JEM Watercraft

This gap, or ones similar to this seem to happen a lot. Too many times to be coincidence. I might well be wrong but take a look at this topic.
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2874

I think you will find it explains what has happened here. The pic of your panels laid out in a row seems to support my theory. I'm gonna make TWO informed guesses here and suggest that either you drew a line on the floor and lined up your panels and did not line them up with a piece of string over the top, thus reversing the angle. OR misread the way the angles sits when joining the bottom panels together lengthwise, ie front/rear panels. About a 6mm gap has happened to a few of us in the same place. WOO HOO! everyone else is as daft as me
Regards John.

I tossed and turned in bed last night and ended up going down the shed at 2.00 in the morning. I undid the stitching and checked my measurements.
The no#2 (side) panel measured exactly the 4mm from the stringline to the top of the panel as specified in the plans. The problem being that the string line should be 4mm UNDER the top of the panel. BUGGA. You were absulutly right John. Thanks for your post, because I doubt that I would have picked it up myself. Being a total of 8mm out, this would have pushed everthing out of whack. I suppose now I'll have to get the jigsaw out agaln.
Fortunately I've got enought ply left over to cut out some new panels and at least this time I have a template. Anyone out there want a couple of wonky occy panels?
Gee this is fun
Roger

Hi Roger,

Just throwing my two bobs worth in for all its worth, just out of curiosity I placed a straight edge from stern to bow on the keel line and have the same dipping out at the centre line. However I had the string lines 4mm in on the panels but did not get the gap that you have. I don,t think its a coincidence that it flattens out at the centre line join and is in the design, I would only imagine it this adds to the stability to the Okwata. May I suggest you place another saw stool or two under at the the hull on the centre line just to give additional support or possibly work from a flat board on the saw stool.

Keep those pics coming

Thanks Dodger
I reckon I would be able to plane a tad of timber from the #1 panels to make it fit pretty true but then I could possibly be up for more drama when it comes time to fit the deck. I think that overall I am probably better off cutting my losses and remaking the #2 panels properly. I just wouldn't be happy with the knowledge that I stuffed up. Anyhow I am going to have a break from the occy today and get back to it nice and fresh tomorrow.
Thanks
Roger

I solved the problem by taking it all apart. Cutting the join seam of the bottom panels and resetting it all correctly and re-joining it up. Trust me you will feel better than if you had just filled in the gaps. You don't really have to make new panels. At worst the re-arranged panels will be a few mm short ( Possibly a few mm too long if you initially had a joining gap and then use a thin enough saw blade to take them apart). This will manifest itself at the bow and/or stern where you would either pull your panels tighter to adjust or use a little more filler. Either way I believe Matt leaves enough room to play with a few mm so that it don't matter that much.
Easy peasy and glad I could stop you worrying about it. The beauty of this forum is that we're all as capable as one another of making a mistake. Lots of these guys nudged me in the right direction now and then. You're not the first and won't be the last.
Regards John.

P.s. Bugger! going through your build posts makes me realise how much I want an Okwata. I don't need one, my Laker does everything I need it to do. I usually spend a day a week thinking I DO NOT need an Okwata, its just ...

Thanks John the English Gentleman,
Ive just been down and used a random orbital sander to remove the fiberglass from the panel joints. They then snapped apart easily and I cleaned up the ends and the panels are now as good as new. Will join them again properly tomorrow and am back on track again.
Cheers
Roger

Good stuff! After I posted the above I thought about that. I didn't taper/feather off my original glass join, just added another to it. In the right light the double thickness of glass at the join is visible as a bump. Don't hurt anything, just that I know its there.
Regards John
I get called many things but I don't know if I could cope with being known as a gentleman

I have rebuilt the panels and restitched the hull and everything has gone together perfectly. I cant believe the difference that 8mm can make.
I think the problem was that on every other occasion that I have used a string line, that line is above the object and I have measured from that line down to the top of that object and have assumed that that was the convention. I can think of no other occasion where I have measured up from a string line to the top of an object.
So far I am very impressed by your plans and instructions Matt, but I reckon that this point should be emphasized in the instructions or an exploded view should be displayed on the plan. It is very hard for an old geezer like me to be able to pick up the detail of a 4mm gap on a small scale plan.
Once again, thanks for your input John. I was just about at the stage where I would take an axe to the boat. I couldnt work out where I made an error because I knew my measurements were spot on.
Cheers
Roger

the drawing does shows the dimension with a caption saying "to outside of panel" but I'll try and make it stand out more.

Back on track again and progress piccies.
The panels I repaired I joined with ply butt joints this time. I just figured it looked a tad neater on the outside.


Everything fell into place this time. Phew!


A bit out at the stern, so I clamped it. Then I removed a couple of stitches and sanded away the excess.


Looking foward from the stern

Looking aft from the bow.


At the moment I am feeling pretty happy with the way things are going.
Cheers
Roger