March 2020

March 2,

We did a lot of work over the weekend.  A lot of the rough cabinetry has been marked on the bulkheads including the deck and cabin outlines.  All the passageways have been cut.  I left a a good bit over some of them so I can retain reference lines and mark the deck house outline.  I'll cut them out later.

On the left starting in the foreground of the picture and moving toward the bow:  Hanging locker with shelf on top. Shower with head besides, V-berth stateroom with lavatory to the left.  V-berth forward. 

The passage on the right will be the companion way leading to the V-berth door.  On the left will be doors into the shower and on to the head.  The picture is being taken in the area which will contain the port and starboard cabins. 

What a convenient place for the plans.   This is the doorway leading from the salon to the main cabins.

Your not going to wipe the smile off our faces anytime soon. 

And time for something a little different.  I've got a great but difficult plan for the cabinetry which will require a bit of steam bending.  Actually, there will also be a lot of interior trim that I may use the laminated steam bending technique.  I have steam bent oak before.  I hooked up a 4" PVC schedule 40 pipe to a kettle and did it in my kitchen.  I'm married now so that is out.   Besides PVC kinda droops and melts over time so I wanted something a bit more durable.  My solution is to use 4" metal down spout that I have laying around.  I drilled holes in the side and placed short pieces of threaded rod below the centerline to keep the steamed wood in the center of the tube.  I make two wooden end caps, one tapered to be removed on the right the other with a hole in which I threaded some galvanized pipe I had laying around.  The pipe was attached to a chrome shower head pipe which was roughly threaded into the lid of a durable cooking pot.  Made a stand out of wood and bought a one eye burner from Walmart for $12.   That was the only item I purchased.  Put water in the kettle, oak strips in the tube and turned the burner on.  About 45 minutes later I had beautifully steamed oak strips.  There was just one issue.  Water was able to leak out the end but as the end cap soaked the steam up and swelled, the water became trapped and the wooden end cap was very difficult to remove.  So I'll drill a small weep hole in the bottom of the tube right before the end cap and I'll put the end cap in much looser than before.   

Completed steamer. 

This is one of the cabin roof beams dry laid before glueing.   I cut up some steel angle iron for clamping.  I took the pattern and transferred it to the table.  Added some 2x4 stock under the table top so the lag bolts would have something substantial to grab onto.  I then lag bolted the cut angle iron along the pattern.  I used 1", 11/4" and 3/4" width boards.  The 3/4" board is actually quarter sawn so it is on the inside where that gorgeous flecking will show.  These boards are cold molded so no steam is required.  

Same piece but this time I used epoxy.  I laid some plastic down to keep the piece from sticking to the table.  A lot of clamps were required to close the gaps.  

This is the bulkhead that will have the beam attached to along the top.   I've placed it above so it is ready to measure and fit  into place.  I'll have to be very careful fitting the beam, nothing is square on a boat and the ends will have to be notched around the triple shear clamp.  There is actually a bit more curvature than what it looked like when the bean was on the table.

March 32

So, I learned something that I'd like to carry on to my readers.  I've made two of these laminated beams that are 2"x4" actual width.  They are made up of 4 1"x2" pieces of wood.  After glueing up in a form and letting them cure overnight, I get 3/8" of spring back.  The one that bolts up against the bulkhead was easy to fix.  I made it slightly longer and used a clamp to reintroduce a little more bend.    Then I trimmed one of the joints at the end until  I had a near perfect fit.  You can see me fitting one of the ends in the figure below.  The second one I made, I got the same spring back but this one is going to be free standing between the deck carlings.  I'm going to have to rig up something to get that little bit of bend back.

I'm fitting the end of the laminated beam into the shear clamp (that ruler is sitting on the shear clamp).  There is about 1 1/4" that fits under the shear clamp.  If you look close there is still a small gap between the laminated beam and the shear clamp on the right.  This is because that 1 1/4" that fits under the shear clamp is about 1/32" too long.  I took it out and trimmed it up.

A real sweet fit.  The only issue was that the bend relaxed a bit and I had to use a clamp in the middle to pull it back up.  Once the beam is fit, the sides of the boat hold the beam to shape and there is no need for the clamp in the center.

The is the second laminated beam that will fit 18 inches in front of the one just made.  It will not span the entire width of the boat but fit between the deck carling that supports the deck inboard where the deck house rises.  

I've also started on building the laminated roof beams of the deck cabin.  These are slightly smaller, 2"x3" and not as long.  I'm going to try to take that 3/8" into consideration when I build the form.  Maybe a little less than 3/8" since the individual pieces are 3/4" instead of 1" so I expect less spring back because it should take less pressure to form the curve if the curve is similar.  Something else to take into consideration.

That 3/8" really did the trick.  So I made the jig deeper by 3/8" and used a stiff board to make a smooth curve to the original marks on the ends.  Laminated the four boards up and let cure overnight.   I released the beam from the jig and it sprung back right on the original contour line.  I've made two thus far and they both came out very nice.