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We found it necessary to mechanically fasten the floors to the keelson with stainless "allthread". This involved inserting the allthread clear through to holes bored into the keelson and attaching a nut and washer to the bottom of the allthread. Here you see Keith Smith slipping a floor over the allthread.

In this photo Keith is attaching the nut and washer to the top of the floor.

In this photo you can see the floors have been installed and fastened to the allthread. The ribs will be fastened to the floors with stainless as well.

Originally Kettenburg used a single bronze rod to attach the floors to the keelson and galvanized bolts to attach the floors to the ribs. We've used two stainless, allthread rods to attach the floors to the keelson and will be using stainless carriage bolts to attach the floors to the ribs.

This is an out of focus photo showing the allthread with the nut and washer attached deep inside the keelson. This mechanical fastening was accomplished rather than to drop the keel to fasten the new rods to secure the floors or to opt for the "drift" method of securing the "floor bolts" into the keelson.

The holes created to obtain access to the floor bolts were filled with a plug of Port Orford Cedar and 5200. The whole lot was then sealed with penetrating and finish epoxy. We doubt that these fastenings will be the source of any leaks for decades to come. This is a view of the starboard side where we first tried to access the allthread by a mortice method, later opting for a much cleaner approach using a hole saw.

Here you see Keith Smith admiring his work on the port side of the boat. Keith invested about 20 hours to access and fasten the allthread to the keelson, secure the floors to the keelson, and then drill and bolt the floors to the ribs. Doug had previously drilled the holes into the keelson for the allthread with the jig. That job consumed about 30 hours. This work secured the floors in the cabin. We still have to secure the floors aft of the companionway as well as the floors under the maststep.

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