With the plywood blanks I’d pre-cut to the rough shape of the hull, I worked to finalize the four dividers/supports for the settee backrest and lockers.  For each location, I scribed and trimmed the blanks to fit, then held them temporarily with hot glue blocks so I could use a simple jig to mark the 10° angle to match the backrest, and also mark the height of the backrest so I could strike a level line for trimming.   Down on the bench, I trimmed each divider to its final size, keeping the cut lines just inside of the marks so I could make up the final difference later with a support cleat; I didn’t want the plywood to be over-sized at all.

I held the now-trimmed dividers in place with some dabs of hot glue, then applied small epoxy fillets and, finally, strips of 4″ tabbing on each side to secure the bulkheads in place.

During the afternoon, I worked on the final settee backrests, cutting them to match the templates from 12mm okoume plywood.  These would be ready for installation as soon as all the preparatory steps for the insides of the lockers were complete.

The next step for the stove compartment was to cut and fit the three panels to make up its interior.  I began with the base (floor) and the vertical back panel, using basic thin plywood templates to determine the size and shape, then transferring these to the 12mm okoume for the final panels.  I left the ends run wild for later trimming flush with the tops of the bulkheads (back panel), and the short vertical front panel (floor) later.  I secured the plywood panels with four screws each, which is how they’d ultimately be installed when all was said and done.

For the angled center panel, I cut two 6″ wide pieces  from scrap 12mm okoume, each piece slightly narrower than the actual width of the space, then beveled one edge to the angle required to mate with the other panels; the mating angle was greater than 45°, so first I cut the panels on the table saw at the maximum angle, then increased the bevel on the bench with a sander.  I secured each panel tightly with temporary screws, ensuring the beveled ends mated properly with the adjacent horizontal and vertical panels, then secured them together with several hot-glued sticks to hold the orientation and give me the finished length.  I marked the edges in the usual way–a 1″ metal ruler to provide the offset from the bulkhead sides–then cut the final panel from plywood, securing it in place along with the others.

With my stove template secured to each side in turn, I checked the swing clearance, which was fine on both sides.

To finish up the surround for now, I templated and cut the short vertical panel on the inboard side of the enclosure, then cut the base panel flush with the edge of the new panel, and marked and cut the back panel so it was flush and level with the bulkhead.  The sides of the enclosure, plus the three panels I’d just cut, would be faced with stainless steel for heat resistance and to complement the stove itself (24 gauge stainless with a #4 brushed finish), so I removed the panels and measured them (along with the bulkheads on either side) so I could order the sheet metal to complete the enclosure.  Then, I removed each of the support cleats in turn and permanently installed them with glue and additional screws as needed.

With the stove at a natural stopping point, I turned back to the settees, first scribing the plywood templates at the ends so I could make the final panels to fit.  Then, I removed the templates and permanently installed the six support cleats (three per side) with glue and additional screws, cutting the angled backrest cleats to their final lengths in the process.

To support the settee backrest and divide the storage lockers accordingly, I planned two small bulkhead dividers on each side.  Working from the templates and the layout for the locker openings I’d designed, I determined the positions of the bulkheads, and up in the boat I made some basic plywood templates to get me started on the hull shape for the final bulkheads.  At some point I got lost in my labeling of these templates and marked several in the same way–these things happen–so ignore the markings on the four templates.  Each template photo does show a different location, but the markings caused consternation when I was back in the woodshop trying to cut the oversized plywood blanks and every template seemed to say “SF” or “PA”.  We all get our lefts and rights and ports and starboards messed up sometimes.  Eventually I got it worked out and created four bulkhead blanks, each cut roughly to the hull shape at this point and oversized to allow final fitting and cutting to the necessary shape next time.  The angled cuts at the bottom would allow the panels to clear the lower support cleat for the backrest.

I continued work on the stove cabinet, starting with a quick sanding of the new tabbing.

Afterwards, I spent most of the rest of the day laying out and installing the support cleats for the stove enclosure.  It didn’t seem possible that eight little cleats could take so long, but so it was. The main complicating factor was transferring exact positions across the narrow space to ensure all layouts were identical; this was a bit of a challenge (and time-consuming) because the forward, original, bulkhead was not square nor perfectly plumb, and I had to build a custom square of sorts to fit in the space and allow me to transfer the positions across as needed, since my existing commercial tools were too wide or too narrow for the job in this 19″ wide space.

I started by repositioning the stove gimbal center a bit further inboard, after much consideration of the space and the various factors at hand.    The most salient limiting factors were, in order of importance from my perspective:

1.  Maintaining reasonable access to the space beneath the galley, where there were two through hulls installed and various other systems requirements, including the engine raw water strainer.  The new bulkhead would continue in its current plane across the boat and engine space, and despite current appearances there was not a lot of extra room available for a locker door access.  The original access had been uncomfortably small and I hoped to improve upon it.
2. Keeping the stove from impeding too far into the cabin when swinging on gimbals, and also to allow sufficient room beside the companionway ladder for access to the stove and countertop/sink aft.

I ended up moving the stove position 1″ inboard from my original layout.  This would give a bit more clearance for the enclosure, make the stove a bit more convenient to use, while not interfering more than necessary with the potential access to the under-sink area.  All things in small, curvaceous boats require compromise.  Once I’d located the aft gimbal point, on the new bulkhead, I transferred its position across to the forward bulkhead, double-and triple-checking the measurements in all dimensions.  Then, I used my pre-measured radius stick to draw the stove swing radius on both sides, and checked the overall stove fit with the stove template to ensure its proper swing and also mark the after limit of the enclosure (based on a 45 degree outboard swing angle).

For the floor of the enclosure, I roughed out a layout mark providing for 1″ clearance between the top of the eventual plywood and the gimbal arc, then measured and installed identical cleats on both sides of the enclosure, ensuring they were aligned and level.  For now, I dry-fit the cleats with just a couple screws, awaiting completion of the entire enclosure first before I committed to any positions with glue and additional screws.

For the vertical back side of the enclosure, I marked the location providing 1″ clearance from the point at which the stove was swung 45 degrees outboard, and installed identical cleats on each side, again laboring to keep the cleats in the same position, square and aligned with each other and properly plumb.  Apparently I took only one photo of this part of the process.

I had little spare room for the angled cleat to span between the floor and back of the compartment, at least on the aft side, so I made a hot glue template of the required angle and length of the cleat, positioning it so as to provide more than ample clearance for the 12mm plywood panel and some leeway, as this was the closest point of approach for the swing radius and the hull.  These cleats were  the most time-consuming as they had to fit just so, and the after cleat required various modifications on the fly to allow it to fit in the space and along the lavish fillets someone had installed beneath the bulkhead tabbing.

I finished off the basic cleat layout with two short vertical cleats to support the eventual panel beneath the enclosure, forming the front of the cabinet.

I reinstalled the stove template and checked it physically against the new cleats, using a scrap of 12mm plywood to ensure clearance as needed.

In other works, and because I’d need it soon for other aspects of the galley construction, I prepared and installed (temporary) a front cover panel for the refrigerator cabinet on the port side.  For this, I followed the usual steps of a rough cheap plywood template scribed and marked to fit, which I then used to cut the final panel from 12mm plywood slightly over-height for final marking against the floor of the space.  I planned this panel to be removable in the final analysis, so installed it with surface screws.   This panel would provide some support to the cabinetry extending across the engine room and center of the boat, details of which would be making themselves more clear as the adjacent elements came together.

I spent the first part of the morning continuing work on the new stove bulkhead in the galley:  remove the glue blocks, lightly sand, fillet the spaces where the glue blocks had been, and install 6″ tabbing in epoxy resin on both sides of the bulkhead.

Next, I turned back to the settees, ready to build upwards.  The owner requested that the berths be as wide as possible at both ends, which would dictate the position of the backrest/locker face, so to begin I cut support cleats to run as close as practicable to the fore-and-aft intersections of the berth with the hull.  I began on the port side, with a hardwood cleat cut and slightly shaped at the ends to fit into the tapered corners, and secured it temporarily with three screws for now.  Factoring in the thickness of the eventual backrest panel, this left a berth width of approximately 18″ at the forward end, and 27″ at the aft end.

I repeated the process on the starboard side, where the berth was just a touch wider:  these berth widths had originally been dictated by the position and widths of the two after bulkheads, as well as the opening into the head and forward cabin.  Here, the forward end was approximately 19.5″ wide, and the after end 28″.

10 degrees works well for a backrest angle, so with this in mind I’d pre-cut the bottom cleat to this angle along its outer edge.  From here, I struck layout lines up the bulkheads on each end, following the angle measurement, and temporarily installed vertical support cleats for the backrests.  I left these cleats over-long for now pending final decisions on the backrest design.  Because the bulkhead angled from forward to aft, these cleats also required a slight angle (10° worked well) on their edges to accommodate the panel.

Based on various factors, including desired backrest/locker height, cushion thickness, distance to the deck above, and aesthetic considerations, I settled on 22″ for the height of the backrest panel, and prepared 3/16″ plywood blanks as templates and mockups for both sides of the boat.  I drew in proposed locker openings:  three openings on each side, each opening 12″ high and 18″ wide.  These dimensions were predicated not only on the available space (i.e. these dimensions worked out symmetrically and in an aesthetically-pleasing way), but also considered possible storage of some of the plastic storage containers that the owner had originally stowed behind the original backrests, so regardless of the potential space behind the backrest itself, I wanted the locker openings at least to accommodate these items if possible.  In the final construction, I’d install two dividers/supports behind the panel to support the backrest and the cabinetry above, and divide the space into the three lockers designated by the proposed openings.

Other assumed/predicted dimensions that I took into account were a 4″ thick berth cushion (leaving 18″ of backrest above), and 2″ thick backrest cushions built into the locker lids.  I marked a rough outline of the backrest cushion on the center opening on each side (1″ overlap of the opening).  The height of the locker opening above the berth top also would allow the locker lids to open flat when all the cushions were installed (the bottom edge of the lid was 2″ above the top of the berth cushion).  I left 4″ above the locker openings to allow for the backrest cushion overlap, plus a fiddle/trim at the top edge where the backrest would transition to the upper cabinets, plus an appropriate amount of open space.

Port side:

Starboard side:

The 22″ height of the backrests left a minimum of 12″ above for the upper cabinets, which I’d mock up once the details of the lower section were finalized.  The upper cabinets would likely be a combination of enclosed storage lockers with at least some open shelving for books or other stowage, probably in the center of one or both sides.

Even in temporary/template mode, the new backrests started to bring together the future appearance of the interior in (I thought) a good way.

To begin, I quickly and lightly sanded the fresh fiberglass tabbing on the settees, readying the area for whatever came next.

With the actual stove, I confirmed various measurements from the drawing and to ensure my layout so far would fit the actual stove.  I also measured the additional height of the stove grill, which fitted over the burners, and the removable pot clamp holders that fit in all four sides of the stove.    These added 1-3/16″ and 2-15/16″ respectively to the height of the stove itself.  Consulting with the owner, and looking at various images of these stoves installed in other boats, we decided that the stove should be mounted with the top of the box itself flush with the countertop.  This gave me information that I’d need to work out some initial layout.

I trimmed the bulkhead blank to the level and plumb lines I’d marked when it was in the boat–the outermost of the two plumb lines, which was in line with the edge of the forward bulkhead.  I could trim this further back later, though since the face of the cabinets was likely to continue in this same plane all the way across the engine room and to the port side, ultimately the location of this seam wasn’t that important, unless I incorporated it into a fully-removable panel.  These unknowns would make themselves clear enough in the near future.

From here, following the information in the stove measurements, I worked out an initial layout, keeping the entire stove–including the oven door handle (2″ proud of the stove front) behind the second vertical line demarking the original cabinet front.  One has to start somewhere.  I measured and laid out the gimbal center, along with the dimensions of the stove itself, and used a shop-made “compass” to strike the swing radius (just over 18″) on the panel.  In this location, I quickly found that the radius ran out before the outboard edge of the bulkhead, meaning the stove would hit the hull long before it reached an adequate swing.  The pencil in the final photo points to the spot where the radius ran out.

This posed little problem.  I sanded off the layout marks I’d made so far and started anew, this time with the front of the stove (not including the handle) moved out to the initial vertical layout line.  I wanted to keep the stove as far outboard as possible to allow plenty of room to work between the companionway ladder and the stove, and to allow swing room inboard when underway.  In this new location, 2″ further inboard, the stove fit pretty well.  The swing radius cleared the hull at the outboard edge of the bulkhead, with just enough room to build some supporting cleats and panels to close off the space.  To figure these locations, I made a simple template of the stove that I “gimbaled” at the pivot point, and swung it to 45° in each direction, which seemed a reasonable maximum gimbal to provide for, and used this mark to locate the outboard vertical bulkhead of the space.  When the stove was swung to the max in the inboard direction, the base of the unit stayed nearly within the limits of the space defined by the forward bulkhead face, which would keep the stove clear of the companionway and even allow some access to the galley countertop beyond.  This layout confirmed that the stove would fit and swing properly in the given space (the forward end of the space, in the boat, was a bit deeper so no issues there), and while I might slightly manipulate the final location once the new bulkhead was in place and it was time to finish off the opening, I knew that it would fit as hoped and intended, and this basic layout was easier on the bench.

The stove template would come in handy later for locating and mounting the actual gimbal hardware, so  I made some layout marks on the template, as well as on the new bulkhead, using the actual hardware.

Now I brought the bulkhead into the boat and set it up in its final position, secured with hot glue blocks as needed, and level and plumb as required.  Once the position was finalized and repeatable thanks to the glue blocks, I epoxy-coated the edge grain of the plywood and installed it with epoxy fillets on both sides, leaving space around the glue blocks for now.  I stopped the fillet short on the forward side as the remaining section of the bulkhead would be exposed, and I didn’t plan to tab that portion (the back side, however, would be fully tabbed).

With a bit of time left in the day, I cleaned up the two panels from the refer space on the port side, adding an additional ventilation slot to accommodate a duct on the battery charger behind, then permanently installed all the support cleats in that space with glue; I’d set them up dry till I was happy with the overall configuration.  I added a short vertical cleat on the aft side to support a new vertical panel that would close off the bottom of the space and also provide some support for the transverse galley bulkhead extending across to the stove.  Then, I temporarily installed the floor and back panels with exposed screws, as both these panels would remain removable in the final construction to allow access behind.  Sometime later, I’d remove and paint these panels, but for now I wanted them in place so I could continue the galley construction.

I masked off and covered the settee tops to protect them during the various upcoming constructions, as well as (immediately) during the fiberglassing of the seam at the hull, which was my first task.  I cut 6″ tabbing to fit, then applied a thickened epoxy fillet to the seam before wetting out and installing the tabbing on both sides.

I planned to continue work on the settees–backrests and upper cabinets–soon, but for now, while the epoxy cured, I turned to the galley and the new bulkhead required to support the new gimballed stove.  The owner selected this specific stove because it was narrower than most, and would fit better in the existing galley space without compromising the settee length.  It also seemed like quite a nice, well-thought-out, stove and oven unit.

The width clearance required for the installation was 19.2″ minimum according to the stove diagram.  I added a bit of clearance to allow for metal sheathing inside the opening, and, with a square, roughed out a mark on the hull where the bulkhead needed to go.

I started with a piece of cardboard cut to somewhat oversized dimensions and cut by eye to an approximate curve, then fitted it and scribed the cardboard to match the shape of the hull.

Satisfied with the rough pattern, I transferred the shape to a piece of 3/16″ pattern plywood and cut it out.  Then, over a couple fittings, I scribed and cut this template to fit the hull in the required location.  I left the template over-height and over-long so I could eventually mark the bulkhead for its final height and transverse width in place, level, and plumb.  I held the template in place with some hot glue blocks and clamps, and cut a measuring stick to 19.25″  to ensure that the bare minimum space for the stove was provided in all areas.  The forward (original) bulkhead in the galley was slightly out of plumb and out of square, so the width of the space increased as one measured closer to the hull, which provided a bit of additional room in the final analysis.

Next, I transferred the pattern to a piece of 12mm okoume and cut it to fit before setting it up plumb in the boat, clamped to the glue blocks to hold it.  To help with layout and measuring, I leveled across the boat from the port bulkhead, where there was already a countertop cleat installed, and installed a temporary cleat on the stove side; this cleat was only to give me a solid reference point from which to mark the proper height and level on the new stove bulkhead, as well as set the course for the remainder of the galley construction.  From this reference, I could get a tick mark and then arrange a level on the new bulkhead to mark its final height.

The plane of the new bulkhead would likely extend across the center of the boat to form the engine room and remainder of the galley before intersecting with the port side, but as of yet I’d not worked out the final details of where one panel would end and the next begin.  There were various considerations, including how and where I planned to make access into the area beneath the galley and the engine room (though I planned substantial and easy access for both to the extent possible within the confines of the space).

For now, I made a few marks on the new bulkhead:

First, a plumb line even with the edge of the starboard forward galley bulkhead (furthest on the right in the photos below).

Then, a second plumb line, further outboard, to represent the location of the original longitudinal cabinet front, according to the ghost of the old cabinetry supports still visible on the aft side of the bulkhead (next line to the left in the photos below).

Finally, I made a mark closer to the hull, just at the top edge of the panel, to show the furthest-outboard point with enough height clearance for the stove, not necessarily accounting for the gimbal action; because the height of the stove itself was just under its width, I simply used my 19.25″ marking stick to provide an easy reference for this, though it was only a maximum-reference and wasn’t necessarily indicative of the back side of the eventual space (small mark closer to the outboard (left) edge of the panel in the photos below).

Next time, I’d work through some of the remaining questions, starting with the actual location of the stove mounts to ensure that the stove fit properly in the space and could gimbal as designed.

After installing new planer blades, I finished up the planing with three additional planks.

In the settee lockers, I cleaned up the wire bundles and secured the wires along their final routes on each side.

Next, I reinstalled the battery switch panel in the port after settee locker, then spent some time reconnecting all the wires that I’d removed and labeled earlier in the process.  Several wires run into the forward compartment would ultimately be connected to the battery banks, once I’d built the new battery locker at the forward corner of the settee.  I straightened the wire runs as much as possible and secured the various wire bundles around the panel, and in the space beneath the refer compartment in the galley.

With the wiring connections complete, it was time to finally install the settee berth tops.  I installed these with glue and screws.  It was too late in the day to finish the installation along the hull on each side, but next time I’d install tabbing to secure the plywood along the outboard edges.

 

With a pile of rough teak in my way in the shop, I decided to get a head start on planing and dimensioning.  During the morning, I planed 11 boards (various widths and lengths) down to the finished 3/4″ thickness, and straightened one edge to prepare for final dimensioning into whatever trim parts I needed as the project continued.  I still had several boards to go, but but the planer blades needed to be changed out so I left that for next time, when I’d also finish up the last three boards.

To begin, I moved the wire bundle in the port settee so I could access and paint the remainder of the locker, mostly the inside face of the plywood front face.  I forgot to take pictures of this.

I spent most of the day continuing work on the refer compartment in the galley.  I started with determining the position of the forward cleat at the back (outboard) edge of the space, using a square to figure out where the plywood panel needed to pass before the battery charger and inverter, then marking and installing a hardwood cleat on this line.  Then, I installed the horizontal cleats to support the “floor” of the locker, starting with the aft end and placing this cleat as low as it could go on the bulkhead to give the required width (i.e the same as previously determined on the forward bulkhead between the two vertical support cleats) before running into the curvature of the hull.

I transferred this height to the forward bulkhead with a level and a flat board cut to just shy of the overall width of the space, then installed a horizontal cleat there.  I finished up with the vertical support cleat on the aft side, tucked beneath the wire bundles exiting the after bulkhead.  All these cleats were just dry-fit at this point, till I was satisfied with how the whole space turned out when all was said and done.

Now I measured for and cut out a 12mm plywood panel for the back side (outboard) of the space, allowing cutouts for the existing wire bundles at the aft end as needed.  The panel passed closely by the charger and inverter, but I planned to provide ventilation holes in the panel. I also left the top edge a inch or so lower than the eventual countertop height, also to help promote ventilation.  This panel would be removable for future access to these components when needed.

Next, I prepared a plywood panel for the floor, after which I could test-fit the actual refer in place to ensure it fit as intended.  The aft (business) end of the unit featured ventilation grilles for the compressor, and I planned to accommodate these as needed with ventilation into adjacent compartments, including through the back (outboard) panel of the locker itself.

The owner reminded me that the fuel tank was located beneath the quarterberth, in the space just aft of the galley, and that he wanted to maintain access for tank removal should it be necessary.  Though the details had yet to work themselves out, there’d be adequate space for the tank removal through this part of the galley, especially if I continued making these immediate components removable, which was my intent.  There also remained access to some screws though the bulkhead (beneath the aft platform cleat) that secured the forward end of the tank in place.    It would also behoove the refer (and the engine room) to perhaps leave the top part of the aft bulkhead at or near its current  lowered height for better ventilation and access.  Answers to these issues would work themselves out as the other parts of the galley and engine room came into being in the coming days and weeks.

I made some reference marks and notations on the vertical back panel of the refer locker, and cut various access and ventilation openings in the panel as needed to accommodate the refrigerator venting and the electrical components.  There’d also be ventilation possible over the top of the panel, as well as beneath through the wiring space located under the floor of the compartment.

For the floor of the compartment, for extra strength and stiffness to better support the refer unit, I chose to laminate with epoxy a second, identical, layer of 12mm plywood to the first.  I secured the two panels together with a few temporary screws and some weight atop while the epoxy cured.

Finally, I coated the undersides of the settee berth panels with epoxy to prepare them for installation and provide some moisture resistance once installed.

I picked up where I left off last time, continuing work on the engine intake replacement.  I’d ordered a plug to replace the old intake valve at the top of the drive unit–316SS, since I could find no source for a bronze plug in the correct thread type (1/2″ BSPT)–and now I removed the old valve (this came out easily) and replaced it with the plug, which I coated first in thread sealant in part to help act as a corrosion barrier between the plug and the housing.  I set the valve aside for the owner’s parts box as it still functioned correctly, at least in a visual sense that I could confirm the valve closed all the way.

Moving on to the other part of the conversion–the new through hull–I cleaned up the backing pad and mounting hole as needed, and removed the bottom paint in way of the new installation.  Then, I secured the through hull from beneath, and threaded on the flange base from above to find out how much (if at all) I had to trim the through hull neck to allow proper installation.  The base threaded nearly all the way down, but I’d need to remove 3/8″ or so of the through hull threads, which I did next with a cutoff wheel down on the bench.

With the through hull cut to length and the threads cleaned up as needed to ensure the pieces mated correctly, I reinstalled the mushroom fitting from below and threaded the flange base into its final position, then, from above, drilled the through-bolt holes.  Removing all the hardware, I finished up the new holes from below with a countersink to allow the bolt heads to mount flush or below the surface.  After final cleanup, I installed the through hull and base permanently using 4200 sealant on the fitting, mounting bolts, and beneath the flange inside the boat.  I started outside the boat with the through hull well-coated in sealant, pressing it into the hole and securing it with tape, then, from inside the boat, threaded on the base till I could install temporary place-holder bolts from above, after which I returned to the outside to install the final bolts (bronze flathead machine screws), well-gooped with sealant, and thread in the through hull the rest of the way with a special tool.  Then, back inside once more, I secured the bolts with nuts and washers before cleaning up all the excess sealant in all areas and, finally, threading on the shutoff valve and hose barb to complete the installation.  Sometime later, once the adhesive sealant was fully cured, I’d come back and flush-fill the bolt holes on the outside.

After receiving an order of rough teak stock to be used for interior trim later in the project, I turned to the settee lockers, ready now for their final coating and the final steps before I could install the berth tops and continue construction.  With just a single wire on the starboard side, I could paint all surfaces inside the locker, but on the port side, with its large wire bundle secured as much as possible up at the top of the settee front, I’d need to complete the painting over two days, starting now with the hull and as many other surfaces as I could do while the wires were out of the way.

With the settees slowly coming together, one of the next focuses in the interior was going to be the galley construction, and to that end I spent some time going over the installation details for the new propane stove/range, to be installed in gimbal mounts on the starboard side of the galley, and the “portable” refrigerator/freezer the owner purchased to go in the old nav station to port.  I’d get to the stove and its required construction soon enough, but for now decided to cogitate the enclosure required for the refer on the port side, in part because it was a more (relatively) straightforward conception and also because I wanted to confirm beyond all doubt that the unit would fit as planned.  I’d done the measurements earlier to approve the fit in concept, but with the unit on hand and unpacked, it was time to find out for real.  The measurements all fit, but there wasn’t a lot of extra room in any direction.  The refer also needed some space around it for ventilation, some of which could be enhanced by openings in the panels when possible.

I started with the proposed countertop height off the existing sole, 36″, and made a level mark on the forward bulkhead in the space.  From that reference, I could start to work out the size of the space actually available, between the curvature of the hull, the height required to fit the refer, and the existing wiring and other installations in the space, and from there determine the other fixed points from which to work.  Matching the settees, I dry-installed a vertical cleat 1″ in from the edge of the bulkhead (so the face of the new cabinet would end up roughly 1/2″ inset, like the settee), then dry-installed a cleat at the countertop height.  All this work brought me to the end of the day, but next time I’d continue with a full dry-fit of the cleats and panels in this space before committing to the final installation.