The mold is finally complete and assembled.  The strongback is a plywood box made of 3/4 " Birch Plywood.  The building surface has been widened where necessary with the addition of a 3/4" plywood working surface. The mold slots together and is secured to the building surface with pocket hole screws.  I use a Kreg Jig (Check out their site at http://www.kregtool.com/) to fasten the mold stations, profiles, and buttocks to the building surface.
Once the mold has been assembled it is necessary to simply confirm that it is straight and true. This can be accomplished with a simple string down the centerline or an inexpensive laser level. Use a short peice of planking stock to check various positions along the mold for fairness. The last thing you may need to do is to taper the stem profiles at each end of the mold. (Bow and stern).  Now it is time to start planking!
	Planking is being accomplished this week.  Here the Hull is about 3/4 planked.  The strips are glued together with Titebond II glue.  It is inexpensive and only is necessary to hold the strips together through the fairing process.  Once the hull is faired and sanded it will be coated with epoxy and then sheathed with fiberglass.
Here is a photo of the hull when partially planked.  The planks are held in place with 23 Ga. Pins shot from a pnuematic pin nailer.  The hole that remains after the pins are pulled is very small. Occasionally several pins or a larger brad nail are required to hold planks in place, especially in the areas of the bow and stern at the base of the stems.  In this area the plank twists approximately 90 degrees.  Start at the stem and them move a couple stations away and force the plank flat to the mold.
	The strips are not pinned together at the bow and stern stems unless it is required to hold them in place while the glue dries.  Once dry the strips are cut off and planed flush with the stem mold.  Outer stems are laminated in place to cover the ends of the strip planking, then faired into the required shape before epoxy and fiberglass work begins.
Tool tip:   Try the Craftsman Handi-cut.  These come in two sizes and are excellent for cutting strips to length.  The cutter blade is also long enough to cut the initial taper at the end of the strips before finishing up with the block plane. Highly recommended time saver.
Here is a shot of the stem with the strips trimmed back flush with the mold.  The outer stem will be laminated over the ends of the strips then faired.  The screws you see are pocket hole screws.  They are flat under the head, self drilling and do an outstanding job as temporary fastenings.  Used in the shear strip they will be covered by the inwale / outwale.  In other places, if the boat is being painted they are indispesible for pulling strips in tight.	This is the 23 Gauge Porter Cable Pin nailer that I use to hold the strips in place.  As with most pin nailers there is a two part trigger rather than a nose piece safety.  Because of the delicate nature of pin nails you do not have to press the nose of the nailer down against the surface to arm the trigger.  Therefore, you actually hold the nailer away from the strip and "Shoot" the pin through the wood.  This keeps the pin 1/4 inch or so exposed so it can be pulled after the glue has dried.   Removing the pins, or brad nails if you have used them, can damage the surface of the strips.  I have found that a Vise-grip brand nut plier works great to pull nails.  The rounded head bears evenly on the wood surface and does not cause an indentation.
	Another shot of the bow stem area. The boat is almost completely planked.  Note the clean and organized shop - just kidding of course! I have a 28' x 55' shop space and it still fills up.
Profile shot of the completed hull.  The bow is to your right.
	Completed hull outside in the sun ready to start the fairing process.  I like the way the light highlights the turn of the bilge.  It is always an accomplishment to fit the last couple strips, but now the real work begins.
There are more pictures coming. This evening (5 May) I finished sanding the hull with 60 grit and coated the hull with a saturation coat of epoxy.  Tomorrow evening or Wednesday I will laminate the outer stems and coat the hull with epoxy mixed with fairing compound. Thursday will be spent with the long board prepping the hull for sheathing with fiberglass cloth. The "Plan" at this time is to be ready to pull a completed and primed hull off the mold Sunday evening the 11th of May.  Wish me luck.