: Tips, Tricks and Hints for aligning hull before gluing

: OK, I've got the Coho (stitch and glue kit, not a stripper) hull all stitched
: together, with temporary formers wired in. Instructions say to turn it
: upside down so that the spacers (fastened on top of the temporary formers)
: sit on a level surface, "fair the hull", and glue away.

: I've got the hull planks pretty well aligned during the wiring process -
: instructions say to align the bow-side plank seams (a butt joint) as each
: new plank is wired in. I can't be off more than 1/16" in the seams,
: although due to minor discrepancies when gluing the bow/mid/stern plank
: pieces together, there is one section along the bow hull seam where
: there's about 1/8" to 1/4" difference.

: Aside from the problems in finding a level surface (instructions call for
: shimming up sawhorses until "eyeball" level), does anyone have
: any suggestions about fairing and aligning the hull before gluing? Any
: tricks with chalk lines, plum bobs, etc?

: TIA

: Ed

I just finished my Coho so I can remmeber what step you are at. I was working off of an 18' workbench so I had a level surface to work from. I had to un-stitch and re-stitch a couple of areas to get the hull "square" with each side. I found that to get both side "panels" of the boat to match exactly, my butt seams got out of line by as much as 1/8 of an inch. I also looked at how the panels lined up on the forms on each side of the boat to make sure both sides of the boat were symmetrical. I thought a "true" hull was more important than having the butt seams line up.

I have only had my boat out three times, but it seems to paddle great. It tracks very nicely. Good luck with your Coho!