Cockpit floor dry fit

After epoxying and screwing most of the access hatch supports in place, and the sliding hatch top, I was looking for the next step.  I am in the process of getting the fuel tank to put in, and decided to dry fit the cockpit floor.  This will allow me to continue the dry fit of the cockpit while I wait, and also make it much easier to walk into the cabin.  Plus I get to stand there and pretend I am finished.

This is what I have been standing on while working on the access hatch.  The spotted gum king plank is 20mm thick and 90mm wide, but only sitting in place.  All others are epoxied in.

Below is looking from the transom frame forward.  Frame 8 is waterproof (top half still plain epoxy on ply, bottom half painted).  In front of that is the space for the fuel tank (that's why the king plank is not stuck in) and in the middle is the cockpit floor.

This shows the port side showing the supports for the floor of the under-seat storage:

I started with the floor of the starboard side, fitting the 12mm ply floor and a 9mm end piece to seal off the space.  To the right of the storage I will bring up the exhaust pipe above water level in a loop to prevent water coming in through the transom and flowing to the engine exhaust.

The the main sheet which will be the cockpit floor.  I carefully worked with a square and straight edge to cut notches in the ply.  It slides in under the wooden uprights which will have the seat fronts screwed onto.  I left the ply oversize on the inside and trimmed it after it was positioned to ensure a neat edge with the under seat floor.  Amazingly it fit first time!  Keen eyed watchers will see that this meant the other side had space between the rear edge and the uprights on the left of the picture, which I covered with the next lot of under seat storage flooring.

This is the port side before:

And after.  The left hand piece goes in first sliding up against the hull side and covering the first gap in front of the upright wood.  Then the forward piece which also has a notch on the right end that slides forward to cover the gap under the upright wood.  These were needed because the centre piece cannot be wider than the width to the upright wood, it wouldn't slide down into place!

Join between the two is notched to meet mid way across the support under the join.  Looks complicated, and I had to redo the left one due to some rushing towards the end of a day.  Lesson learnt, thought I would finish and stand on it to end the day, ended up making myself another hours work and wasted the first piece of ply.

And the final result.  Looking forward from the port edge of the transom support frame:

And and overhead from the access hatch looking aft:

Still haven't made the washboards, but now I can stand there more comfortably that will be next.  It also makes it more accessible for guided tours.  Because I have done it for years I thought nothing of walking over the frames whilst carrying a sheet of ply, but forgot just how much practise it took. Visitors will now be able to step up in style.

Cabin Hatch started

After a break over Easter I trimmed off the excess glass tape, sanded the edges of the cabin top glass and spread some filler over the edges.

That was a bit boring so I started on the access hatch and frame to support the washboards.  First off was to fill the gap between the two end pieces.  The plans specify 100mm above seat height and 250mm for those intending to go into rough weather.  I went with about 150mm, I'd previously cut notches so that was what I must have decided on a while back.  This is the piece that protects the cabin from water if you don't have any washboards in place.

I am using kwila hardwood for the framing, the sides are about 70mm x 19mm and I cut them to match the curve of the deck forward and to the sides with the aim to have them level when in place.

Looking from the side, these are screwed into carlines that were put in place under the cabin roof earlier

And the front:

Once they were screwed in place (the bottom row of screws) I attached the outside pieces (the top screw line).  Also note the thin piece of hardwood to give a little lip for the forward piece, and the small drain space just forward of it to the left.

This is a shot from the cockpit showing the sides were the hatch will run along:

Below is the hatch frame 42mm x 19mm), you can see on the left of the picture the forward end of the frame, and a piece of lighter wood and the darker inside piece (you will see more shortly).  This was taken before I screwed the sides all together.

Below shows the forward side of the hatch.  The lighter wood is 20mm x 20mm and will have a fridge seal screwed onto it.  When the hatch slides closed the inside back of the hatch will push up against the seal to prevent water coming in.  The end of the hatch will also have its own 20mm x 20mm piece screwed onto the inside rear slightly lower to make it harder for water to get up and inside.

Then I crossed my fingers and epoxy glued/screwed it all down. Below shows the outside filleted to the cabin roof.

I slid the frame forward to force the sides out hopefully to make it even all the way along.  We shall see!

When I got a day off I headed down for another ply purchase.  It wasn't until I was half way home that I figured out this may be my last one.  Below is the cockpit floor, transom, seating and combings.  A little bit scary that I may have all the ply I need!

Back inside I had decided not to go with a curved hatch.  I have spent hours looking at Colin Archer boats on the woodenboat forum and had seen a few with solid wood hatches.  I decided to try one.  Below is all the pieces cut, drilled and prepared:

And epoxied and screwed in place.  The left/right and rear pieces are epoxied and screwed.  The tongue and groove is epoxied and the front piece is only screwed.  It needs to be removable so you can take the hatch off.  It will be sanded once the glue in the screw holes are sanded back and given several coats of epoxy inside and out.  Fillets will also be done.

Below you can see the 42mm x 19mm capping on the edges of the ply space, and the outside spacer.  The inside one is screwed into a piece inside (see it soon).  You can also see the wooden step on top of the combing.

This is from inside showing what the vertical piece is screwed into.  It was screwed from the outside and then the screws covered with the outside spacer:

Below is an overhead shot after the outside capping (70mm) was put in place.  The space between is where the ply washboards will slide down:

This shows the step on top of the combing from the inside.  It is screwed into two supports which are screwed to the combing.  Should be more comfortable than stepping on a 12mm piece of ply, and is positioned so the washboards can slide all the way to the seat outside.

And a final outside shot.  You can just make out the 3mm aluminium strips for the hatch to side on each side on top of the rails.  The large spotted gum end piece of the opening is very visible.

Next post will be getting the hatch to slide, and pulling apart all the entrance to epoxy them in place.