Modified starboard quarter berth

looks usable even if two-thirds of the bunk goes under the cockpit seat.

The Admiral's shower took up part of the original space allocated to the starboard quarter berth. And as is usual in the course of home boat building, give-and-take comes into play so to make up for this, the berth is moved farther aft.  But the farther in one must go, knee room becomes a problem and this issue is addressed by lowering the bunk top by about 4 inches.




First week of August 2013, bringing us up to date.

The aft bulkhead of the berth sealed.

Bunk top panel is measured, cut and fitted.

Stowage hatches cut out and openings framed. Notches are precut.  

Underside view; frames extend laterally for added support. 

View of the top with the hatches on

To keep each hatch in place, DIY tongues and a sliding latch are fashioned from cast off bits of lumber.

All parts will be coated with epoxy before painting.

The slider knob is small enough not to protrude under the cushion.

It closes so well it will need a pull tab.

The latch mechanism is made from odds and ends from the wood scrap bin.

The bunk top is fully assembled and, with the hatches attached, is ready to go into the hull.

Ain't she neat!
Pull tab ribbons will be added as handles.

Aside from providing stowage space, the hatches will allow for inspection and ventilation should water find its way here. 

All in all, it's an open and shut case.

Cockpit seat filler pieces scarfed

and fitted in; the forward piece will be kept loose awaiting the installation of the mast tabernacle.

 

End of July 2013.

The 8 ft. long seats will provided a roomy cockpit.

Supervisor tries a seas for size and finds it comfortable enough for him to claim the space.

Lost Supervisor Leo today

after a couple of weeks of infirmity.

His malady progressed so fast and none of our interventions succeeded.  He will be sadly missed. His last job three weeks ago was inspecting the centerboard blank.

One of his first jobs: checking the workmanship of my sailboat B'lisss, a Stevenson's Weekender in 2006.

Centerboard construction falls into place

at the providential time.

With the basic parts of the cockpit done, the only missing part among the longitudinal structures of the hull is the centerboard box. In Graham's design, this is offset to port to gain walking space inside the cabin and connects to the port cockpit seat. While the length of the box is given, I'd rather let the finished board dictate the box width.

Mid-June 2013.  As luck will have it, but then maybe because I've always been on the look out, I come across perfect lumber for the centerboard: heavy pine staves of just the right size and length, each individually wrapped for a reason nobody can guess.

Staves are sorted and grain direction lined up.

Assembling the centerboard


Setting up a gluing clamp board using two cabinet doors.

Testing the clamping board.

Gluing has to be done in two stages after running out of glue for the first few staves.











Sliding wedges apply the clamping pressure. Sliding jaw pliers make perfect adjusters.










The cut off at the bottom of the centerboard exactly fits the upper part. Clamp board rail is adjusted for diagonal gluing.





























Trimming and shaping

Full size pattern lofted and transferred to the blank.

Centerboard cut to size. Which is a mistake because it would have been easier to monitor the NACA profile shaping if the lower end were kept square.

Groovy!

Centered with the help two bolts on the router base plate.

NACA drawing from the plans are enlarged to actual size for three stations, printed on card and are used as templates to check shape while fairing with an angle grinder ...

... to produce a respectable-looking foil.  Photos belies the size and heft of the 56.5 in. board.

Swivel hole filled with epoxy bushing made from fumed silica and wood flour.

Cockpit seat tops

will be great for sleeping under the stars.

May 2013. After a couple of months of inactivity, the seats are cut to shape and dry fitted.

With the extended stern, they end up to be 8 ft. long.

Supervisor tests them for comfort.

The outboard motor well

is a particular challenge.

Here we are in uncharted territory, at least as far as my experience is concerned. The details of this modification is based mainly on the pictures of what builders of other boat designs have done.




February 2013.  

The upper edges of the hull is now more stable with the installation of the coamings that define the side decks.

Lazarette bulkhead


The original transom is now the lazarette bulkhead and the pattern is laid out on the temporary frame.

The cut out for the motor well determined with a mock up.

Lazarette bulkhead is cut and fitted as well as the top and bottom stringers for the cockpit seats.












Motor well doubler glued to bulkhead.

The cleats for the well sides in place. Did I say I don't like stitch and goo? I'd rather do stringers or even frames.








Motor well is cut out.

Outboard motor slot 

How much courage does it take to cut up your hull?  The minimum width for the lower unit is drawn and the jigsaw goes for the tilt slot.

There's a hole in the boat!

Test fitting the outboard

Lowering the outboard with a hoist. 

It turns out that the slot is a bit on the narrow side so the prop has to be wiggled in. The forward end of the slot will need to be widened enough so the motor can be more easily put in or taken out, especially when the boat is in motion at sea.

The upper end of the slot is conservatively cut short and it takes a few additional cuts to get it to the proper height.

The estimates turn out fine: there's just enough clearance for the prop to swing at the bottom corner of the transom.

There's also enough clearance inside for small adjustments including lowering the mounting height if needed later.

V-berth bulkheads

are set up with levels and cardboard patterns.

By mid-January 2013, cross members are set with levels and fixed to the hull sides.

The cardboard patterns made by taping pieces together following the bottom contour prove to be quite accurate when transferred to plywood.

V-berth bulkheads and partition are all in. Arched forward deck beam has been installed in preparation for the coamings.

V-berth will have a removable insert in the aft foot well to make it into a double berth.























Quarter-berth mock up with the simulated cockpit seat top shows the bunk top needs to be set lower to provide enough knee room. Ingress might be an issue because of the narrower access and the companionway ladder.