While the stem was rather complicated to attach, the stern post was the exact opposite! The stern post was glued and screwed to the stern knee a while ago and allowed to cure, now it is time to attach it to the keel.
The stern knee is fastened with a single silicon bronze lag bolt driven into the keel. Wood glue was attached to the faying surface of the stern knee and the excess squeezed out as the lag bolt was driven home.
With the stem and stern post attached, we are able to finally know the length of the dinghy we are building. 7'8" is the length of our dinghy and there can be no wavering from this length as the end pieces have been attached and secured! Up to this point, the length has been fluctuating from as low as 6 feet all the way up to around 8 feet. Now that the post is attached and can not be moved, we have our final and fixed length for the dinghy.
