Case closed

In a clear case of over thinking, I decided early on to integrate some out door carpet into the center case to cushion the dagger board from abrasion as well as adding friction to keep it from sliding up too easily.  I added additional space to the dimensions for the slot.  However, I was clearly winging it as far as how things would fit together, so I felt it would be wise to hold off final closing of the case until I could check the fit with the finished dagger board.  Just because the plans call for a certain size (plus an unknown thickness of glass and epoxy) doesn't mean MY board would match those dimensions.  In theory that logic seems sound, but in practice, I put off actually finishing the dagger board to the point where the rest of the hull is waiting.  Without the center case I can't install the middle seat which is one of the key parts to lock in the hull's shape.

Anyway, I went ahead and used the unshaped dagger board blank and the shaped rudder to check for fit, add the carpeting, and close it up.

Here's how much extra space (slot width) I built in, about 10mm or so:

With carpet on both sides of the board:

I reduced the length of the slot based on recent forum discussion regarding the amount of play fore and aft.  But I did leave enough room to avoid (I hope) making it too difficult to insert  and remove the blade:

But there's still the possibility of grounding damage that some have experienced leading edge top and trailing edge bottom:

I may install some bumpers, but I thought (over thought?) I'd take another another approach as well:

Even if they layers don't prevent wood-to-wood contact, they should prevent lateral slop.  I WON'T TOLERATE LATERAL SLOP!  (Sorry, I'm getting a little punchy...)

The rudder also gets the cushy treatment: