made, it was back to getting the decking ready for staining (using a water based dye product). 
Then I worked on the outer perimeter, getting the plywood subdeck and planking layer flush to the sides with a vertical edge about 3/4" high. This edge will allow enough surface for a 1/4" radius on the top edge and then a 1/2" stainless steel rubstrip. I had to do some epoxy fill-in at the aft end of the boat where I had previously over cut the plywood due to the tumblehome of the rear sides of the boat. The edge lays over slightly as it approaches the transom so the rub strip will twist a bit towards the transom.
The molding is in seven pieces around each opening. The picture shows the epoxy and clamping of the side pieces and a center piece. Then the corners and remaining pieces. Lets hope it all looks good in the end.
