Winter is working in my favor building this new cockpit. It was 15 below zero(F) this past weekend as I worked in my shop. I felt no pressure from even the slightest hint of spring. I put a few hours in here,...a few hours in there,.....

These are the simple tools of laying this deck. A bandsaw -compared to circular saws - is a pleasure to make the little cuts and tiny trims. 1/8" plywood spacer strips keep the joints uniform and clean.

Finally the last upper pieces are fitted. I had to add 1/32nd to my spaces between the middle dozen planks forward. Aft, I needed to cut 5 new planks to 1 5/8" wide(all others are 1 1/2"). I don't know why, and I don't care at this point. Can you see them?

The Ipe appearance runs all over the place. All of the bullnose trim pieces are the finish planed and aged outer side of the delivered lumber. The planks on the other hand are mostly resawn on the bandsaw. They take on a totally different hue. Then some planks run through the table saw, are different again. And there is the variation from within the log. But when you wipe it all down with acetone, despite that much is rough sawn, it all looks the same.

The screw/clamp method reccomended by a friend showed it's value when I started to epoxy the planks in place. The screws returned the pieces into perfect alignment without any additional shimming or spacing. That made this step go faster and with little mess. When the epoxy dries, I can finally see how it all flattens under an orbital sander. I'll have more of that to do than a real boat yard. I don't have a thickness planer but it's nothing 60 grit won't handle.