October 19, 2022

Holby 36

Wednesday

Before moving forward with installing the repurposed engine box/splashwell bulkhead, I checked the fit of the lazarette hatch, which was originally cut out to fit around the engine room opening.  There had been some “custom” notches at the outer reaches of the original cutout that I’d filled with epoxy during my core rebuild, and now I wanted to see if I had to make additional relief cuts for the hatch to fit.  As expected, I did need to cut back these areas a small amount to fit around the molding on which the engine room hatch (now the splashwell bulkhead) rested, and after a couple backs-and-forths, the hatch fit as needed.  I set it aside for now.

There were sizeable gaps between the outboard well deck and the moldings on each side, which I now covered from beneath with tape to provide a basic backing and mold to limit the amount of epoxy required to span the gaps.  These areas would eventually be covered in tabbing.  I solvent-washed all bonding and adjacent areas.  Then, I set the bulkhead in its proper position–it fit naturally best in one place, which happened to be the “right” place–and used small glue blocks to secure the piece from moving during initial installation.

With thickened epoxy, I filled the minimal areas backed by the green tape, and created fillets on both sides and all accessible areas to bond the bulkhead in place, staying away from the glue blocks.  There’d be additional filleting and shaping to come, but for now these formed a basis for future work and would, when cured, secure the bulkhead in place.  I left the epoxy to cure and spent the remainder of the day preparing an order for painting supplies that I’d need in the near future.

Total time billed on this job today: 5 hours

0600 Weather Observation: 54°, mainly cloudy. Forecast for the day: Mostly sunny, 60°