THE HAPPY CLAM

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Once all the supports are trimmed, glue them in place and fasten them from the outside with ¾” screws. The gussets are secured from the top in the same way.

The seat supports are 9 ¾” strips attached to the cross rails of the bulkheads and, 10 ½” below the rails, to the transom backboards. Again, you'll have to bevel the upper surfaces of the end strips so that each seat lies flush. With the supports in place, check the seat boards for fit, and trim length if needed. Then glue and fasten the seat rails to the lower edges of the boards. (You'll probably have to bevel the ends of the rails to make them fit; the seats are meant to be removable and are not screwed down.)

All that remains at this point is caulking, paintwork and fastening the hardware. First, lay a solid bead of adhesive onto the inside corner of each hull joint where the glue hasn't already oozed out. Then seal the hull inside and out with an exterior-grade sealer/primer or a water-sealing primer. After it's dried, paint both sides of the hull with an alkyd-based exterior or deck-and-floor paint, then go on to decorate the trim in the complementary color of your choice. Because the boat isn't meant to stay in the water, a more costly marine finish isn't really necessary.

To fasten the hinge and draw pull catch, clamp both halves of the boat squarely together in the folded position, and center the hinge leaves at the bulkhead joint before driving the screws. Secure the catch at the opposite end in the same way.

Then open the craft, and position the hasp-and-staple assemblies to bridge the center line, just above the floor. Attach each component with ¾” machine screws and nuts, using No. 8 flat washers or drilled sheet-metal plates to protect the inner surface of the plywood. Two more sets of staple plates-one pair used as front tie-down eyes and the other to hold the hasp flaps when they're idle—also get bolted on, the former to the lower bow corners of the boat and the latter in the middle, next to the hasps.

The oarlock mounts are bolted through the gunnel rails, each pair 18" apart. The best way to position these is to slip each oar through its two locks with the lock shafts upside-down in the mounts. Then place the mounts against the rails so the center ones are about 12" from the hinge. Mark the holes, drill them, and use the 1" machine screws as fasteners, countersinking the nuts slightly by boring a larger opening at the bottom.

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