| Circe
| Wednesday, December 16, 2009 I began in the forward cabin, and drilled and bunged all the screw holes in the new bulkhead veneer panels. |
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Next, I worked on the wide vertical panel above the tankage locker, which would close off and define the storage area above. I cut and installed a cleat on the countertop in the appropriate spot, and then used cardboard to create a template of the new bulkhead, which I then transferred to 1/2" cherry plywood and, through a series of test fits and adjustments, fit into position. I cut a large access hatch in the new bulkhead, then installed it permanently with screws and epoxy adhesive. |
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While I waited for the epoxy to cure enough to continue work in the head, I continued work on the underside of the galley countertop and icebox. I cut foam to fit around the wooden fiddles I'd installed yesterday, allowing the foam to extend well beyond the actual edges of the icebox liner as defined by pre-determined marks on the countertop; because the ice hatch was offset from the center of the box, the width of the foam on each edge varied in accordance with how much space existed to the foam that was already in place on three edges of the liner inside the boat. I glued the foam in place with epoxy; later in the day, I applied a layer of fiberglass over the top surface of the foam--the area that would actually become the top of the icebox once installed--so that the foam would be completely sealed inside the box after final installation. |
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With, believe it or not, deck painting hopefully on the agenda for early next month, I pressed on with a couple more jobs that I wanted to complete in advance: framework for the forward hatch, and for a second opening hatch aft of the mast. I put in an order for the smaller of the two hatches, so that I could cut the hole in the deck and create the appropriate framework, but happened to have an old, used version of the same model of hatch we planned to use for the forward hatch, so I used that to build a basic frame for the hatch. I built the frame from 8/4 Honduras mahogany, cutting 2" strips to length so I could epoxy them together into the square shape required for the frame. I set the glued frame aside to cure, and would continue shaping work after the piece had cured. |
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By mid-afternoon, the adhesive securing the new head locker bulkhead had cured enough to allow me to continue work. Each vanity cabinet would feature an upper cabinet above the countertop, running between the aft bulkhead and the forward locker bulkhead. After determining the clearance required for the starboard-side sink, I marked plumb lines on each bulkhead, and on each side, for cleats that would secure the front panels of these new lockers, and cut and installed the cleats accordingly. Then, I installed long cleats on the countertop, running between the vertical cleats, to define and support the lower edge of the panels. |
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