Day 7, Row/sail canoe version 2. Build time: 6hrs.
Marked the oar socket positions, made rub rails, made removable floor boards.
I typically avoid floor boards wherever possible. They add a lot of unnecessary weight, expense, and time to a build. A thin pad in the bottom is all that is generally needed to protect the frame.
For rowboats and possibly hard working tandems floorboards start to make sense. I always make them removable so I can clean underneath and I like to cut a hole towards the center the same diameter as my bilge pump.
A 2×6 cut in half and then resawn to make 8ea 2 5/8 x 9/32 boards gives perfect material yield and is just the right coverage. I use 5/8” stainless screws because little brass screws are garbage and I can’t afford bronze and food.
It seems trivial but one thing I’ve learned is not to space them any wider than 1/8 inch apart. The temptation is to go a pencil width but then your boards become traps for all sorts of annoying debris.
I also avoid sanding or if I do I never go past 120 grit so the varnish leaves a rough surface for traction.
Finally I always add some means to hold them in place because it’s bad form for your boards to float out in a capsize.
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