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Laker SC12 Tunnel Race Boat Plans
Page Five
Deck Framing

Time to turn over the hull. Take a moment to congratulate yourself for your accomplshments so far. Then, back to work.

Make sure your hull is well supported and free of any twist.

Also, it's time to remove that reinforcement on the beam at Bulkhead #2, and the bracing in the sponson tips.

Here the Deck Stringers have been installed along the top edges of the Tunnel Sides. The Deck Battens come next. And then the Carlins (where the deck meets the coaming/cockpit).

(I didn't install the Carlins on my Sport C until the cockpit was in place, but you will want to install them at this time if you will be installing a full-length Coaming.)

Deck stringers between the coaming and tunnel sides run through notches in the transom and extend all the way to the Tunnel Extension Bulkhead.

Picture taken from Don Slomke's build.

You will need Deck Stringers on both inboard and outboard faces of the Tunnel Sides.

The outboard one goes forward to the Sponson Tip and aft to the Transom.

The inboard Stringer plunges downward to the bow beam and extends aft to the Tunnel Extension Bulkhead.

The tunnel extension sides (the aft-most part of the Tunnel Sides) are reinforced with a second layer of plywood over the end of the tunnel side.

You will need drain holes in the sponsons and the tunnel extensions.

Place the drain holes as close to the lower corner as is reasonable.

Here's how I do it:

For a 3/4" drain plug, drill a 1-inch hole and fill it with epoxy thickened with silica.

Drill a 3/4" hole through the cured epoxy.

Now you have a hole through the hull, but the wood remains sealed from water intrusion.

I have 1.25" drains in the sponsons of my Sport C, but 3/4" would be plenty.

The drains in the tunnel extensions need not be very large at all. Mine are 3/8" diameter.

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