761Hrs – Joinery
I have now started on the joinery supports for the seating/double bunk in the dining area of the main cabin. It took quite a while studying the plans and taking measurements before I was ready to start cutting my precious Douglas Fir! After carefully marking everything out I then put the router to work making the necessary rebates and joints, finishing off with the chisel and mallet. The most difficult to measure and cut was the piece that runs athwart ships between the hullsides and again I put the ratchet straps to use to ensure a good fit. Once I was happy with the dry fit I then glued everything in place and used a few screws to pull it all together. I have screwed the athwart ships bearer through the hullside stringers and kept the tension on with the ratchet straps. Hopefully, when the epoxy has cured, this will hold this part of the hullsides fair. To finish off I transferred the measurements onto the ply sheet and cut out the removable section.
I have now definitely decided against the en-suite layout in the starboard hull. I got some detailed and valuable information via TheMultihull site forum and e-mail that led me to change my mind. Almost everyone agreed that the damp atmosphere created in the main cabin caused real problems, other issues of smells and reduction in living and storage space all added to a big list of negatives and only a few positives. Adoption of Mr Wharrams’ ‘flexi-space’ philosophy would have made things simpler but I don’t want to live in an empty hull!. Mind you I have been reading Lin and Larry Pardey’s ‘Care and Feeding of Sailing Crew’, what a mine of information that is! I am now trying to figure out if it’s possible to fit a Japanese style ‘sitz’ bath in somewhere!
Many thanks to the following for aiding my decision
- Shane Miller USA For
- Dave Vinni South Africa Against
- Jacques Pierret USA Against
- Adrian Hall UK Against
- Andy Hawkesford Canada Against
- Creed O’Hanlon Thailand Against