30.) Stairway to ?

Below is a close-up view of the steps I am carving into the keelson as it rises up toward the bow. I thought it was worth showing. This project at times is sort of like the woodworking version of an archaeological dig. The original boatbuilder assembled the keelson by gluing together thin strips of mahogany (like plywood) to make a single piece 9/16ths of an inch thick that curves around the bottom of the boat from stem to stern. My plan is to rejoin these strips one at a time, making a laddered scarf joint.  (It will require a corresponding flight of steps, or ladder, on the other side of the hole.)

It's not especially easy to make this particular ladder.  I'm carving it out with a paring chisel and small rasp while sitting awkwardly in the boat instead of at a workbench where you can see what you are doing and get the right leverage. See the brownish blob on the right side of the photo? That's epoxy fairing compound. See the blob on the left? That's a pool of my sweat.  (I suppose I also could have done this excavation work with a small power tool like a Dremel, but that just seemed too, well, unmanly.)

The other reason it's not easy is that the stairs can't be straight but instead need to follow the downward curve of the keelson.  The only good solution I could come up with to make this happen was to gradually carve and file away tiny bits of material until I hit the thin glue line between each set of mahogany plies. Once the glue line was exposed, I could then just gently remove it to expose wood only.

The photo shows this work in progress.  See how one of the steps in the middle looks black?  That's because I've cut it down so that just the old glue is showing. The stairs above it have all the glue carefully removed.  The ones below it are unfinished.  (I still have some final trimming and sanding to do to square up and complete all of the stairs.)

The unfinished stairs show just bits of the glue line.  That means they are cutting through multiple plies and not yet in line with the slope of the keelson.  No black stripes means the step is confined to one of the original mahogany plies.

I hope the above explanation is clear.  If it's still a little fuzzy, it should become more understandable as I forge ahead.