Construction

This is definitely nay your simple 3-fin model, so readin' t' fairly good instructions is a must. Arrr! I would generally agree that t' "sandin' guide" and approach used t' bevel t' 3 sides for a flush fit be t' weakest part o' t' project. I spent just a couple minutes before recognizin' t' futility and decided t' just eyeball it. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! My main issue was that t' sides are about 8" tall, matey, t' t' template lines up against t' bottom edge. Arrr! Tryin' t' sand a consistent angle all t' way up by lookin' at how you're doin' relative t' t' bottom edge is nay exactly an exact science. Ahoy! Begad! I wound up just usin' a 10" long sandin' block and goin' smoothly along t' side all at once, me bucko, matey, then comparin' it t' t' template, tweakin' a bit here and there. Avast! In t' end, I realized it's mainly just t' make sure I've got a good glue joint, so I filled t' gaps and imperfections and covered them up with t' skins afterwards.

I'd also suggest two deviations from t' sequence o' steps in buildin' this. First, as Dick figured out after t' fact, ya bilge rat, matey, cuttin' out t' small openin' for t' launch rod BEFORE gluin' everythin' together is a little bit easier, arrr, matey, matey, mainly because you can work on a flat surface/cuttin' mat. Second, shiver me timbers, that little limewood brace that anchors t' shock cord in place is a bugger t' get in thar far enough up t' be out o' t' way. I think anchorin' that t' one side before puttin' them together would allow for better placement and probably a more secure glue joint.

Overall, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, this was a little more challengin' build than I'd anticipated, and I don't mean that in a bad way. From t' outside o' t' bag I'd figured it would be a quick cut/glue job and a few minutes o' work, but it wound up takin' a good couple hours makin' sure everythin' fit, was securely constructed, and rugged enough t' handle multiple flights.