Making and Fitting the Bulk Heads

I had a half sheet of 6mm ply wood that I have been moving around the workshop for about 6 months now waiting for this point, now it was time to start using it. Using the plans I started to draw out the shape of the bulk heads it was a bit tricky but I took my time and double checked every ting to make sure it was right. Then it was out with the jig saw to cut them out. I cut just outside the line so that I could fit it exactly where it had to go.
To my surprise the bulk head did not fit that well when I first went to fit it. But after about 1 hour I was happy with the fit on the first end so I started on the second one. The second end was even harder to get right. The trick is to make it fit in just snuggly without taking out the fair curve on the outside of the hull.

Once I was happy with both ends I cut a large hole in each end to install a hatch cover. This will give me access inside the ends to remove any moisture that might somehow get in there. It will also give me somewhere to store small items like lunch, car keys and a phone.

Now I had to stitch the bulk heads in to place. The stich had to pass through the hull then the bulk head and finally back through the hull before being twisted. This sounds easy but there is not much room to get your hands in to push the wire through.

Now that the bulk heads are in place the whole boat is a lot stiffer. You can still move the planks where they join to other planks but it is coming along quite nicely. I laid down some masking tape to get ready for the next step, epoxy fillets.