Day 12

Today... I got a late start.

Did some working and talking on Noel till 10:00 or so, then refilled resin and loaded up my template to the boat. First I swung by atlantic veneer, and picked up a boat load of ash... sifting through till I found the perfect two boards. 5/4 10 inches wide and 14 feet long.

I like ash, its a nice looking wood... but its also cheap enough at 2.50 a board foot, for me to pick through and throw away anything less than perfect.

So, I've got enough lumber to make the 4 compression posts that take the load from the mast beam. Which I hope to glue up tomorrow. I'll have to figure how many clamps it'll take. I may try and do them all in a row divided by polyethelyene sheet, as I don't have quite enough clamps to do all of them at once.

I'm thinking to do 2.5 by 3 inch posts, as that is what was factory. Since I am laminating, it ought to be 20% stronger than if it were a sawn post... though I bought enough to do 4 3x3 posts. Decisions decisions, weight savings vs overkill...

If I had more time I'd consider doing something fancy like a box strut on each side of the door way, so the cross section might be larger... but the weight would be much much less. Or a pair of aluminum tubes...

Sometimes though, I take the weight weenie thing to extremes. (Grin.)

After I got my wood, it was time to get back to the boat. Test fit my template... good good. Laid glass over the pvc tube, went to Noel and cut out my bulkhead. Went back to Pylasteki and foam stripped my bulkhead. Learned from the other day, put the foam on the bulkhead not the other way around... then ya don't have to fight with it to get it centered.

I then took some time shaving here and there to get it to fit properly. My index is from the center walkway, so the port side deck is about a half a touch taller than the starboard, and the cabintop just a tick tighter angled... It's a boat, everything is hand fit, building it or rebuilding it. What looks fair, what looks right... is... Throw away your square, level, plumb bob... just keep your straight edge and bendy battens handy!

With that done, I filleted the bulkhead, and glassed it in place.

That one line, seems so anti-climatic... but here are the pictures.