Foam shaping, deck planks

Very cold May this year: at night the temperature still drops below freezing, no way I can do anything with epoxy in my boatshed. Instead I am occupied with garden work and chopping wood for the next winter. Boatbuilding is proceeding very slow.

I finished shaping foam panels which fill flotation tanks. Easy but rather boring activity. I used wood chain to take hull shape and transferred it to panels.

This foam, unlike styrofoam, is elastic and does not break into small bits. Once these panels are installed I should be able to remove them without damaging them, should I need to work on flotation chambers.
Almost perfectly shaped to hull form.

I chose to leave an air gap under battens and under deck planking. I don’t want the wood to be in contact with them, especially when they get wet from spray or when the boat gets swamped.

All battens dry-fitted.

I started cutting planks for the deck. I will use plain Northern Pine, readily available here, cheap and lightweight. Folks at lumber store allow me to browse through their stock, to chose wood with as few knots as possible.

The deck and benches will be oiled or treated with Roslags mahogany (which is linseed oil with tar). I’m not sure yet. Roslags mahogany is making wood darker - and with time it becomes almost black. I like it - and it smells great - but it may be a bit tacky and stain clothes. On the other side - it is a proven way to protect soft wood on traditional boats here.