With the frame repairs completed we turned our attention to replacing and strengthening the thwarts.
The Cutter has five transverse thwarts and would have originally had side benches linking them all from bow to stern and in each after quarter there would have been a small locker on each side.
Firstly it was decided to renew the thwarts which are currently softwood that is too narrow but excessively thick.
Some suitable Utile was obtained and machined to the required section of 10" by 1 1/8".
I started with the forward thwart and my buddy worked on the sternsheets where the seating is double-width.
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| New forward thwart takes shape |
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| After thwart - took a lot of measuring and cutting to get it to fit |
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| Second half of after thwart |
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| Second thwart - knees are expoxied plywood |
Then we made the forward and midships thwarts and a start was made on building a new bulkhead in the original midships position. On the plans this is shown as being watertight and as the boat's bilge would have been in two sections there is a second drain plug immediately forward of the bulkhead. To simplify things - and to negate the need for two bilge pumps - I elected to cut limber holes in the bulkhead to allow drainage. If absolute originality is required these could be plugged.
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| Midships bulkhead being assembled - joints are half-lap and will be glued and nailed |
Another job that was carried out now was the strengthening of her sternpost. During a conversion into some form of cabin cruiser they cut a slot in the transom to install a tiller for wheel steering via wires and sheaves. This slot had cut right through the sternpost weakening the upper part of her transom. As the sternpost is otherwise in good condition we decided to fit doublers to it and fill in the gap; not pretty but it gives the transom some strength back.
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| Sternpost with doublers fitted |
