Sanding and Stitch holes

Ended up buying a cheap belt Sander for £20 from B&Q, Don't expect it to last forever and have no use for it (House renovations completed!) after the build of this canoe.

Boards ready for sanding back. Ended up clamping them to the stands which worked ok. Found it easier with a bit of weight across the stands to keep them planted.

Quite a few 'wiggles' in the wood from cutting out, sanded as best as possible, the real test will be how well they line up when stitching but look fine over all.

To mark out the stitch holes I made a very basic template out of some off cut hardboard.

Worked great, started 7 cm from the middle ends of each board and marked 1cm in at 15cm intervals.

Drilled with a 2mm bit and light sand off.