| Bolero
Project |
Tuesday, April 29, 2008 I continued on the aft hatch frame this morning, cutting and installing the two transverse sides in a similar manner. I'd trim the remaining sharp edges at the corners to homogenize the profile once everything cured. |
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Afterwards, I applied another coat of semi-gloss white enamel to the overhead--the final coat, I thought. (Oops...no pictures of this right now.) Next, I worked on some additional trim, beginning with a piece of mahogany trim spanning the aft end of the cockpit between the coamings. I cut a board somewhat wider than I needed and cut the ends to fit tightly against the (ubiquitous, on this boat) 9° angles formed at the intersection of the coamings with the aft end of the cockpit and even with the bottoms of the coamings. Then, I scribed the deck camber onto the back of the board and cut the curve. I bored 1/2" flat-bottomed holes for eventual plugs, pilot holes for screws, and temporarily attached the board in place. I didn't want any trim to project very far above the aft deck, since there was a mainsheet system planned that would require minimum interference, so to cover the end grain of the new board and also cover the seam between the wood and the inconsistent shape of the original molded fiberglass, I milled a 1/4" thick piece of trim about 1-1/2" wide with rounded edges to fit over the top. After checking the fit, I removed all the trim and repaired to the bench, where I epoxied the trim in place over the top of the board. Other than requiring far more clamps than I expected to hold it tightly in place, this operation was noteworthy. |
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During the afternoon, I worked on several iterations of the toerail design. The owner expressed interest in a somewhat curved outward profile, similar to a design I'd made several years ago on another boat, so with that idea in mind I set about milling three different profiles on some scrap pine lumber that I cut to match the overall thickness of the teak stock that I had for the rail itself (1-7/8" thick at max). |
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The first profile contained wide roundovers at the top and bottom edges, with a flat section between for a potential brass rubstrip. The remainder of this profile was driven by the physical needs of securing the rail to the boat--that is, enough of an overlap onto the deck to allow for proper attachment with screws or bolts, but not so much as to create too much bulk. For this profile, I utilized the entire potential thickness of the stock, or 1-7/8". |
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For the second profile, I stuck with the maximum dimensions possible, but modified the design to eliminate the flat for the rubstrip, instead milling an angled cut from the lower radius to the top of the rail. Other dimensions and shapes remained similar to the first version, with minor changes. |
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Wondering if the first two versions weren't somewhat bulky given the lean proportions of the boat, for a third attempt I cut down the overall size of the stock a bit, and then milled a profile similar to the second version, but with a smaller 1/2" radius at the bottom and other proportions adjusted accordingly. |
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