110 Cookson Lane | Whitefield, ME 04353 | 207-232-7600 | tim@lackeysailing.com
Now that all the glued corner joints had had sufficient drying time, I could press on with the next steps: trimming the outer edges to the final shape and fitting the actual frame to the cockpit.
With my plywood template, I laid out the final shape of the grate's perimeter on the top surface of the glued-up grate (still in one piece), and cut the edges at a slight inward bevel. Then, I flipped the frame over and milled a large round-over profile on the bottom edge, to approximate the molded radius in the cockpit well. Finally, I sawed the frame into the two final pieces, right between the two center cross members.
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After some preliminary sanding, I was ready to test-fit the pieces in the cockpit. The frame fit well, but didn't rest on the sole itself in most places because I'd not yet removed enough material from the bottom outside corners to accommodate the cockpit's molded radius. Also, the frame overlapped the edge of the aluminum hatch flange by a small amount--something I'd expected--so I made some marks in order to remove a bit of material there.
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With the frame pieces back in the shop, I sanded a larger radius into the bottom outside corners, removing more material than I thought I had to. I also used a router to remove some material in way of the aluminum hatch frame, using the marks I'd made in the cockpit as a guide.
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This time, the grate fit properly in the cockpit, resting on the sole as it was supposed to.
Next, I prepared the pieces I needed to complete the grate frame at the aft end, with the U-shaped section that would surround the rudder post cover in the cockpit. With the plywood template as a guide, I laid out the three pieces required, cut them to length, and milled the half lap joints at the ends where required. I left the side pieces a bit wider than required, since I planned for one of the teak slats to partially overlap the side of these members by a small amount, but didn't yet know exactly how the slats would lay out.
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Finally, I secured the final frame members together with glue and screws.
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I spent a bit of time on the beginnings of the slat layout later in the day, though most of the afternoon was consumed with shuffling boats in order to bring the next project into the shop.
Total Time on This Job Today: 5 hours
