Hello Chris,
I made my Expedition the 'old fashioned' way, with plywood, so I cant offer insights to an implementation using aulminium. For whats its worth here are the places where I was glad of a bit of timber to fix to.
1 - the sheer clamps - to fix the ends of the straps to - the straps that hold the hatch lids in place.
2 - the two timber blocks - cut into wedge shapes - that are fixed port and starboard of the cockpit - that offer the oar rig a flat surface to be bolted to.
3 - breasthooks - bow and stern - made with 12mm plywood - not shown in the build instructions - to fix cleats to - that act as handles to lift the boat.
4 - I poured a couple of cups of epoxy into the inside of the bow and stern stems (while the boat was standing up on the bow, or stern) - nominally to strenghten the structure - but I found very useful to screw in a short section of rub rail.
5 - the coaming around the cockpit - the build instructions call for a concave beading between the deck and the vertical elements of the coaming - I'm not sure of the structural significance of this.
6 - the fixings and nuts and bolts sold with the oar rig kit are all stainless steel - dissimilar to aluminium - how will they interact w.r.t. galvanic corrosion? (will you be in salt water?)
None of these points are meant to dissuade you Chris, only to illustrate where a bit of forethought may pay off.
I'm keen to know which material you choose, and to follow your build, keep the info coming.
Best of luck,
Tony
