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Pro Tunnel Race Boat Plans
Page Eleven
Installing the Coamings, Deck Battens and Deck

The coamings are glued and screwed to the carlins and to cleats on the edges of the bulkheads. The cleats at bulkhead #4 lie on the inside of the coamings. All others will be on the outside of the coamings.

It is probably best to install the coamings, the permanent cowling bulkhead, the terminal bulkhead, and the motorboard and its associated braces and blocks all in one operation.

I also wedged a small piece of lumber between the coamings near the bow to help hold them vertical in that location (see photo)

Seal the interior of the hull with epoxy or paint or varnish.

The deck battens can now be installed, using the same methods used for other battens and stringers.

The tunnel plank extension needs to be framed in as well. The thickness of the piece along the trailing edge is approximately 1/2".

Another look at the extension framing.

Now is a good time to lay the deck plywood on one more time to trim it at the transom.

I secured the plywood any way I could: screws, weights, masking tape and clamps. The vertical sticks are clamped to the coaming and hold down the deck at the carlin. A little tape at the end of each stick prevents them from becoming part of the boat.

I did my best to avoid making a lot screw holes which have to be filled and sanded, and which end up showing through the paint at some point, especially after your boat has been out in the sun and the plywood shrinks just a bit and the patches turn into the slightest little bumps.

But maybe that's just me. You are surely welcome to use screws to your heart's content, or maybe a pneumatic or electric stapler. Any way that suits you, and which holds the plywood down snug until the glue cures.

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