How to stitch bulkheads after sides are stitched?

[decurtis]

I just finished stitching the port side panel in place and I'm wondering once the starboard panel is in place how am I going to reach in to stitch the bulkheads and floorboards in place. I am 6 feet tall and there is no way I can reach in to do the stitches by the keelson. Am I missing something obvious here or is it safe to step into the hull at this point to attach the bulkheads and floorboards? I'm assuming I don't have to hang from the ceiling "Mission Impossible" style to complete the stitching.

I was also a little concerned how all the bulkheads and floorboards are conforming to the bottom of the hull. In particular, floorboards 3 and 4, bulkheads 1 and 2, have a gap right now on the bottom. Is this normal and once the stitches are tightened will the gap disappear? The other floorboards and bulkheads have a good fit if I place them in the hull. This is my first boat build so I just want to be sure that I haven't done something seriously wrong at this early stage of assembly.

Dave
http://pocketshipadventure.blogspot.com/

[SHyland83]

Ok first i had the same issues. I was able to reach some of the wires for the bulkheads from the outside with a pair or needle nose pliers. The rest i entered the boat at the stern and pulled a balancing act toward the front. If you balance on the keelson it is supported well enough, just make sure you have blocking under the keel in the back so it doesn't tip back. I mostly sat on the front end of the centerboard trunk and kept my feet either on the keelson or on the floor panels lined up over the cradles. Wiring the bulkheads is a little tricky to begin with, you have to snake them through, the needle nose worked for me.

Once i wired the bulkheads in and down to the cradle that gap closed up for the most part. there's still a little gap, but it doesn't worry me.

[decurtis]

Thanks for the reassurance. I'm thinking once I get a couple of floorboards stitched in on one side I can put a small piece of plywood across them as a platform so that I don't need to balance so much on the keelson. I'm not building from a kit so I thought maybe the gaps were a result of inaccurate cutting but it looks like everything fits better once you get more parts stitched in.