Tony,

I put a keyhole cockpit in my Cunningham S&G and made the combing using the stacked plywood method. I cut all the sections for the combing, and with them aligned I drilled alignment holes at several locations around the perimeter for small finishing nails to be inserted to keep them aligned when assembling. I then epoxied the whole stack together on the boat. This way the stacked plywood sections and the deck sections of the boat all came together in a nice even curve around the combing as it conformed to the profile of the deck sections.

And, like Shawn said, as a winter project I am planning on recessing the cockpit. Even an extra inch lower on the aft edge of the cockpit would really help those layback rolls. I understand your impatience on finishing the project, but, for what it is worth, I think in the long run that you would appreciated having the recessed cockpit.

-John D.

: Hello All!
: I spent the better part of yesterday baking in the sun and assembling the
: center deck portion of my Chris Cunningham design Greenland S&G. I am
: looking towards next weekend which will be spent on the coaming.

: My problem/dilemma is that the magazine article (from which I am building
: this thing) is not very specific about the coaming to deck relationship.
: My cockpit area looks very similar to the Sea Spirit's by Bobby Curtis. I
: did one thing differently from Cunningham in that I cut out the coaming
: pieces (ply rings and stacked and epoxied them together). The two halves
: are ready to go on the boat. Cunningham's article did not say to put them
: together ahead of time and I think I know why now. My two halves won't
: conform to the deck curvature in the state they are now in. I was assuming
: that riser/filler plys would be used to make the transition. However the
: gap is huge (1 1/2" worst spot). I was looking at Bill Price's Sea
: Spirit coaming construction and it appears that his coaming was built
: similar to mine only he layed it down one ply at a time and it conformed
: to the deck curvature. I have provided a link to this for reference.

: I spent some time this morning visiting sites by Steve Frederick, Shawn
: Baker, Kurt Maurer, Ken, Nick Schade's Night Heron and Ross Leidy. My
: intent was to research the possibility of doing a vertical strip
: riser/bent coaming lip assembly in lieu of stacked rings of ply. If anyone
: can shed light on how I can use my already assembled coaming halves that
: would be great.

: So here is the crux of what I am looking to find out...

: 1. If I use the method of ply rings is the proper technique to build one ply
: at a time to the deck so it can be clamped to the curvature? I have some
: pretty extreme curvature similar to the Sea Spirit design.

: 2. If I decide to use the vertical strip riser method do I have to bead and
: cove the strips? I have access to a table saw but it is not mine and I
: would like to avoid having to use it. I was thinking I could fill in
: cracks with thickened epoxy since I am painting anyway but if I don't bead
: and cove what surface will I have to glue one strip to it's neighbor?
: Then there is the question of types of wood to use both for the risers and
: for the lip. I think I would follow the information shown by Steve
: Frederick if I go this route. He used approximately 122, 2 1/2"
: strips.

: I don't want to attempt the fiberglass cloth layup designs that I have seen.
: That is just a little more than I care to attempt. I like that look
: though. Both Shawn and Nick had very interesting twists on the coaming. I
: thought of using Nick's method and kerfing a solid piece of wood to
: conform to the opening, gluing it in place and filling the kerfs. Also one
: of the other sites had what appeared to be a long strip of 1/8" wood
: soaked in a hot cloth and clamped to conform/dry to the cockpit opening. I
: like that idea too.

: Anyway, just looking for some opinions. Bear in mind that I am an impatient
: builder and a beginner although I am starting to conquer my impatience on
: this project. I am working outdoors but can protect the boat against rain.
: My tools are minimal but I can borrow almost whatever I may need.

: Listen to me, like I'm placing an order for advice! Geez, I'll appreciate any
: advice I can get.

: Thanks a million,

: Tony