1739Hrs – Great Progress
I’ve had a really good day today and made some great progress with the starboard cabin top. I cut and fixed all the longitudinal strengtheners, cut and fixed all the polystyrene and weighted everything down. This means I just have to glue the last sheet 0f 4mm plywood in place and I’ll have the first cabin top pretty much completed.
Nigh On 800kg (1700lb) of Pressure Applied
I did spend a bit of time this morning pondering where to put extra strengtheners to take the hatch fixings. As I hinted at yesterday I’ve decided to use a non-Wharram method that’s been used by Scott Williams on his Tiki 26. Rather than try and explain it I thought it easier to show you a couple of pictures. My thanks to Scott for the idea and I hope he doesn’t mind me pinching his pictures!. All credit to him. CLICK HERE to visit his site and see them as they were originally posted. If you visit his pages you’ll also see him using a great method to install Perspex portlights…. I’ll be pinching that idea as well 😉
Hatch Opening/Sliding Mechanism
Hatch Open
Hi Neil,
I can’t take credit for that hatch design, as it is a Wharram design as shown in the plans for the Tiki 30. I don’t know if it appears in any of the other design plans or not, but they did use that method in the prototype Tiki 8-Meter and David Halladay is also using it on his pro-built 8-Meters. Thomas also used a variation of the design on Tsunamichaser.
I modified the dimensions to work they way I wanted them on the Tiki 26 so that I would also have room for the opening Bomar hatches at the forward ends of the cabin tops over the bunks. It’s a good, slick-operating design with many advantages, especially in harbor and at anchor. I’m not sure how I’m going to make it work offshore, as it will not be as easy to fit dodgers as would be the case with forward sliding hatches.