110 Cookson Lane | Whitefield, ME 04353 | 207-232-7600 | tim@lackeysailing.com
To begin, I sanded the primer on the cockpit locker lids and companionway, catching these pieces up with the state of the rest of the deck.
Then, I lightly sanded the new fiberglass in the forward cabin and port chainplates as needed, cleaning up afterwards.
Now that I had access to the remaining areas beneath and behind the galley, I temporarily removed a storage shelf from the after compartment so I could finish cleaning up in there, and also removed some drain hoses from the icebox directly above. Then, I prepared to cut the new countertop substrate from marine plywood.
The 52" length of the main part of the countertop made the raw piece too large to fit through the companionway for scribing, so to get the shape of the hull at the outboard edge of the new countertop (the old countertop had ended in mid-air about 10" from the hull) I used a large piece of cardboard as a template, scribing it to fit the contours of the hull.
I transferred the shape to my plywood blank and made the cut, then rough-cut part of the sheet where it would overhang the existing cabinet so I could fit the piece in place for final scribing and cutting to shape.
With no support at the after outboard end, the sheet sagged out of level, so I glued in a temporary support block with hot glue to bring the sheet level, raising that corner about 1-1/2".
With the rough blank in its final position, I traced the shape of the cabinet beneath and made the final cuts, keeping the inboard edge (at the companionway area) even with the edge of the icebox behind.
The countertop was too wide for a single sheet of plywood, so I cut a slightly oversized blank for the remaining section, fitted it in place, traced around the outside as needed, and cut it to fit, completing the general construction of the substrate. I'd not permanently install this for a while, as I had other work to do in and around the area. I'd also need to install several additional cleats and supports for the final countertop.
Note that the icebox unit is not level, which is how it was installed at the factory. During later steps, I'd be sure to make the icebox hatch opening square and level despite the actual orientation of the box itself.
Next, I turned to the nav station area directly across the way. During earlier repairs, I'd cut out the bulk of the original bulkhead here, leaving only a small section at the bottom to support the settee throughout the process. But with new materials and a plan of attack, it was time to build a replacement bulkhead.
To begin, I cut out what remained of the bulkhead, peeled away the remnants of tabbing, and sanded the area as needed to accept the new work.
I cut a roughly boat-shaped curve in a large piece of cardboard and placed the cardboard in the bulkhead's location so I could scribe the outboard edge to fit. In several steps, I created a template of the new bulkhead, which I extended up with an additional piece to the underside of the deck to provide an end point for new cabinets ahead of it, and also the quarterberth shelf behind. This also matched the general shape of the galley bulkhead on the opposite side of the boat.
From this basic template, I cut a blank from 12mm marine plywood, keeping the outer edges oversized to begin so I could mark and cut them plumb and level according to the bulkhead's true placement in the boat. After moving the blank into its final position, I struck a plumb line down from the top edge to demark the inboard edge of the new bulkhead, beginning 1" from the edge of the cabin trunk where it met the sidedeck--same as on the galley bulkhead.
I struck a new level line across the bulkhead where it would end above the countertop for the nav station, then added two inches for leeway and to provide a backstop for this area. I might cut this down further later depending on other final details.
Finally, I struck lines at the edges of the existing settee and fiberglass structure beneath the nav station, then removed the blank and made all the final cuts before test-fitting it once more.
Pleased with the fit, I removed the new bulkhead and coated the edge grain with epoxy to prepare it for final installation soon.
Total Time on This Job Today: 7.5 hours
