I promise-this is the last you will hear about tacks. But this is where things get awfully tedious and I am getting very tired of the whole tack thing. My fingers are too big to easily pick them up and put them in the pilot hole. Then, when I start driving them, some are jarred loose and have to be re-stuck. I have just finished driving tacks on the bow and stern ends, about 500 of them (counting the ones that were there already, there are now just about 1000 tacks in the bow and stern ends). That is just a precursor of what lies ahead.
I must first layout, stick and drive tacks between ribs 11 and 12. For some reason the tacks are more closely spaced here than between the other ribs. They are spaced 3/4″ apart whereas for the other ribs they are 1 5/8″ apart. The photos below show the tacks being laid out and stuck between these two ribs. I have used masking tape again as an aid in laying the tacks out.
Now comes the really boring task. Back when I was hanging the planks, I deliberately left the feather edge that was facing inward a little “fat”. This was because the plank edge, being so delicate, might be damaged in hanging it. I thought that a little extra thickness there should help keep it intact.
But now I must pay for that precaution. The plank edges must be scraped and sanded down so that there is a smooth transition from one plank to the next. As you will see in the photo below, I used a cabinet scraper with a curved blade and no. 80 grit sandpaper wrapped around a 1″ dia. dowel to get the job done. Even so, it took some time to get the desired result.
At last I am ready to stick tacks along the inside of the hull and drive and clinch them. As I stated earlier there are just about 4000 tacks in a traditionally built Adirondack guideboat. That makes for a lot of work, tedious work. Below shows a row of tacks stuck along the garboard plank seam.
Now the hull is ready for an equally boring and tedious task, varnishing. More on that next time.