The chine log needs to be set into the frames at the turn of the bilge. This means that the corner needs to have a section cut out of it which will hold the chine log. If you a building a large craft where proper lofting was carried out, the chine log notch would have been cut when the futtocks were being cut out and assembled.
Since we are building a small dinghy, we do not have a full set of plans and proper lofting was not carried out. The futtocks were cut out and shaped with no regards for bevels or future stringers, and simple assembled onto the keel where they await further fabrication.
They say the beauty of building a dinghy is you can make up your mind about the finished product as you go! This statement could not be more true. You start off with a set plan in mind and then modify this plan based on materials you have access to and ease of building.
The depth of the chine log was cut into the corner using a handsaw. Once the cuts were made, the retained wood was chiseled out in small quantities. The end result was a rather well fitting notch that will retain the chine log and tie the frames together, offering loads of rigidity to the hull of our dinghy.
Once all the frames were notched, the chines could be test fitted to ensure that they will lay fair and flush with the curves of the hull.
One important point that does require some forethought is the fasteners that connect the futtocks need to be set in a way that they won't interfere with the chine log. I set the lower screw more inboard and the upper screw outboard. The upper screw and lower screw were set outside the imaginary area that would become the chine notch. This allowed me to simply cut out the notch without needed to relocate any fasteners.
