Clamping inwhale spacers

 I am installing inwhales on my Annapolis wherry, and have decided to attach the spacer blocks to the top edge of the boat first, then attach the inwhale separately in a second step.  

I am coating one side of the spacer blocks with epoxy/wood flour mixed to peanut butter consistency, then clamping so that the top of the block is flush with the top edge of the wherry.  (Using 2 inch spring clamps ) However, the process of clamping causes the block to slide a bit as some epoxy mix squeezes out.

The challenge is to re-orient the block to be flush again by opening  the clamp a bit , adjusting the spacer block position , then re-engaging the clamp and praying it does not slide again.

This is not easy with just two hands and the clamp in the way of getting the alignment correct.

It seems like after the first clamping, the blocks stick pretty well, and wondering if I can get away without re-clamping.  

Any other tricks or methods would be welcome.

 

 


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RE: Clamping inwale spacers

   Apologies for misspelling of inwale on original post. One additional question. The width of my inwale + spacer block +top panel + outwale is a little more than two inches.  When I am ready to epoxy the inwale to the spacer block, My spring clamps will cover the total width, but I am concerned it will be too much pressure and the quality of the bond will suffer.  
Am I overthinking this, or should I seek out different clamps where I can control  the pressure better.

RE: Clamping inwhale spacers

I used a combination of spring and bar clamps.  Mine turned out fine!   

RE: Clamping inwhale spacers

   Thx.  I ended up getting a helper, and used mostly spring clamps, and some bar clamps.  I used extra clamps in places to keep the vertical position of the inwale level with the spacer block and the edge of the boat. 

I also modified the way the inwale meets up with the breasthook and quarter knees.  Instead of the complicated joinery needed to integrate them seamlessly, I just terminated the inwale with a small curve that matches the same curve of the breasthook/quarter knee.  Maybe not traditional, but it saved a couple days work for sure.  

RE: Clamping inwhale spacers

   https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mzfjmu4c3us1sz0abkx9u/PXL_20240710_002838293.MP.jpg?rlkey=9esf4oq3qlhfqf3o4xhzunydt&dl=0