The deck has four large openings, three for hatches and one for the cabin. These openings should provide plenty of access to the radio gear installed in the hull.

The plan calls for coamings (3 x 6 mm) to be glued around the edge of each of the hatch openings. Strips of mahogany were cut to size and mitered on the ends. The mitered corners of the deck planking helped with getting the length of each coaming correct. The bottom edge of the coamings was sanded to match the camber of the deck where necessary.

I was not happy with the idea of the coaming simply being glued onto the deck so pieces of 1.5mm ply were added to the inside face of the coaming to reinforce the joints.

With the coamings completed for all three hatches, it was time to move on the making the hatches themselves. Masking tape was carefully applied round the edge of the coaming. This was covered with a piece of cling film and then four hatch edge strips (3 x 6mm) were clamped and glued into position. The masking tape provides a clearance space for the hatch rim to allow space for later painting and the cling film prevents the hatch rim from sticking to the coaming/deck. Arranging the four strips as shown makes it easy to construct a rim for the hatch which is an accurate fit.

With the four corner joints glued, the rim was carefully raised on cocktail sticks and a 3mm ply panel glued on top. The assembly was weighted down and left overnight and then hatch was removed ( very relieved to find that it wasn't glued to the deck 👍) and the plywood cover was trimmed and sanded to shape. With the cling film and masking tape removed, the hatch fits smoothly over the coaming.

The second, central hatch was constructed using the same method. For the forward hatch, I decided to vary the method slightly. The hatch edge strips were shaped to give the hatch a curved top, and left over strips of deck planking were used in place of plywood to form the top.

With the three hatches complete, it's time to move on to constructing the cabin.

The lime planks I used for the deck are mostly a pale creamy yellow colour, but some of them have a grey tint. Looking at photos of the deck on real boats, they mostly look a weathered grey colour. I wasn't too happy with the patchy colour of my deck so decided to try weathering it.

A bit of internet research turned up a solution which can be used to weather timber. A piece of fine wire wool is immersed in white vinegar for a while, and the resulting liquid, when applied to the deck, should turn the planks grey. The longer the solution is made up before use, the more pronounced the effect. As I wasn't sure on the appropriate timings, I made up a test piece of decking to try it out. The solution was applied in patches to the test piece at timed intervals of 30, 45, 90 and 180 minutes. As you can see from the photo, it isn't too critical how long you leave it, so long as you don't leave it too long 😊. The test piece also had a strip of mahogany along one edge and as you can see, the effect of the solution on the colour of that was more dramatic.

I had to make up a fresh solution and decided to leave it for an hour before using it. The mahogany edging on the deck was sealed with sanding sealer as I did not want to darken it. Once this was dry, the weathering solution was wiped on to the deck with a cloth. The two photos of the deck show 'before' and 'after'. The effect is subtle, it has toned down the creamy yellow, making the deck colour look more even without turning the whole thing to a solid grey colour.

The cabin walls were cut from birch ply and the surfaces which will remain visible once assembled were veneered with mahogany. A coping saw was used to cut grooves into the mahogany to represent planking. The holes in the side panels are for portholes which will be fitted later. Once the four walls were prepared, they were stained to represent a darker mahogany and then glued to the deck.

Two oak posts were added to the rear of the cabin to support a stainless steel rail. This will have eventually have a traveller looped around it to which the main sheet will be attached. The oak posts pass through the deck so that they can be braced underneath.

Using a similar technique as used earlier for making the hatches, masking tape and cling film were used to provide a 'paint clearance' and glue barrier before the frame for the cabin roof was assembled in situ. Once the glue was set, the framework was carefully removed and a cabin roof of 1.6mm ply was glued to the frame. The next step was build the companionway on the cabin roof. This was constructed from 3mm mahogany cut to shape as shown on the plan. The pieces were tacked into position with superglue and then a fillet of waterproof pva run into all the joints from the inside. The plan calls for the companionway roof to be cut from thin ply but I decided it would look better constructed from mahogany planks. Thin (0.5mm) black plasticard was used between the planks to represent caulking.

Four holes were cut in the ply roof for roof lights (would these still be referred to as 'portholes?). The circular frames were turned on the lathe from a piece of thick walled aluminium tube salvaged from a defunct greenhouse window opener. These will be glazed, once the slowboat from China arrives 🙄.

A few small trim pieces were added to represent the door into the cabin. The hinges and door knob are still to be added (not functional 😮)

Finally, to hold the roof in position, two brass pins were added to the roof hatch framework. These locate into corresponding holes in the cabin end panel. At the opposite end of the roof, a bent stainless steel clip fits through holes in the end wall and the roof frame to lock the roof in position. A similar fixing method will be used for the other hatches.

The plans do not include any details for the construction of a skylight, but most photos I've seen of Cutters show a skylight over the central hatch so I decided to add one.

A rectangular frame, the same size as the center hatch was first constructed from mahogany. (sorry forgot to take a photo!). The two opening skylights were also constructed from mahogany by holding the pieces in position on a strip of wide masking tape and then gluing the joints with superglue.

To drill holes in the support rails for the glazing bars, a simple jig was made using a piece of stripboard. Pins fitted in the stripboard hold the prepared support rails in position so that the glazing bar holes can be drilled using the stripboard holes as guides. The drilled glazing bars were threaded into lengths of 1.2mm stainless steel welding rod. The glazing bar assemblies were then glued to the skylights. The glazing bar support rails overlapping the butt joints in the skylights and reinforcing them. The two completed skylights were then glued to the (previously not photographed) frame. Small recesses were cut to house brass 'hinges'.

To attach the completed skylight assembly to the hatch cover, small brass link plates were cut and drilled. I found photos on-line showing this method of fixing for skylights. Another stripboard jig was used to assist with drilling the holes. Small brass rivets through the holes in the fixing plates hold the sylight on top of the hatch.

Finally the hatch was primed with grey primer and brass handles added to the skylights. The hatch will eventually be painted white and the skylight will be varnished. Glazing will be added to the underside of the skylight after varnishing and before the skylight is permanently attached to the hatch.

Several sheets need to pass from the sails through the deck to the two sail winches below deck. Fairleads are used to protect the sheets as they pass through the deck. These are made from 4mm o/d copper tube.

The ends of the tubes need to be flared so that the sheets don't chaff on the cut ends of the tubes. One way to do this is with a brake pipe flaring tool - but I don't have one 🤔. While I could have bought one, and they are not very expensive, I doubt I'll have much use for it in future. It is one more item to try to squeeze into the already overfull cupboards in the workshop, so I decided to try an alternative approach.

A 20mm length of 12mm diameter aluminium was centre drilled both ends on the lathe and then drilled all the way through 4mm. It was then clamped in the vice and sawn along it's length with a piercing saw to produce two matching halves. An annealed length of copper tube was clamped in the lathe chuck between these two halves. With the lathe running, a well greased fixed centre in the tailstock was advanced into the open end of the copper tube, flaring it against the chamfer in the end of the aluminium clamp. This worked well and within a few minutes all the required fairleads were flared on both ends.

Holes were cut through the decking and two pairs of fairleads glued in place, supported on the underside of the deck with tapered wooden blocks. Mahogany blocks were then carved to shape to fit over the fairleads above deck and glued in place with epoxy.

An oak support for the main sheet fairlead was drilled 4mm and then split to fit round the flared tube. This assembly was then glued to the deck close to the foot of the mast. This fairlead will carry the sheet from the main sail down to the sail winch below deck.

There are several fittings required on the deck to attach the rigging and for control of the sheets.

Two 10mm square 'Quarter Bitts' were cut from oak and installed at the aft end of the deck. They pass through square holes cut in the deck and were tacked in place with superglue.

The Fife Rail assembly was also constructed from oak and installed in position around the mast location. Just like the Quarter Bitts, the legs of the Fife Rail assembly pass through square holes in the deck.

Two Pad Eyes are needed on deck to help route the sheets that control the foresails. These eyes were made from 2mm brass rod which was annealed and bent to shape. The tails of the eyes were threaded using a 2mm die. Two thin pieces of oak were each drilled with a 2mm dia hole and then rotated on a pivot against the disk sander to make them circular. The completed pad eyes pass through these oak pads and through the deck. They are secured on the underside of the deck with a large washer and 2mm nut.

The deck was then removed from the hull (it is only held in place with clamps at this stage, and strengthening gussets cut from 3mm ply glued to all of the protruding oak legs from the Quarter Bitts and Fife rails.

The slowboat from China must have had an upgrade as the acrylic rod I was waiting for arrived within 9 days of ordering. The lathe was used to turn four glazing windows for the cabin rooflights. To add interest, these were grooved on the underside.

Nest step will be to move on to making and fitting the bowsprit.

There are several spars needed for this build, namely the main mast, boom, gaff and bowsprit. The immediate thought was to use dowels for these, however the readily available dowels in the DIY sheds seem to be made from some sort of soft bendy 'rubber' wood 😉 and are not suitable. Several of the spars need to be tapered which (in the absence of a woodturning lathe) is easier to do with square section timber and in any case the inboard end of the bowsprit needs to be left as a square section. What is needed is some straight dense grained, knot free timber. As I didn't have anything in my salvaged pile I visited one of the DIY sheds (before the latest lockdown) and sorted through their stacks of timber until I found exactly what I was looking for, a length of knot free European Redwood. It goes against the grain (LOL!) to buy timber when I have a stock of recycled material in the workshop, but sometimes there is no other choice.

The redwood was quickly cut into blanks for each of the spars, and a start made on the bowsprit. The blank was 12mm square and 546mm long. First task was to mark it lengthwise to taper the 12mm cross section down to 9mm at one end leaving 50mm at the other end un-tapered. My favourite block plane was used to plane the timber down to the lines. To convert the blank from square to round, first it needs to be planed octagonal. To assist with this, a marking tool was made from a piece of wood, two nails and the inners from a couple of ball point pens. A bit of schoolboy trigonometry was used to work out the spacing of the parts for the tool. In use it was run along each face of the spar to mark the plane guidelines. By keeping both nails in contact with the opposite faces of the spar, the guidelines are at the right spacing along the length of the spar despite the taper. Back to the block plane it didn't take long to plane off the corners to produce a hexagonal cross section. The corners of the hexagonal shape were then planed and sanded to produce the finished round cross section.

The bowsprit on a cutter is not fitted along the centreline of the hull, but passes to one side of the stem. It is supported on the stem with a metal fitting known as the Gammon Iron. A Gammon Iron was fashioned from a short length of 15mm copper plumbing tube and a strip of brass. These were soldered together and then bolted to the stem. A small piece of the gunwale had to be cut away to provide clearance for the bowsprit, as is the case with full sized Cutters.

The aft end of the bowsprit is supported by the Samson Posts. These were made from oak and let into the deck, the posts being braced with ply gussets under the deck. When retracted, the aft end of the bowsprit rests on the Fife rail.

Several stays need to be attached to the end of the Bowsprit. The plans call for the tip of the Bowsprit to be reduced in diameter forming a step which the stays can be looped over. However photos of sprits found on-line show a Cranse Iron fitting on the end of the sprit, to which the stays are attached.

To construct the Cranse Iron, a strip of brass was formed into a ring and the joint silver soldered. The ring was then rounded by hammering on a former. Four 'ears' were cut from brass strip and holes drilled for attaching the stays. These four ears were wired onto the brass ring and then silver soldered in place. It is much easier to describe than it was to do. Getting the four ears equally spaced around the ring and held in place with the wire was a challenge! Once soldered, the temporary wire was removed and the Cranse Iron cleaned up with files and emery paper.

A sheeve was turned on the lathe for the Jib outhall. This fits in a slot cut into the end of the Bowsprit.

The tack of the Jib sail is attached to a ring which slides along the Bowsprit. This is known as the 'Traveller'. A 2mm dia length of brass rod was annealed and formed into a ring. The ends of the rod were flattened and drilled for a 2mm bolt to which the Jib tack, in-haul and out-haul will be attached.

Travellers are usually wrapped, either with rope or leather to prevent chaffing of the bowsprit. A piece of leather was thinned to 0.5mm on the belt sander and then trimmed to width. Two rows of holes were punched along the length using a paper template and home made awl. The leather was then stitched round the traveller. Once again, easier to describe than to do. It took several attempts with different widths of leather strip, and different hole spacings before the desired result was achieved. I think it was worth the effort in the end.

The final picture shows the traveller in position on the Bowsprit with temporary in-haul and out-haul ropes attached. I'll be using a better quality cord for the final rigging !

Following the plans, two plywood boxes were constructed, one to house the receiver, and the other for the battery. The battery box was modified from the size shown on the plan. The original box is designed to hold 4 AA alkaline cells in a 2x2 arrangement. By lengthening the box slightly it will hold 5 AA cells in a 5 x 1 layout. I will be using NiMh cells, so 5 cells will provide a 6v supply.

Wooden slide rails were added to the underside of the deck for the two boxes to slide into. The receiver box fits through the central hatch adjacent to the keel box, and the battery box fits through the cabin hatch. Having tried them in place, I'm going to have to add some form of retainer so that they don't slide out of position when the boat heels. Current thoughts are to use a velcro strap on each box.

The plans don't include any details for constructing a helm but as this is a significant feature of the full size Cutters, I decided to add one.

The rudder shaft on a Cutter is set at an angle to the deck. To decide what would look 'about right' a section of the plan was printed and few trial blocks made. I settled on an angle of 20 degrees.

A hole was made through the deck and the temporary block placed in position so that a tiller arm could be clamped in place to check the appearance of the proposed helm. Happy that it will look OK (to my untrained eye) a reinforcing block was glued to the underside of the deck. A 6mm ID brass tube for the helm shaft passes through this block, and through the deck.

The intention is to have the helm linked to the rudder servo, so that the helm responds to rudder commands. As the helm shaft is at an angle, I decided to use elastic cords to link the shaft to the servo. These cords run over a stainless steel rod under the deck from where they travel horizontally to the servo.

Above deck, the temporary softwood block around the shaft was replaced with a piece of shaped mahogany and a brass fitting was fashioned to attach the tiller arm to the top of the shaft.

A trial fit was then made with the rudder, servo, and help connected up. The tension in the elastic cords was adjusted until the helm responded to the rudder commands.

I'm happy with the result so far. Shaping of the tiller arm, and its overall length will be completed later in the build when the mast and sails are in place and the overall appearance can be better judged.