Attaching the deck hardware brings new problems

After I attached the rub rail on the port side, I decided to go ahead and attach the deck hardware. Naturally, this involved drilling holes in the deck. I wasn't real keen on that idea. However, I had confidence in my measurements. A little too much confidence, as it turned out.

One thing I really liked about the Perko bow chocks I got is that they're marked underneath for the port and starboard sides, with a simple "P" and "S." Nice touch. 

I measured & positioned the one for the port side, based on my measurement & marking of the breasthook a few posts back. I marked the first hole with a center punch, drilled, and drove the first screw. With the chock positioned, I marked & punched the hole for the second screw, then rotated the chock away & drilled the second hole. So far, so good. No problems.

Perko bow chocks marked for Port and Starboard.

I repeated the process for the starboard side. However, when I drilled the second hole (aft), I clearly missed hitting any wood below the plywood deck. Apparently, I mis-measured or mis-aligned something in the process. I briefly considered simply rotating the chocks and positioning them further forward. However, there are a couple of problems with that:

One, I simply don't want to move them forward. Aesthetically, I like them where they are (even if they are slightly misaligned). 

Two, that would leave a couple of holes in the deck that I'd have to fill & try to hide.... and I'd rather not take that on if I don't have to.

When I attached the rub rail on the starboard side, I was much more careful to work in short sections. Again, I used the same mechanical pencil as a guide for my spacing from the gunwale. It paid off, and the appearance of the starboard rub rail was much better. Live and learn, right?

When I pulled the trailer out of the garage so I could sweep and clean, I found another problem. This time, it was with the trailer. The port bunk is hanging down at the front, so that the bunk is not fully supporting the boat. When I tried to adjust the bolt that holds the forward bunk bracket, the old bolt head stripped. The bracket is so loose you can move it up and down with your hand. Obviously, I need to fix that. Sometime soon, I'm also planning to build much longer bunks to support the boat.

I'll be glad when my latest order of epoxy gets here so I can re-coat the deck and hide these sanded areas.

View of the inside of the boat... with a bunch of crap in it.

This is the port side bow chock. The screw on the left is not contacting anything below the plywood. I'll have to fix that.

I marked and drilled the holes for the deck cleat in the same manner as the bow chocks. The deck cleat is positioned so that it straddles the deck beam, and is screwed directly into the strongback that runs under the centerline of the deck.

Everything was going just fine, until I drilled the forward hole on the port side. Once the drill bit got through the 1/4" plywood, it dropped before making contact with the pine strongback. That means there's more of a fitting problem at that spot. I will probably look for, and fill, that gap and any others I can whenever I deal with the gap between the deck beam and the underside of the deck. At the very least, I will replace the 1" #8 screw there with a longer one.

This is the Herreshoff deck cleat. The screw at front left is not making adequate contact with the strongback below the deck. At the very least, I will replace it with a longer screw. 

Here's a view of the inside of the boat, with all the junk removed. In spite of a few hiccups along the way, (which are ultimately unavoidable), I am very excited about this boat. I can't wait to get it back to the lake.