At the 1999 Newfound Woodworkers Rendezvous I saw a fitting that I liked and thought I could make. The boat was one made by Eric Schade for Dick Gamble. I have recently found that Eric sells these fittings if you don't wish to make them yourself. I have provided a link below.
I started out by making a jig to use with a router based on a sketch of the fitting as shown.
The jig was made using plywood scrap. I made reference lines and cut a square hole in a piece of 3/4" plywood to hold a hardwood blank 2-1/4" square. I then calculated the size of the circles needed for both the inside and outside cuts based on my router base size.
(Example Router base = 3", radius of the outside cut = 3/4", radius of the 3/8" dado bit = 3/16", (3"+3/4"+3/16" = 3-15/16") = radius for the outer circle template)
I started out trying to cut the circles for the template as two separate templates and found they were not concentric as a result of taking them on and off the plywood jig base. I then made a donut piece that when placed inside the other template kept everything concentric.
I found that in order to keep the router from chattering when cutting the inner diameter I could only cut about 1/8" at a time. I placed a reference line (seen to the left in the picture) each time I made a cut to make sure the block was placed in the jig the same each time I made a cut. I made the inside cut first and with the jig set up cut all the blanks I needed for the boat. I then setup and cut the outside diameter, cutting all blocks 1/8" deep and marking each block before moving on to the next depth cut. That way I limited setup for each cut with the router. The blank was cut a little deeper than 1/4"so that it would account for any thickness differences in the hull.
Once all the blanks were finished with a router (one in the lower right of the above picture) I then made the 1/4" wide by 1/4" deep cut through the center for the cross piece with my table saw
I then drilled a 1-1/2" hole through the deck with a Fostner bit. The blank fitting was placed in the hole and the height checked to assure the cross piece would remain 1/4" thick. Any differences in each blank was accounted for before gluing the cross piece in place. The cross piece was rounded off on the bottom before gluing in. The square edges on the bottom of the fitting were also rounded off before gluing
When I glued the fitting in place I let it stand proud and then sanded it smooth. The fitting was coated with epoxy to finish it out.
