Cutting out the Lexan Portlights

I was away for the last two and a half weeks of January, working in Florida with the Boatsmith crew on a big interior refit of a 1929 Alden schooner, the Summerwind. The job went well - as always, I learned a few new tricks from David and his guys, and earned another influx of cash that I can sink into Element II. David gets deep discounts marine supplies due to the volume he buys. I needed Lexan for my portlights and companionway drop boards so he picked it up for me at his supplier and then gave it to me for my bonus.

I cut out the portlights right away after I got back to work on my project. I had plywood templates already made from cutting the trim rings some months ago, so it was a simple matter to transfer the shapes and cut them with a jigsaw. The portlights are small and well-reinforced by the trim rings, so they are made from 1/8" Lexan, the same as David used on his Tiki 30. This thickness allows expansion room and a space for sealant on both sides, as the cabin side thickness is 1/4". Since the drop boards will be larger and are less supported, they are made from 1/4" Lexan.

Below are the finished portlights for both hulls, two of them taped for protection and the other two yet to be taped so you can see them. The protective plastic covering that comes on the Lexan was not staying in place well enough, so I removed it and used blue masking tape. This will be left in place until after installation, except for the perimeters where the Lexan comes in contact with the sealant.

The next step before installation is to get the outsides of the cabins faired and filled and sheathed in fiberglass, so they can be primed and the portlight trim rings painted. This way once the portlights are in I won't have to worry about getting epoxy on them or accidently hitting the surfaces with a sander.

Bunk Filler Doubles as Chart Table

I'm getting close to finishing the built-in shelves and other interior parts that will make this boat workable for my intended use. With each addition, I am well aware of the added weight and am carefully trying to keep each component as lightweight and small as possible, yet still sturdy enough to perform the desired function. Some sort of chart table that can double as a work station for a laptop computer was deemed essential. I did not want something that would take a lot of time to set up and take down each time it was used, and at the same time I wanted to minimize the amount of extra parts and pieces that have to be carried in the cabins. The chart table solution I decided on utilizes one of the bunk filler boards for the foot well area in the starboard cabin as table that attaches to a small hinged shelf on the inboard side.

Below is a view looking forward from a seated position on the raised cover that fits over the head, described in a recent post. From this seat I have full headroom and the table, when hinged down, is at the right height for a work surface.

Looking at the table from the other direction, you can see that it hinges down just forward of the companionway steps, attached to small shelf on the inboard side of the hull. This location allows it to hinge up against the inboard cabin side, and the length of the table gives it just enough clearance to fit into the inner corner. When in the up position, it is completely out of the way and will not interfere with entry and exit through the companionway. (Note that the companionway drop board opening has not been cut, as this is just a temporary fitting of the inner cabin side as described in the previous post.)

The table is also quite usable from this position, facing aft with your feet in the foot well. In this photo the unsupported edge of the table is propped up from below with a piece of scrap wood. When finished, it will be supported by a short length of chain or line from a hook on the shelf above the instrument panels or from the upper cabin side.

Here is a top view of the table, looking down from the position of bulkhead No. 3. You can see the small shelf attached with a piano hinge, and the two bolts that hold the table to it. These bolts are secured with wing nuts on the bottom for quick disassembly. In reality, the table will rarely be removed as it is not in the way when folded up and the aft bunk in this hull will not likely be needed.

Here is another view of the table in the folded up position. It will be secured in the up position with some kind of latch, but will likely be kept down and ready for use while underway, except when access to the forward bunk area is needed.

Here is the small hinged shelf with the table removed. It flips back over on itself to form a narrow shelf with a built-in fiddle rail if the table is not attached.

In this last photo, you can see the table fitted into the foot well opening to form part of the aft bunk. Another, shorter section completes the bunk if needed, when the porta-pottie and wooden seat covering it are removed to the cockpit. You can also see the hinged table shelf flipped back in the upside down position, where it is out of the way.

Glassing Stern Decks, Fitting Inner Cabin Sides

The stern decks have been neglected for awhile as I've been working on fitting cabin interior parts in both hulls. I had planned to put this off for later, but an usually warm day for January yesterday gave me the idea that I should go ahead and get the protective sheathing on the decks. Condensation in the shed caused by changing temperatures has been giving me problems with discoloration of unprotected wood, so getting these decks glassed sooner rather than later was a good thing.

I taped off the perimeters and did the big, main sections of the decks first. The edges overlapping the sheer stringers can be done at a later time. Below is a view of both decks with epoxy-saturated fiberglass extending out to the tape lines. I used fast hardener and spread it quickly with a squee-gee so that I could get the second filler coat on the same day.

Here is a another view of the stern decks a couple hours later. The tape has been cut away and the second coat of epoxy, thickened with silica and phenolic microballoons, has been applied to fill the weave of the fiberglass. This was left alone to fully cure until another day, when it will be sanded fair before applying the edge sheathing.

Today I fitted both of the inner cabin side panels. Since they are straight at the top edge, it is a simple matter to offer them up with temporary screws holding them in line with the top corners of the bulkheads. The curving bottom edge is then scribed from the inside so the panel can be cut to fit when it is removed.

Here is a view of both inner cabin sides temporarily fitted. The gap at the bottom front corners is caused by the panels being cut slightly over sized and resting on the outside of the sheer stringer, rather than fitting on the top edge of it as they should. For final fitting I will belt sand the bottom edges to a matching bevel until the panels slide in place nicely against the bulkheads. After this test fitting, the panels will get epoxy coated on the inside, but will not be permanently installed until the few remaining cabin interior details are completed.

Shaping and Glassing the Rudders, More Beam Glassing....

I spent most of the holidays away from the building shed where I have the hulls, but I was able to get back to work on some of the parts I have stored in my girlfriend's garage. As detailed in a post long ago, the rudders have been drilled for lashing to the sternposts and epoxy insets made to prevent rot from the lashing holes. The main rudder blades for the Tiki 26 are cut from 18mm plywood, with 6mm doublers on each side in the upper area above the waterline to the top of the posts where the tillers fit on. The lower sections of 18mm ply have to be sanded down to a hydrofoil shape on the trailing edge to decrease turbulence. This was accomplished with a belt sander first, and then the random orbital sanders shown below. The glue lines between the layers of ply serve as a guide in maintaining a consistent thickness.

Here the rudders are resting across the three crossbeams while the first coating of epoxy cures.

You can see the sanded tapers and the epoxy insets with lashing holes drilled.

Cold weather forced me to move the rudders inside for fiberglass sheathing. I'm fortunate that Michelle is a creative person who always has projects going in her studio and doesn't mind an occasional boat sub-assembly in the house.

In the photos below the fiberglass sheathing on the lower blades of the rudders has been laminated with epoxy. The upper areas with the doublers will be sheathed as well. The corners on the upper parts are well-radiused to receive sheathing all the way around. Every ply part of the boat that is exposed to the sun will be sheathed in 6-oz. fiberglass.

Back in the garage I worked on the crossbeams as well. Sheathing them is a multi-step process because of all the surfaces involved.

This application of fiberglass is on the top plate of the forward beam. Masking tape put on in advance of the fiberglass and epoxy defines the edge and allows it to be cut straight. The next application of fiberglass on this beam will overlap the edge of this layer and extend down over the front plywood fairing, wrapping around the leading edge to the bottom. The sheathing involves lots of steps and filling the weave and fairing all this out will be a considerable amount of labor as well, but worth it to prevent possible checking and water intrusion into the beams.

Starboard Interior Work

There are many compromises to be made when laying out the interior of a small boat. This is especially true in the narrow V-hulls of a Tiki 26. Wharram's philosophy of "flexi-space" addresses this problem in the simplest manner - no fixed interior features at all. This is fine for many people but in some ways it is less practical for certain on-board necessities, such as the stove, navigation and other electrical equipment, and the head (if there is one at all).

I don't like portable toilets and would probably not carry one at all if not for the convenience it will afford for my girlfriend and other guests, and to meet legal requirements for a holding tank in some of the waters I intend to sail. At sea, the bucket is the way to go, and in port, one can just as easily use shoreside facilities. But since I am carrying a small, 3-gallon portable, it has to live somewhere. I know that some Tiki 26 owners simply shove it back in the aft berth area when not in use and pull it out when needed. But in my experience with these things, they sometimes leak and usually smell. It's a pain to have to move it and put it back after every use, especially if it ever gets used while underway. I would rather have it below bunk level and in a secure position where it cannot move around. My original intention for the placement of it is shown below, in the forward half of the footwell in the starboard hull. Here, it is in the deepest part of the hull and sits flat on the floor, the top even with the bunk. It takes up a lot of foot room here though, and makes it difficult to get into the main bunk forward, which will be the one most often used.

The only logical solution is to place it in the aft end of the footwell, shown here. I had originally built a fixed bunk section over this area, but the side support rails under extended all the way back to the aft bulkhead. So I was able to remove the section with the router and still leave the rails so a removable section can be dropped in if the aft bunk is ever needed.

One problem with locating the portable toilet here is that the hull begins to narrow and lift as you move aft, so the width of the floor here is insufficient to allow it to sit flat, as it does the forward part of the footwell. The other issue is that it sits higher, about 2 inches above bunk height. The good thing though, is that since the cabin roof is at its highest point aft, I can still have full sitting headroom over the toilet in this position, even with a covering box/seat over it when it is not needed. To get it up high enough so that it does not rest against the inner hullsides, I built a small rack, shown below, that straddles the opening floor panel and will solidly support the portable toilet.

Here is a view of the portable head in the new location. In the rare event that I ever need the aft bunk in this hull to accommodate an extra guest, the toilet can be simply lifted out and placed in the cockpit for the night. A drop in bunk board will complete the bunk.

Since this aft part of the cabin will be used for seating while doing such things as chartwork, it was necessary to come up with a solid cover for the portable toilet that is strong enough to sit on or step on when going down below. It was also necessary that this cover could be easily removed but would lock in place and not slip or slide around when on. To this end, I built it like a box lid, using 9mm ply with side rails that rest on either side of the opening on the bunk edges. Teak locating blocks on either side are fitted with 1/4" through bolts that drop down through locating holes drilled in the bunk support rails on either side. The bolts lock it solidly in place. The front edge of the box also drops far enough down over the portable toilet to prevent it from sliding forward. An bungie cord will be used for additional security when sailing offshore.

Here is a view looking aft into the main cabin with the portable toilet in its new location and the covering lid/seat in place. I can sit full upright on this seat without touching the cabin roof. Note also the beginning of the companionway step assembly for this hull. Parts for the steps were cut and fit in place, assembled with Super Glue, then removed for epoxy fillets and coating.

Below are all these parts in various stages of epoxy coating and assembly. From left: the companionway steps with hardwood stiffeners being glued onto the inboard edges; the toilet seat cover; and the rack that it sits on.

Here is the completed companionway step assembly. It's virtually identical to the one I installed in the port hull. The hardwood trim is all teak.

Below is a view of the installed step assembly. Temporary screws through the top step into the sheer stringer, and a weight on the second step hold it in place while the fillets to the hullsides cure. The area forward of the steps will have a lower shelf that extends to the middle bulkhead. This shelf will be hinged on the outboard side and will use the bunk filler board as a drop-down chart table that will span across the cabin and be usable from a seated position over the toilet or facing aft from the end of the forward bunk. I finished working out all the details for this yesterday and made all the parts, which are being coated with epoxy before installation.

Double Coaming Hatches - Continued

A couple of days of warmer, but still wet and cloudy weather have allowed me to make a fair amount of progress on the boat. Many of these jobs are hardly worth posting about: such crawling up into the ends of the forward and aft bunks to make interior epoxy fillets in the hard to reach deck to hull joints there. I've also made some changes in the starboard hull that include relocating the head (more on this later) and have started the starboard companionway steps.

The double coaming hatch project was finished today, except for final fairing, finish work and painting. The first step in completing these was done yesterday, when I finished both outer coamings with the installation of the forward pieces, shown below:

Although I'm a big fan of Wharram's rope hinges, such as those used to hang the rudders, I chose to use stainless steel piano hinges on the forward hatches. One reason is that David Halladay gave me a bundle of these in various lengths and sizes that he intended to throw away while cleaning up his shop. It was a simple matter to select two of these in the right width and then cut them to length with a Dremel tool and cut-off wheel, and then radius the corners with a belt sander.

The hinges have to be mortised so that the hatches will sit flush on the outer coamings. Since the coamings are already installed on the boat, I let the hinges into the aft lip of the hatch lid. This required a mortise 3/16" deep. One of the neatest tricks I've learned from David while working on various Boatsmith jobs is his quick and easy method of setting up router templates with Super Glue. This is the same InstaCure, gap-filling glue I've mentioned here before that I often use for assembling parts prior to making epoxy fillets. It can also be used for temporary work such as attaching templates to a work piece. Here, I marked my line 3/16" from the edge of the hatch lip, then glued on a straight piece of 9mm ply by spraying the accelerator on one surface and putting just two drops of glue on the other surface. Used this way, the glue lets go cleanly when forced but will hold the template in place while doing the routing.

The mortise was cut using a top-bearing, straight pattern bit in the one-hand laminate router.

Here is the finished mortise, showing the hinge installed. The hatch lips touch the coamings all the way around. Since it is the inner coaming which keeps water from entering the hatch opening, is doesn't matter that the hinge is not waterproof. Note the two drain holes in the aft corners, which are the lowest points of the inner channel between the coamings. I located the hinges on the aft side since this is the side least likely to get hit by the full force of green water coming across the decks.

A view of the closed hatch, showing the hinge and drains aft. The hatches will be secured by either hatch dogs or hasps and locks on the forward end. There is a clearance of several inches between the foward ends of the hatches and front crossbeam.

Here is a view of the open hatch with the hinge temporarily installed. It took some work to get everything aligned and at the correct height, but now when the hatch closes the lips on the lid sit flat on the outer coamings and the bottom of the lid itself also closes flat on the top of the inner coaming. It will be very difficult for water to get inside these hatches.

Another view of the open hatch from the bow. With the hatch covers permanently attached like this, unlike on my Tiki 21 and Hitia 17, I won't have to worry about losing a cover overboard while getting stuff out of the forward holds.

After the final fitting and alignment was done, I removed the hinges and coated the coamings and insides of the hatch covers with epoxy. When this cures larger fillets will be made between the outer coamings and the deck, then glass cloth will be laminated over them to reinforce them. The outsides of the hatch covers will, of course, also be sheathed in fiberglass cloth. The other epoxy-coated part that you can see curing on the deck here is the beginnings of the companionway step assembly for the starboard hull.

One reason for the focus on the foredeck and forward hatches at this stage is that once these areas are finished and coated with at least primer, if not paint, I can then move the hulls about ten feet forward out the front of my shed so that I'll have room in the back to work on such parts as the cockpit. At the same time I'm working on both cabin interiors to I can move forward to closing in the inner cabin sides and installing the coach roofs. I'm about to have to spend some money at this point on Lexan for the portlights and companionway drop boards, as well as the additional manufactured deck hatches and port lights I intend to install. In each coach roof at the forward end there will be an opening deck hatch of at least 16"x16". An opening portlight will be installed in each aft cabin bulkhead just above the aft crossbeam. This kind of cross ventilation is necessary to make this boat inhabitable in the hot climates in which I intend to sail.

Sailmaking Weather Again

I returned from Florida this week with renewed enthusiasm to get back to building, but working in an open shed this time of year is hit and miss. Tuesday was a fairly nice day and I did some work on the starboard hull companionway steps and made some other interior layout decisions. But yesterday was a whole day of steady cold rain, which turned to snow this morning. By noon today everything was covered, but it won't last long as temperatures are rising again.

The jib that I assembled last spring from a Sailrite kit has been stored away awaiting the finish work that must be done by hand. I got it out yesterday and started to work on the corners. The Sailrite kits utilize sewn brass rings for reinforcing the tack, head and clew rather than pressed rings. Installing them takes some time, but is rather pleasant work, hand sewing with the help of an awl and sailmaker's palm.

Below is the sewn-in ring for the tack. I had already completed the installation of the wire luff, which is also hand-sewn into the corner of the sail.

After the ring is sewn in place through all the layers of Dacron reinforcing patches in the corner, it is then laced to the thimble of the luff wire using about 40 turns of waxed sailmaker's twine.

The final step in finishing the corner is to dress it in protective leather. This was also done with an awl and sailmaker's twine. The photo below shows the tack. The head of the sail is treated the same way, and is also complete.

The clew of the jib is done a bit different, as there is no wire or thimble to reinforce. Instead, a larger #9 brass ring is sewn into the corner and then using a die set and hammer, a #9 brass eyelet is pressed inside the ring to form a smooth, chafe-proof interior for attaching the jib sheets. The outer corner is protected by a strip of leather.

There are two more rings like the above one at the clew that must be sewn in at the reef point tack and clew. Then I have to install the grommets for the reef points and hanks and then the hanks, and this sail will be finished.