Decks As Designed

Work on the port hull is moving along now that I've resolved the deck modification issue. One reason I decided to scrap the idea of raising the decks is that I really like the deck lines as designed. To me the amount of camber is just right, combined with the strong sweep of the sheer.

I still have work to do inside the hulls around the bunks and the stem and sternposts before decks can be installed, but deckbeams for both hulls have been made and installed in the port hull. Notches for the stringers were first cut in the beams separately, then with beams clamped in place the notch area was removed from the plywood of the bulkheads with a flush-cutting router bit. In the photo below the finished foredeck beams are clamped in place with epoxy.


I've also cut and test-fitted the deck stringers for the foredeck. I've increased the width of these slightly for more stiffness, and added extra stringers in the main foredeck area just forward of the mast beam - an area of the deck that gets a lot of traffic. I've been on board Tiki 26s with springy decks. I think it's worth it to reinforce these so that there is no flex. The center stringer runs all the way from the forward cabin bulkhead to a notch in the stem post. After the deck is glued down, it will be cut away in the opening of the forward hatch. The other two long stringers to port and starboard terminate at the buttblock area of the upper hull panel, and will be supported here by a small cleat glued on the inside of this buttblock.