Thwarts & Fastibaands

Having successfully turned the boat, aided by a strong contingent from Coigach, we rapidly progressed to fitting out the interior. First step is fixing the Fastibaands, the transverse beams across the frames upon which the thwarts rest. This is a seriously strong assembly and should more than adequately take the stress from our heavier rowing members. The Glue joint between Fastibaand and frame is reinforced with two 12mm dia dowel rods. In-between working on the thwart arrangements the surplus epoxy at plank joins was cleaned up. Care taken on this tedious process pays dividends later. We use hot air guns and a variety of scraping tools.

simple jig to establish seat height on the frames, the scrap of ply slides on the temporary beam place acroos the boat and a line drawn across the frame using the bottom edge of the pluy as a rule

Jig demonstrated by Topher, it became obvious that the top segment of the assembled frames lines up with the top of the Fastibaand (seat beam) – clever design!

checking alignment of the beams – they should all be parallel. This can be done with the aid of a mirror or by spiritlevel

Fastibaand’s clamped in place ready for gluing

Fastibaand’s glued and clamped, in most cases a bit of excess epoxy from the planking stage will need to be cleaned off before this can be done

1. Our worst poxy dribble on the inside of the hull, the clean up can seem daunting if looked at as a single task. Working methodically in small sections the job is more achievable.

2. After initial cleaning with knife and hot air gun. Let the heat do the work, the knife should slice the surplus off like butter if the heat is right. there is no risk of gouging the wood if done properly.

3. after scraping gently with a chisel used on end. When sharpening the chisel leave the wire edge on, it helps give a clean finish by takling very fine shavings off.

4. After gentle sanding with 120 grit paper, the surface veneer is thin so you don’t want to remove too much by using coarser paper. Once we start painting 240 grit will be the rule.

Filling the gaps on frame 3, it’s more important that the planks are fair than clamping them tight to the frames so gaps are not unexpected.

Fastibaands after clamp removal.

Peg holes wetted out with epoxy

dowel primed with thickened epoxy being tapped home

both dowels driven home

wiping off the surplus glue – gloves essential!

All Fastibaands fitted with reinforcing dowels

Quality Thwart fitting – you don’t get Mahogany like that anymore!

Thwarts fitted – opportunity for a high level shot

attaching thwart support blocks – spring clamps and wood offcuts give enough pressure to hold the blocks in place untill epoxy cures

Thwarts are held in place by wedges through 18mm holes bored through the frames

Thwarts are held in place by wedges through 18mm holes bored through the frames, this avoids the need for screws into the hull structure.

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