Final Word On Portlight Configuration

Once again, I've made a change to how the fixed portlights in the outboard sides of the cabin will be installed.  My portlight saga is beginning to resemble Neil Hawksford's long-lasting "tumblehome saga" in the building of his Tiki 38, Gleda. 

This is the final change though, and the modifications have been completed and the window panels will be installed this week.  I decided against the overlay method as described in my last post because with the outer ring frames removed, the openings were of course larger and to have enough bonding surface for the overlay style of installation, the plastic window panels would have to be 1.5 inches wider than the openings all the way around the perimeter, creating disproportionately large windows that would adversely affect the lines of the boat.  Though it took a bit of extra work, I decided to do it the right way and the way that windows are installed in practically all modern boats and yachts - with an inner flange for bonding so that the window will be flush with the surrounding cabin side surface.  This is what David Halladay recommended from the beginning and I should have listened to him then.  It is also the way the windows are fitted in the GRP Tiki 8-Meter, a design David and the Boatsmith crew have now built three examples of, counting the new one under construction in his shop now.

Following David's instructions over the phone, I made new inner flanges from 6mm ply.  The flanges must overlap the inside cabin surface around the hull by 1 1/4 to 1 1/5 inches to have sufficient glue surface.  Then they must overlap the opening by 1 1/4 inches to allow for enough bonding surface for the acrylic window panel, which is cut 1 1/4 inches smaller than the opening all around the perimeter to allow for expansion.   The two adhesives of choice are Sikaflex 295UV or DOW 795.  I'm using the DOW 795 as it does not require a primer and seems simpler to use.  Both are incredibly strong and quite capable of permanently bonding the windows with no fasteners.  The key is to bed the window panels on a sufficient thickness of the sealant to  allow for movement.  To achieve this, I laminated a spacer layer of 6mm ply between the cabin sides and the inner flange rings.  That way, when the windows are installed, there will be a 1/4" bed of sealant and the window itself will be flush with the outside cabin surface.  More explanation of this later when I do the actual installation and take photos.    Here, I am laminating the ring frames with the spacers to the insides of the cabin:

And this is how the inside frames look now that they are glued in with epoxy.  I don't have a shot of the interior side, but on the inside the frames were finished to a nice radius with the router and will be varnished along with everything else inside the cabin. 

The 1/4 inch smoked cast acrylic that I ordered for the companionway drop boards also arrived last week and I cut those to shape using my plywood patterns:  The inboard sides of the cabin are not completely faired or painted and won't be until I move the hulls out and fit the beams.  Because I don't know the exact dimensions of the cockpit and where the seats will land on the cabin sides yet, I will wait until I can mock that up for accuracy before making and installing the rail upon which the seats will rest on the cabin sides. 

The opening Lewmar portlights for the aft cabin bulkheads have also been dry-fitted and will be installed this week.

Back at Work....

Once again I've had a long absence from posting here.  I miss the days when I was tackling this project every day with enthusiasm, and this blog was the only thing I had to do on the computer and online.  Lately I've just been putting in too much screen time researching and writing my newest book, which is coming along but still far from done.  It's hard to spend any extra time taking photos, processing them and posting on blogs, but I hate to leave those who may be building their own Tikis waiting indefinitely for my updates.  So to let you know I am still working on the boat, here is the latest:

The decision to switch from the standard shroud lashing pads in the plans to regular bolt-on, external chainplates created a lot of extra labor and expense.  But regardless of that, I firmly believe it is well worth it for the secure means of attaching the Precourt terminators and deadeyes I will be using for my shrouds, as discussed in an earlier post. 

I fabricated the chainplates myself to get the exact dimensions and fit I wanted.  They are 3/16" thick by 1 1/2" wide, and 12 inches long.  316 stainless steel plate is hard to drill, bend and polish, but eventually it was done, and I'm well-pleased with how they look.  I didn't want a highly-polished glittering yacht look, just the rugged purposeful appearance that externally bolted-on chainplates exude.  (Note that I painted over part of this section of the topsides when painting the sheer and cabin sides.  The green topside paint will be brought up to the bottom edge of the sheer stringer.  I just wanted to get everything in the way of the chainplates painted so I can permanently bolt them on.  It's easier to bolt them on at this point, before I install the portlights, as I can reach through the window openings to back up the lock nuts on the inside - important considerations since I'm working alone).

This morning I completed the backing plates for all the chainplates and bolted them up to check fit.  They will be removed and then permanently installed with 3M 5200 as soon as I polish the backing plates a bit.  Then the windows can go in as soon as that's done.

Here you can see the clearance at the tops of the chainplates for the Precourt terminators.  None of the ready-made chainplates I could find, like Schafer's, had enough length above the sheer to keep the terminators from hitting the cabin when the shrouds go slack.  These do.  Note also that the pin size for the terminators is 1/2 inch.  This will certainly be as strong as any part of the rig.  Each chainplate is through-bolted with four 5/16" bolts. 

Here's a view of the inside backing plates in the starboard hull.  I didn't want to use individual fender washers for this application, as it is all too common to see them literally compressed into the wood by the strain that is put on the chainplate bolts under load. (This part of the interior is still only epoxy coated.  It will get sanded and faired and then finished with varnish). 

I'm also preparing to permanently install the companionway hatches.  Here, they have just received the first coat of paint after fiberglassing, fairing and priming:

The cabin tops and coamings are done.  It's hard to see the edges in these photographs, but I've laid-out a non-skid pattern for the walking surfaces on the cabin tops.

Here you can see the non-skid somewhat better.  This was the final paint coat that I applied this morning.  When this has had time to completely dry, I will permanently install the Bomar hatches in the openings on the forward ends of the cabins.  I placed an order yesterday for the remaining primer, paint and sealants to complete all these jobs.  Within a couple of weeks I should be moving these hulls out in the open to make room in my shed to bring in the beams that are still in my girlfriend's garage where I built them.  I still have some sheathing and fairing work to do on the three beams before they are ready to prime and paint.

Still Working to Close in the Cabins

This week I've been able to get back to work on Element II  on a daily basis, at least for a couple of hours each morning.  As some of you who have stopped by my other website or blogs may know, my latest book, Bug Out: The Complete Plan for Escaping a Catastrophic Disaster Before It's Too Late, has just been released this week.  I am now on a mostly full-time writing schedule working to complete my next book, which according to my contract has to be done by September 1.  Since I won't be taking on any other outside work until at least that date, I now can devote some time to the boat, as I certainly can't spend all day writing.  This is a good time of year to make progress too, as epoxy and paint cures fast.  Since I'm doing the boat work first thing in the morning, the temperatures are not unbearable.  I'll try to update here a little more often, but most of my keyboard time will be spent working on the new book and promoting the just-released one.

Here's a shot of  where I'm at today with the hulls - after just putting a first coat of paint on the cabin tops and sides:

The walk-on surfaces of the cabin tops will get non-skid on the next coat, laid out in patterns similar to those on the foredecks.

Other than endless sanding, filling and fairing to prep all these surfaces for paint, the other jobs I've been working on this week were fitting the main companionway hatch covers.  This involved making and shaping teak receiving blocks for the stainless steel tubing upon which the hatch covers slide. 

When building the coaming for the forward ventilation hatches a few months ago, I planned the layout so that there would be just enough room for the hatches to fit comfortably aft of the Bomar hatches when slid forward and resting on the cabin tops in the open position. 

I can't imagine sleeping below in a Tiki 26 in a hot climate without those forward opening hatches.  While sleeping aboard the Tiki 30 Abaco in the Florida Keys a couple of weeks ago, the open Bomars funneled the breeze right onto my bunk, forcing me to look for covers before morning.   The Tiki 26 should have such hatches shown in the plans.  If I had an older boat without them, I would be figuring out a way to retrofit them if I were sailing South. 

Here's another view of the cabin top with the main hatch closed.  The sliding system works beautifully. 

After making sure all the angles were correct and pre-drilling and fitting the teak receiver blocks, I took all this off and proceeded with fiberglassing the hatch covers.  Abaco's varnished teak hatches are fine to look at, and mine are trimmed out in teak as well, but I want no bright work to maintain above decks, so mine will be glassed and painted.

Hatch Openings and Companionways

I've had the main hatch/companionway structures complete for awhile now, and have also built level hatch landings for installing the opening Bomar hatches on the forward ends of the cabins.

For this type of hatch to be watertight and to keep it from distorting, it is essential to have a dead flat surface to mount it on. I incorporated the longitudinal carlins under the cabin roofs (as shown in my previous post) as part of the hatch opening framework. The raised section above the cabin roof is topped with a 9 millimeter plywood ring cut to match the hatch perimeter. It was then faired to the cabin roof with a large fillet, as shown below:

These opening hatches with their screens are going to make the interior infinitely more pleasant while sleeping at anchor.

For the companionway openings and drop board arrangement, I opted for the sleeker, more modern design of the Tiki 30, rather than the Tiki 26 style. One big difference is that with this design, there is no external framing for the drop board, and the top of the drop board extends straight up to the top of the coaming, unlike the Tiki 26 style with it's horizontal section.

This requires gluing spacer blocks to the insides of the openings, to provide enough clearance for the 6 mm drop boards.

Another inner flange in line with the openings in the cabin sides retains the drop boards. Here you can see the slot between the cabin sides and this inner flange, where the drop boards fit in. At the bottom of the opening, a raised inner retaining flange prevents water draining down the drop boards from entering the cabins. At the top, the flanges fair into the adjoining hatch coamings.

The coamings themselves are made of two layers of 9mm ply, laminated together for a total thickness of 18mm. Triangular blocks of solid teak reinforce the corners. After these were glued in and the tops of the coaming were leveled off, I used a router to radius the edges so that a layer of 6 oz. fiberglass can be laminated over them.

Here's view of the coamings looking from the outboard side of the port hull. The glass sheathing has not been done yet, but the structure is all finished and shaped.

Here is a view of the port companionway with a temporary drop board of plywood in place. The final drop boards will be made of 6mm Lexan. As it turned out, the Lexan panel I had for this was about an inch too short to get these out, so I have to order some more. These ply drop boards will be carried on board as spares. One disadvantage of the straight drop board design like this is that it can be lost overboard if gets dropped through the slot between the cockpit seat and the cabin side. David Halladay found this out the hard way on his Tiki 30, Abaco. After that incident the drop boards are always placed below on a bunk when not in use.

At this point, all that remains to be done on the hull exteriors, other than building the main hatches is more fairing and then priming and painting. It's been unusually cold here for the last couple of weeks, and today the forward decks are covered with about two inches of snow. But there will be some warm days here and there where bit by bit I can finish these details.