The stem cover

The stem in the Design requires an additional plate to tie it together. From what I have seen in others' blogs (including the Designer's) a 3cm plank suffices. BUT. The bow is then just held together by 6cm of wood with the grain running vertically and therefore, theoretically, could split/check. The Design does not call for any other reinforcements (aside from maybe some glass to cover the joint), no wooden crooks, not even steel bolts. I did  consider the latter, but for this size boat it probably is overkill, especially since I'm not aware of any setkas developing a problem at the stem.
For my own peace of mind I decided to reinforce it by laminating some maritime pine with grain running perpendicularly to the stem between the 2 parts of my Douglas fir stem. It does make my boat about 2cm longer than in the Design, but with a little bit of luck nobody will notice ;).

For gluing I used the last of my polish Epidian 5 + PAC combination with a little bit extra hardener (100:70 ratio as I did on the bottom plating) to make the glue a little bit more elastic and impact resistant.  All according to the manufacturer's specification. The cured resin is noticeably less brittle, but still much tougher than wood. Clamping force (not too much) was provided by wood screws and clamps.

The next day I removed the screws (with the help of an old soldering iron, they were properly glued in place). There is only about 3cm of douglas fir they can grab on to, not much point in trying to rely on them as reinforcement. In the leftover holes I will glue in oak trennels.

Also: I trimmed the stem and roughed out the outline of the cutwater. The hull is now close to it's final shape.

Next steps: replace all temporary fasteners with proper ones, fill and fair all the imperfections to prepare for glassing. Which I may or may not do next. But maybe I will first turn the hull upright and do the interior and deck first. We will see.