Looking like a beached whale

Finally, my paddle board begins to take shape!  Last summer I went to Vancouver, Canada and saw orca pods (killer whales to be politically incorrect) off of Granville island.  I imagine if one of them ended its life on the Canadian shores, its skeletal remains would look something like the current state of my paddle board.

The paddle board kit includes ten bulkheads, which look like ribs.  The bulkheads are labeled 1 through 10.  1 for the aft, or front, of the paddle board and 10 for the bow, or back.

 

Laying out the bulkheads accordingly

In the picture above, you can see copper wire that I've cut into four inch segments.  I drilled holes into the side panels, threaded the wire through and twisted the ends on the outside of the panels (pictured below).  This is the stitching of the stitch and glue method.

Stitching the bulkheads to the side panels

Finally, you can see the purpose of the sheer clamps.  The bulkheads simply sit on top of them while the stitching and gluing takes place.

Bulkheads sitting on the sheer clamps

You can see the paddle board finally taking shape!  By the way, if you're wondering....yes, I'm building the paddle board on top of a beer pong table (which is on top of a Foosball table).

And there it is!  The skeletal remains of a beached whale.