The Keelson...

The keelson was shaped from a 30mm by 50mm piece of spruce about 11 feet long.  It extends forward from the forward side of the keel trunk and attaches to the stem.  Eric created a drawing with full-sized sections every 500mm along the length of the keelson.  I glued the paper sections to thin plywood that I then cut into templates or patterns for each station along the keelson.  I shaped the keelson with a plane using the patterns as guides and blending between stations.  The bottom of the keelson forms a "V" which is flatter near the keel trunk and becomes sharper towards the bow.  Here is the keelson on the bench with the patterns at each station.

Screws hold the keelson in place while the thickened epoxy cures.  They were coated with a vegetable cooking spray so that they can be removed.