110 Cookson Lane | Whitefield, ME 04353 | 207-232-7600 | tim@lackeysailing.com
Not wanting to remove the clamps and braces from the aft bulkhead panels till noontime, I spent the morning in the cabin working in and amongst the obstructions. In the navigation area, I installed a support cleat on the new bulkhead, then cut and fit a countertop section over the top.
I installed a support cleat for the aft end of the port settee, and also a corner cleat to secure the existing settee front to the new bulkhead at the aft end. The aft end of the original settee front was not level, so the new cleat left a gap here that would get filled and covered during later steps of the interior construction.
In the galley, I installed a pair of cleats on a support bulkhead beneath the large section of countertop, which would eventually tie everything together and give the countertop plenty of support beneath to prevent sagging.
Because I'd built the countertop substrate before making the decision to remove and reconfigure the icebox, there was an open space at the aft end that I needed to fill. This posed no particular problem since the surface would be covered with a finish material later. To begin, I installed plywood cleats along the open edges of the countertop--both the short section beneath the companionway and the longer edge of the large section.
Then, I cut a section of plywood to fit the 12" opening remaining, scribing the outer edge against the hull as needed.
To support the outer edge, I installed a short section of the same support cleat that I'd used earlier, and glassed it in place. Later, I'd support the final edge of the countertop against an extension to the aft galley bulkhead.
After lunch, I felt comfortable removing the braces and clamps from the aft panels. To prepare ahead for the installation of the side panels, I measured and precut the braces as needed for the shorter spans across the cabin.
After final preparations, I installed the marine plywood cosmetic panels on the insides of the cabin trunk on both sides, clamping them in place around the port openings and bracing them from side to side to press them tightly into the adhesive. As before, I used polyurethane adhesive to secure the panels.
Total Time on This Job Today: 7.25 hours
