Seats installed

Now that the cockpit floor is installed, I next moved on to the seats.  The starboard seat gets a section cut out to provide access to the centerboard from above, which will be handy to have when installing the centerboard.  Since I don't much like square corners, I layed out a curve on the aft end.

I didn't cut this access the full length of the slot, but left it about 8 inches short.  The idea there is to have no seams at the aft end of the trunk.  I have heard that some boats with the cover cut full length could get some water splashing/seeping through the joints, leading to wet clothing, and a recommended solution for that was to have a shorter opening, so I'm trying that.  

For the long straight cut I set up a fence and used the jig saw, after first flattening the set out of the blade with hammer and anvil in order to get a narrower kerf.  

For the corner I used a coping saw, which worked out pretty well.  I should have paid a little more attention to keeping the cut vertical, but it worked out fine.

I rounded over the edges a bit with sandpaper. 

And then put the final coat of epoxy on the underside of the seats and let that cure overnight.

In the morning I spread thickened epoxy on all the cleats and edges of the seat front on set the seats in place. I took care that they fit pretty well, so didn't need any clamps - just a few 23 gauge pins to snug it down and get a little glue squeeze-out. 

I didn't glue the joint between the back of the seats and the hull panels; that joint will be secured when I apply a fillet of epoxy along the joint, which will be the next job.

I'm always glad when the big glue jobs are done!