| Bolero
Project |
Wednesday, April 9, 2008 After a few days away from the shop, I returned to work on Bolero with a clear idea of how to proceed with the interior. After some additional discussions, we decided to build the berth and cutout roughly as mocked up last week, with an additional open area just aft of the mast, and even with the top of the mahogany mast beam--essentially like this mock-up. |
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With the basic plan in place, now all I had to do was build it. Before removing any of the mockup, I took the time to scribe the shapes against which the settee sides and small forward bulkhead rested, for future reference if not critical use. Then, I removed the various cardboard pieces and set aside--for now--the large piece representing the v-berth platform top. Most of the interior's eventual construction hinged upon the location of the tiny bulkhead running between the top of the mahogany mast beam and the bilge: this silly little thing would register and support forward end of the main cabin sole, the raised cabin sole forward, and the main settee sides; of course, everything else depended on the placement of these critical items, so in essence the small bulkhead was the most critical piece of the entire interior. Therefore, its conception, construction, and installation represented an effort that corresponded to its importance, if not its diminutive size. To begin, I used the initial rough cardboard template, now equipped with more accurate scribe marks, to lay out a new template for the bulkhead, which I used to fine-tune the shape and determine the basics of the installation. After a few test fits and modifications, I transferred the shape to the final material: 1/2" cherry A-1 Perfecta plywood. I cut out the shape, leaving extra length at the ends for later trimming to exact size. I cut a limber at the bottom to allow passage of bilge water in the future. |
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With the basic shape determined, I had more work I had to do before I could install it. First, I needed to install a cleat to support the eventual cabin sole. But before I could do that, I needed to install a cleat on the aft bulkhead, where I already had a reference mark. I cut a chamfered mahogany cleat to appropriate size and epoxied it to the bulkhead in the correct position, holding it in place with bronze screws. I coated the entire cleat with epoxy to help protect it against bilge water, as the cleat was located very close to the bottom of the bilge by necessity. Later, bilge paint will add additional layers of protection. |
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With the small forward bulkhead temporarily in place, transferred the height of the aft cleat forward. The distance was too short for my long level and too long for my short level, so I cut a piece of scrap to the approximate length and used it to support the level, allowing me to transfer the height forward (the sole would be level according to what I'd already determined was "level" for the boat). With the level mark made, and knowing that the top of the small bulkhead was also level, I made an additional mark by measuring down from the top, and struck the line. Finally, I cut and installed another mahogany cleat with glue and bronze screws. |
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Next, I had to determine the final width of the small forward bulkhead so I could trim the excess before installation. To get to this point, however, I needed to address the settee sides in the after portion of the cabin, since their position would ultimately determine the width of the bulkhead. So on the aft bulkhead, I installed vertical mahogany cleats against which the settee sides would rest, using my previous (from the interior mockup days) layout lines as a guide. |
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I cut pieces of the cherry plywood to the general size and shape needed, allowing for additional cuts and fine tuning, and used them to mark the locations for the cut on the forward bulkhead. To do this, I knew that the settee sides were to be parallel with each other and with the boat's centerline, so I held them against the new cleats at the aft end and used a square to position them appropriately. With some relief cuts to allow them to extend over the transverse floor forward, and some fine-tuning, I eventually located them properly and made marks as needed. I transferred the marks to the small bulkhead and cut off the excess from the ends. With all this layout complete, I could finally install the small bulkhead, my last task of the day. I coated the edges and "back" (actually forward) side of the bulkhead with epoxy resin to help protect from moisture, since these areas would be inaccessible later, and then installed the bulkhead level and plumb in a bed of thickened epoxy resin, taking care to keep the limber open and free. I neglected to take a picture, but behind the bulkhead, in a space left open by the fact that the transverse floor just ahead was installed at the factory at an aft-leaning angle, I constructed some epoxy fillets to prevent water from pooling in the 1" wide space between the floor and the new bulkhead, and which would force the water to pass instead through the limbers. |
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