I will add a picture later

I decided after walking into my local chandlery that the store bought hatches were the way to go .. I was going to make my own but realized that I actually want to finish my boat be fore the oceans freeze over, and forked over some cash and bought hatches for every where... I spent the extra cash and bought the hinged square ones for the center case seat and the round screw in type for everywhere else.... I had to refill the previous holes I had cut for my original plan of homemade hatches but this was easy

I started to lay the seat deck with mahogany now that I know where my coaming will land at the seats. I started by framing the cockpit seat edges. I wanted to use Teak but I am not that rich

Here is the first step done and dry fitted into place... This took a lot of fidely work but ,I think really looks good... Now I have to take it apart and glue and try to get all the edges to line up again. This took an entire day!!!

I decided to work on the decking . I am laminating a mahogany deck to the plywood. I have very limited tools so I do what I can with what I have .. In order to cover the side decks to the bow I need a 12 inch piece of mahogany that was 16 feet long re-sawn to 1/4 inch thick .I made a pattern and figured that because of the curve of the deck it would take three pieces scarfed together. I do not have a band saw so I just ripped the piece down the middle and then used my table saw to slice off 1/4 inch planks. I then used my pattern to trace the shape to the mahogany and using every clamp I have and a whole bunch of homemade ones I put on the first piece to the puzzle.

Here goes the second piece a couple of days later

The first piece turned out quite good I sanded it down along the central seem and then I made pencil marks to fair it with my long board

after I faired it down flat I was curios to see what it will look like all varnished so I wet it with a damp cloth . I like it ...and although if you look closely you can see the seem line, your eye won't be drawn to it

I finished up on the inside trim around the foot well

finally the last piece of the side decking laminate for the starboard side is glued up... I could have this done a lot quicker if I had about 100 clamps so I could do more then one piece at a time...

Today is feb 11/ 2009.. I was feeling a little discouraged by the cool weather and a fresh inch of snow making my boat building more chore then pleasure until I listened to the radio in the shop. Huge tornadoes in Oklahoma, massive wild fires and flooding in Australia . A earth Quake in china somewhere and a tsunami warning that followed in Indonesia .. I quickly stopped my sniveling and started boat building....

I finished one side of the deck laminate and spent a few hours sanding and fairing

Now I will start on the other side ...

I finally finished the other side after a many month break due to life.
I saw that Perry Burton finished his pathfinder in 11 months http://buildingpathfinder.blogspot.com/
I am impressed and realize I started my pathfinder April of 2006... Maybe I will finish this fall....

I started installing the decking strips at the stern . I am holding down the deck strips this way with screws and fender washers . This method works really well but leaves hole through the plywood that I will fill from underneath ..

I finished the stern decking strips and started at the bow

My brother showed up just in time to help ...

Here is the stern deck.

I finished gluing all the strips and sanded down one side ..... Next coaming and gunnels