It's me again. I'm emailing a copy of this to CLC also--I think it's critical.
First let me say the CLC manuals are very, very good, but they're not perfect--nothing is. I've worked on committees writing step-by-step manuals and even with subject-matter experts who have done a particular job a thousand times it's nearly impossible to get it right. Every time you edit a step, it could throw something off somewhere else.
My concern is about the pivot holes in the centerboard trunk. On page 26 of the manual it says, "Notice the epoxy-filled hole in the lower left corner: Leave it so until much later." First, I think that hole should be filled with thickened epoxy, but I can't find where it says to do that--did it anyway.
On page 223 I found this: "You've located and drilled out the pivot hole already. Like other holes in the hull, this hole will have been filled with epoxy, allowed to cure, and then drilled out with a smaller hole." I've searched and searched and am unable to find the instructions on drilling the hole(s). It's not that simple because the trunk holes are inside the keel, so you've got four pieces of plywood to drill through. You can't see to line them up because they are filled with epoxy.
My thinking on this is that the holes should be drilled in the trunk sides and keel sides before they are assembled. Before that is done, the holes in the keel sides should be filled with thickened epoxy. The unblocked trunk sides and keel sides should be very carefully aligned and clamped together, then all drilled at the same time, making absolutely sure they are drilled in the center of the epoxy fill, or that at least no wood is exposed. Then, when the parts are assembled, a peg can be used to make sure all the holes are aligned. If water should get to the wood here, it would be next to impossible to repair.
This would best be done on a drill press (with helpers), or with one of those brackets that are supposed to hold a hand drill exactly aligned (not sure how well those work). Perhaps all this is to be done after the keel is assembled, but it seems to me it would be a lot harder to keep everything in alignment. Or I suppose each hole could be drilled independently before assembly, but I find it next to impossible to get the hole in the exact center of the epoxy fill. How do you accurately mark the center? It's pretty hard to see the edges after the holes have been filled, and even then it's too small to draw geometric lines accurately. Is there a tool for this I don't know about? If they are drilled individually, they still have to be perfectly straight, as noted above.
At any rate, that's a lot of steps and it would be hard to miss them in the manual, but if I did please let me know.