Shims for the keel

LAST TIME, on "Keel: Truth and Theory" ...

This little gap on the side will get a shim, also. Is that a hairline crack I see?

Why, yes. Yes, that was indeed a hairline crack I saw. 

It was a couple of inches long, too. I decided that just wasn't acceptable, so I employed my new router to mill away the area with the crack. It was surprisingly easy. I kept the depth of the router bit just barely shy of the seam, to avoid cutting into the underlying piece of wood. I finished the remainder with sandpaper and chisel. Now, it looks like this:

Here, you can also see the narrow shim, grafted onto the left side of the board.

Here are some other before & after photos of the other shimmed areas:

BEFORE. This is the area at the butt joint.

AFTER.

BEFORE. This is the starboard aft of the keel.

DURING.

AFTER.

AFTER.

There's still a little more sanding and preparation work to get the keel ready to use. Soon, it will be time to build the construction form! Stay tuned...