Looking good, Pat! Looks like a fairly robust structure but have you encountered or do you anticipate there being any 'oil canning' problems with the plastic sheet skin?

Aero, I'm not anticipating any problems with the skin at all. The CC 19' Racer had less sub-structure and hasn't been any problem either. Using that stuff to skin hulls was truely a stroke of genious over at Dumas -- very inovative thinking.
PAT

Cool deal! It does look like this type of construction will reduce finishing time significantly!

The cabin assembly is pretty straight forward on the cavalier. The major assembly is done right on the hull, so when it's all done there's no doubt that it'll fit. For themost part, parts fit has been pretty good, although a couple of the innere frames were a bit short and needed shimming. Not a big deal, just requires a bit of time to get things lined up nicely.
Once the main cabin sub-assembly is finished, the mahogany veneer is applied. It goes on in several pieces which are fitted individually. So far, so good. Will follow up with more pics as things progress.
PAT

Pat, you are a master builder and very few of us can even approach your level of skill. (I'm not one of the few). The one thing that bothers me about your Cavelier build article is that you mention several times that that some of the pieces don't fit and you have had to make allowance for these errors. Believe me, I appreciate your honesty in reporting these errors! However, has the manufacturer made any indication that they will correct these errors? The price of the kit is a large investment and then when you consider running gear, batteries and radio, the builder has tied up a substantial amount of cash in the boat. I know we have come a long way from the old Berkeley and Sterling kits of yesterday but so have the prices.

Frank

Frank, Thanks for the kind comments, I really apreciate it. Don't let the minor parts fit problems scare you. The main reason I mentioned them was to give a heads up that a dab of tweaking here and there is needed to get things just right. As kits go, this one really is very well done, and the minor "infractions" are really easy to work with. When the build is done, I'll send a list over to Rich and we'll review all of it. I wouldn't be right to "not mention" the small problems which have come up, then let someone who thinks all is -- for lack of a better term, perfect -- be blindsided by some of the minor discrepancies. I'm not one to slam a kit, unless, it's REALY bad, but it's not right to gloss over the potencial problem ares either.

PAT

Any time for the Cavalier lately, Pat?

Had a BIG commercial project in late October and most of November that knocked the schedual clear out of whack, but am now getting caught up with the regular stuff again, and am back on the Cavalier.
Work on the cabin is just about finished. The wood top, which will be painted, has been sealed with 3 coats of nitrate dope and puttied to fill the wood grain. The next step will be to get it primed and fill the last of the flaws.

The mahogany veneer is added to the inside of the aft cabin sides and to the rear cabin wall. The parts are trimmed to fit, glued in with medium Cya and clamped till the glue sets up. Veneer will be added to the edges once the big pieces are in and all will be smoothed up together. Then once all the veneer is finished and sealed, paint work can get underway.

While the sealer is drying here and there, the time was used to jump ahead a bit and start working up the small sub-assemblies.
The rear seat was built up and sanded, along with the cushions for the deck chair assembly. The cushions will be sealed with 4 coats of nitrate dope and painted.
The mahogany instrument console was built up and sanded to shape. Once the rest of the mahoganny work is finished in the cabin area, the whole thing will be sealed up with several coats of varethane varnish.
PAT

Looking great Pat!!! The cut outs on the instrument panel are a nice touch! is that the way the kit comes or did you modify that? should look great with the instrument faces in place!

Aero, That's the way the panel came. The holes are laser cut so are nice and clean. Made som more progress today, will post more pics a little later.
PAT

Got the last of the veneer on the aft cabin today. Decided to add veneer to the top of the aft railings to keep it all nice and uniform. Once it was all shaped and finish sanded a coat of resin was applied. The shop is a bit shall we say, a bit cool this time of year so the resin is curing a bit slow. Will get it re-sanded and a second coat on next week. Also got 3 coats of nitrate dope on the seat cusions to, so they're ready for paint. And finally, the second coat of resin is on the instrument console too, and it's looking pretty good, so will stop there.
PAT

Hey Pat lookin great!!!

I'm enjoying following your build. And like everyone else I'm always excited to see what you will build next.

I like the way Rich did this cabin apposed to my Dumas Commander.

Just got one off ebay new in sealed box with mack power, lights and horn 178.00!!! can't wait