: I cut, shaped, fit and glued the decks this past weekend and sanded them last
: night and they look great. Then I realized it was time to start drilling
: holes in my beautiful gunnels to hang the seats, yoke, etc. Now I know a
: little better what you all have been feeling when it comes time to cut
: those hatches in your decks! Must be painful.

: So I started with an easy one - a handle thwart. Just straight through the
: gunnel and the handle. No long extension piece to deal with. It went fine
: but I realized I don't really know how carriage bolts work. How do you
: seat that little square neck at the top? Do you knock it in with a hammer
: or do you tighten the nut and draw it down into the wood? I sure don't
: want to split or crack anything.

: I can also see that it will be difficult getting the longer bolts through all
: the requisite parts - gunnel, 4 to 5" spacer, seat. It's pretty
: difficult to drill 3 different holes all at the same angle to thread one
: long bolt. Is is ok to enlarge the hole to the next size drill bit or
: should that be avoided if at all possible to avoid introducing wobble into
: the setup?

: And finally, I'm thinking I should varnish before I put all this stuff on,
: although all those parts are going to have to be varnished as well. Does
: that seem to be the way to do it? Not sure if I should varnish before or
: after putting on the brass stems either. Guess it wouldn't matter if I got
: some varnish on the stems.

: Thanks for any parts you can help me with. There should be final photos
: before Christmas!!!!

: Patsy

Good Morning Patsy,

I cut/chisled out a square inset for my carrage bolts. Just used a utility knife, and a small chisle I had. Easy to do with just a utility knife if that is all you have.

How are you going to drill the holes for the seat spacers? I used a friends drill press, with a jig setup to hold the hanger vertical. I've heard of others glueing two grooved pieces to gether to get a long hole.

Only the gunwhale has to have the hole at the right angle. For the spacer make it strait down the center. Then if requried shape the end to fit the gunwhale. For the seat, I guess it is best to have the same angle drilled, but in this case strait through really should be close enough(?). Slightly oversized is recommended from some reading I've done. Supposedly it prevents swelling of the wood due to any moisture that does get in from cracking the wood, if it constricts onto the bolt. I think your insight is good, in that it will help it all come together, mine were pretty tight and a bit difficult to assemble. that is a bit difficult to 'shove that bolt through'.

I varnished before assembly (actually I used oil, but same Idea) I recommend you do the same. Makes taking it apart easier, and I beleive gives a better seal for the wood.

good luck

Myrl