Departure day.  Fortunately, after much rain the day before, and more forecast for later in the week, the weather provided a dry break for the move.  I prepared the shop and boat earlier in the morning, removing the third set of stands (amidships) to simplify things, and once the truck arrived she was loaded in short order, strapped down and departed within an hour.  I took the usual series of photos upon removal from the shop and the traditional “last photo” as the rig headed out the driveway (through substantially more undergrowth than projects from the early days at this shop).  Arrival-day photos are here for comparison.

There will be a few short updates to come, covering the completion of the new cockpit hatch.

Over the past few weeks since I finished the paint, the owners had installed some of the deck hardware, focusing on making the boat weathertight.  Now, with the boat scheduled to leave the shop soon, I removed a few last things from the boat and prepared her and the shop for the upcoming transport.

Meanwhile, I continued work on the new cockpit hatch, which wouldn’t be ready to leave with the boat but wouldn’t be far behind.  Now, I sanded the recent application of fine fairing compound, which did a good job filing the small pinholes, remaining fiberglass texture, and a few minor low areas.

After final preparations, I spray-applied several coats of light gray finish primer.

 

The next move on the cockpit hatch project was to prepare and install support cleats in the cockpit well.  Using the hatch itself and a section of the gasket material I planned to use, I determined that the cleats needed to sit 1-1/4″ below the level of the deck for a flush hatch installation.  I made a simple wooden jig that allowed me to easily make a series of marks around all sides of the aft cockpit well, after which I installed masking tape above the marks as a good visual reference for the cleats’ installation.

From 1″ x 3/4″ strips of UV-stable UHMW polyethylene, I prepared and installed the various cleats required to support the hatch.  I covered the full width of the forward side of the well, and on either side of the center lazarette hatch on the aft side, plus the short longitudinal ends.  To install the cleats, I marked and predrilled oversized, countersunk holes through the cleat stock, then marked and drilled and tapped all the fastener holes in the fiberglass to accept machine screw threads.  For final installation, I applied butyl tape to the backs of the cleats and secured them with screws roughly every 6″, depending on the length of the cleat in question.  I installed weather-resistant foam rubber gasket material on all the cleats.

If needed, a cleat could later be added to the center hatch on the aft side, once the hatch was permanently installed and in its final position.  But it seemed there’d be adequate support for the hatch’s intended purpose without.

With all the cleats and gasket installed, the hatch fit well and flush all around.  I had two compression latches/handles on order (not yet on hand) that I planned to install on each short longitudinal edge, and which would help secure and compress the hatch into its final position, as well as give a way to lift the hatch out when needed.  I’d install these once they arrived.

With the support cleats in place, I turned back to the hatch itself, sanding the high-build primer with 220 grit, then applying a coat of fine fairing filler to deal with the various pinholes and fiberglass texture highlighted by the primer application.

Continuing work on the hatch, I sanded the latest patches of fairing compound smooth as needed, then, with no significant fairing work remaining, sanded the entire piece through the grits to 120 to prepare for primers.

Later, over the course of the rest of the day, I applied three coats of epoxy high-build primer to the hatch, using a small disposable sprayer.

I lightly sanded the top of the cockpit hatch as needed to smooth the fairing compound and bring the part close to its final appearance.  Once the sanding was done, I temporarily hot-glued a couple scrap wood handles to the top so I could check the fit in the opening a final time.  I couldn’t hold the part at the proper height and take photos, but I rested it on a trash pail in the well for these photos to show the general fit.  When complete, and supported by cleats beneath, the top of the hatch was to be flush with the decks on either side.

The coamings overhung the opening by roughly an inch on each side, with perhaps two inches’ clearance between the top of the hatch and the coaming, and the hatch was wider at the forward end than at then at the aft, so pulling the entire hatch straight up and out would be complicated by the coamings, shape of the hatch, and other obstructions like the mainsheet traveler, which would be installed somewhere a few inches forward of the new hatch.  To remove the hatch, I found that one needed to slide it up and forward a few inches, to the points shown in the photos below, before the leading edge could be tipped up to clear the coamings, after which the hatch could be maneuvered with relative impunity.

With the owners’ input and approval, I planned to support the hatch with cleats installed within the opening, along with some gasket material (the hatch wouldn’t be completely watertight, but the gasket would help and would also prevent vibration or rattling), and secured (hopefully) with a pair of compression latches, one at each side.  These materials were on the way.  For now, with the test-fitting complete, I applied additional fairing compound to a few areas on the hatch top where required.

Afterwards, I sanded and prepared the coamings for the sixth coat of varnish on all areas.

After some time away, I returned to the shop and got back to work on the coamings, which needed at least a couple more coats of varnish to “complete” them.  After masking around the coamings and lightly sanding, I applied varnish to all areas (5th coat).

Meanwhile, I continued work on the after cockpit hatch I’d started building.  The hatch required some sanding to bring the new bottom skin flush with the edges, and also to clean up those edges and round the corners of the hatch to match the shape of the corners in the opening.  I wanted to test-fit the fully-constructed hatch for the first time, but with the fresh varnish I’d timed it wrong, so I moved forward and applied epoxy fairing compound to the top side, the beginning of the process to smooth the minor low spots leftover from construction and prepare it for finish.

 

After lightly sanding the cured core in the new cockpit hatch, I applied some thickened epoxy to fill flush some of the small voids still present around the edges, and used the remaining product to skim coat/wet out the surface before installing the bottom layer of 1708 over the core, overhanging it on all sides for now.  Later in the day, once the fiberglass had cured to the green stage, I trimmed off the excess with a sharp knife.

The other event of the day was the final installation of the dodger, which looked terrific and fit well.

I had various other requirements throughout the day, so only a little time for progress, but in a short afternoon had the chance to cut and install the  balsa core in the new cockpit hatch.  I’d originally thought I might install the bottom skin laminate at the same time, but ultimately decided it better to wait for a separate session.

With a chisel and sandpaper, I removed the excess bungs and smoothed the areas as needed, then, over the course of the day, spot-applied a few coats of varnish over the raw bungs and sanded wood nearby to bring the treated areas closer to the state of the rest of the coamings before I focused back on finishing up the final few coats of varnish on the entire pieces.

Meanwhile, I made some progress on the after cockpit hatch.  With new 1/4″ thick prefab fiberglass stock now on hand, I ripped it down to 3/4″ width, chosen to match the 3/4″ balsa core I planned to use to fill the hatch (mainly because it’s what I had on hand).  After considering options, I decided the best approach to install the hatch edges was to hot-glue the strips in place along the edges, bending them to match the edge of the laminated top skin, then secure the edges from within with epoxy fillets.  This saved the potentially difficult and messy hassle of trying to clamp the narrow strips while simultaneously gluing them with epoxy.  I let the long curved pieces hang wild over the ends for later trimming once the epoxy had cured.

Inside the boat, I installed newly-arrived plastic covers over the openings and bolts securing the coaming on the port side.

Beginning with the starboard side, I installed the coamings permanently.  After removing the coamings from their varnishing supports and preparing installation tools and supplies, I dry-fit the starboard coaming, pressing it into place with my custom coaming press.  Once the coaming was properly positioned, I  temporarily installed it with a couple screws so I could then drill all the required screw holes in the proper places.  Then, I removed the coaming so I could finish milling the fastener holes with a countersink, and otherwise prepare the area for final installation.  Depending on access, I planned through bolts where I could, and screws for the remaining areas.

With the bonding areas cleaned up and prepared, I applied sealant to the screw holes and along the top edge of the cockpit, as well as at the leading and trailing edges where the coaming would rest.  Then, I reinstalled the coaming a final time, securing it with screws and bolts as needed.  Afterwards, I cleaned up the excess sealant, leaving a clean bead on the outer edges where the coaming met the deck and molded coaming block.

I repeated the process on the port side.  Here, with several of the fasteners located over the quarterberth in the cabin, I was conscious of the interior liner, which was spaced about 3/8″ from the deck laminate itself–too far to support the fasteners properly.  So with the coaming in place, I drilled pilot holes from the outside and all the way through the liner, then used a hole saw to cut 1-1/4″ openings in the liner at each location, allowing room for nuts and washers against the deck laminate, and sized to fit plastic cosmetic covers that I ordered and would fit once on hand.  Once I’d drilled for all the fasteners, I removed the coaming, milled the fastener openings with a countersink, then reinstalled the coaming with sealant.

Later, I installed teak bungs in all the screw holes, securing them with waterproof wood glue.

Next, I wanted to test-fit and pre-locate the new winch stands, particularly the forward set, to ensure the position was clear for the final dodger fitting scheduled for later in the week, but I also took the time to position the after set for later reference.  These stands couldn’t be installed till the coaming varnish work was complete, but now was as good a time as any to determine their final locations based on the various reference measurements and deck construction details I’d made earlier in the project.  The stands themselves wouldn’t stay in place without slipping on the deck angle, so I didn’t try to photograph them in position.

Varnish work on the coamings could continue once the sealant cured enough for masking, and once I had a chance to pare down the bungs.