STEP 19 After a long break I came back to the hull to finally start the cladding process. The red arrows point to the glue applied to joint of the keel pipe and ribs and the 3mm MDF behind to be use for the cladding. (fig 19).

STEP 20 First thing is to measure the spaces to be covered. Not a hard thing to do but remember the RE, which puts a step in the rear hull with the result that I needed 6 pieces for both the top and bottom of the hull. (fig 20).

STEP 21 IMPORTANT NOTE: Before gluing the MDF down the edges of the ribs where the laser has chared the wood needs to be sanded to remove the ash so the glue can get a firm grip. The close up shows the rib after sanding. (fig 21).

STEP 22 And another problem raises its head. To put it simply it will be easier to clad the hull without the bridge superstructure, so.... (fig 22).

STEP 23 I took it off! I'll do it as a separate structure and attach it after the hull has it plastic coating. I am using hot glue to attach the MDF sheets (fig 23).

STEP 24 At this point things should have gone quickly. They didn't, because I've made a major design mistake. The problem is with the notches in the ends of the ribs while tight still allow some movement. This means the distance between any 2 ribs could and was out by up to 12mm. BUGGER! So back to the drawing board for a complete redesign of the rib fixing system. I will however continue with this build just to see how it turns out! (fig 24).

STEP 25 Shown is the hull with the top cladding attached and the access cut for the mounting rod. (fig 25).

STEP 26 Flipped over you can access the inside to reinforce the joints with more glue. (fig 26).