Eston Builds: Lining the gunwales, part 2

That went pretty well. I used a tiny drill near each of the four corners of each gunport, and used those as reference to generally cut out the port. Used my trusty file to clean the edges. Cutting along the tops of the gunwales went pretty smoothly, too. The thick gunwales and the inner and outer linings are all pretty consistently ending at the same point. There are a few pieces where the lining on one side or the other dips too low by fractions of millimeters, but it's not enough to be perceptible unless you're up close and looking. And, ultimately, the rubbing strakes (think "bumpers" on a speedboat) will cap the gunwales, making the slight excess nicks even harder to catch.

There was one small mishap, where the knife didn't cut but rather levered out a piece of the outer lining. Fortunately, I remembered my first aid: cleaned out the wound, cut a patch, and applied. I haven't yet glued it in, but the pictures are below.

I also trimmed some of the lining from the bottom of the stern panel; the stern lining ends at the same level as the gunwales. This way, the darker hull lining will all terminate at the same height. It's a small enough adjustment that it's kind of a moot point: a rubbing strake will cover this interface. Still, though, it's good to know they'll look clean underneath, too.