The cover up

Five days and counting until I have to debut this paddle board!  The good news is I've done more than I've blogged about, and I've done more than I'm about to blog about.  However, only about a day's worth more.  Still, one day makes all the difference.

Before I topped her off, I sealed the inside of the paddle board with a nice coat of epoxy.  I lathered the glue over every inch of the internal structure--the side  panels, the bottom panel, and the bulkheads.  Epoxy works as a glue, of course, but also as a sealant that will protect the wood from moisture.

Coating the internal structure with epoxy.  A very therapeutic process

I took two pieces of lumber and glued them between the fifth and sixth bulkheads.  This is where I'm going to attach a handle, and quarter inch plywood wasn't going to cut it for support.

I glued support beams for the handle.  Installing the handle will be one of the finishing touches

I let the epoxy dry over night.  The glue really strengthened the paddle board and it felt like one solid unit.  (I could tell by wiggling the nose.)  I then used a block plane to flatten out the edges of the sheer clamps so the top deck will lay flat on the surface.

Using a block plane to shave down the sheer clamps

This picture was supposed to show the top is even...

The next step was a big one!  Luckily, it wasn't difficult at all.  I mixed some cell-o-fill with some epoxy to get a nice consistency and painted it on the top of the bulkheads, the nose, and sheer clamps--anywhere the top deck will lay.

I took the top deck (remember that?  I fiberglassed it a few weeks ago - http://werebuildingaboat.blogspot.com/2012/04/fiberglassing-upper-deck-sounds-like.html), placed the fiberglass side down, and centered it so that there was some flush around the edges.

Then I took packaging tape and wrapped it around the board to keep the top deck from rising.

Using packaging tape to hold the top deck down

...And, of course, added some weights...

...And added more weights....