Thank you Etienne for pics, definitely explained a lot. And thank you Rick for hinting the "extra" pieces were for the L-spacers. It finally dawned on me to look at the space cut out on the forms for the strong back. That gave me the dimensions I was looking for. I was trying to create a square instead of a rectangle. Once I figured this out, everything finally fell into place. Thank you everyone. Just a warning: expect lots more questions. :) Yipee! A finished box beam, 12' long and 2" by 4" RECTANGULAR. I tried attaching a picture from my computer, but I don't have a web page. If I figure it out I will start posting photos.

Thanks again, everyone.
Jen

: Just received my Petrel kit and already stuck on building the
: strongback. I have diagrams with no measurements except one and
: I can't find a specific example in the book. I believe it's
: supposed to be a total of 12' long per the one-sheet diagram
: provided.

: Here is what I have (wood parts) for building an internal box beam
: (advanced apologies for dumb questions):

: 4 x 8' side sections

: 2 x 4' side sections

: 3 x 8' butt joints

: 2 x 6' butt joints

: 2 x 2' butt joints

: So this looks like a total of 40' in length each for sides and butt
: joints. Divided by 4 (sides to a box), that means a total of 10'
: length for the box beam. This disagrees with the only length
: measurement I have for the box beam. I've checked the kit
: contents and it doesn't look like anything is missing. So I am
: confused. Plus ....

: Questions:

: 1. I know I am supposed to stagger the pieces for strength. Am I
: supposed to cut the sections and if so which ones to what
: length?

: 2. What the &*^%! are butt joints and where do they go? From the
: book, it looks like butt joints are for external strongbacks and
: not internal.

: I either have too many pieces or not enough. Any and all help would
: be much appreciated.

: Thanks,

: Jen