First, however, was the block for the bilge pumps. I carefully repainted the area under the block that got sanded out with a little Bilgekote and then with a healthy batch of peanut butter it was set in place.
I ended up tip-toeing around it for the rest of the night until the deck was installed which was a real pain, but trying to install it through the hole in the deck would have been more so. The rest of it will get its coat of paint in a day or so.
Then some straight epoxy to coat the top of the stringers, deck supports, the box around the tank, the lip at the back and the sides of the hull and each of the pieces of the deck were laid in place. Strategically placed screws were used to hold it in place until the epoxy cures.
You'll notice that nice thick line on the left. That's the seam between the pieces. Turns out my fit side to side wasn't quite as good as I thought and I ended up with a gap of about 3/16". Not a big deal, another batch of peanut butter with blue tape across the end to create a dam and it's good to go. I dropped the deck plates in place and put blue tape across the three pipe holes to keep the crud out.
I took a scrap piece of plywood and spanned the gap between the stringers and over the tank for something to stand on and then I set the two halves of the rear bulkhead up in the hull. I carefully lined them up and braced them in place with a support screwed to the shelves on either side of the bulkhead and a support screwed to the side decks holding the bulkhead back against the one inch lip added to the stringers.
And then I stared at lines again.
For a while.
I need to trim a little off the outside of the starboard half as there's not quite enough gap for the 1/2" sides to fit between the shelf and the bulkhead. Once that's done I'm going to have to make a decision. Will the door be 22 inches wide? Or 24 inches? Once I start cutting there's no going back.
Stay tuned...
3 Hours