October 3, 2019
I started the day by removing the tape that I applied to protect the teak surfaces from the caulk. For now, I will set the hatches to the side so that the caulk can fully cure, to a point that it is ready to sand. I will sand the excess caulk (standing proud of the hatches' wood surfaces) and then apply several coats of varnish for protection against the sun's harsh UV rays.
With the hatches tucked away, I headed over to the boat with a sheet of plastic to begin to template layers of fiberglass to be applied to the counter, the area around the motor mount. Early, I had glued the motor mount to the counter of the boat - with epoxy resin - yet the gaps around the motor mount needed to be filled with thickened epoxy and further strengthened with overlapping layers of 1708 biaxial fiberglass. This motor mount (the part that I made) is the female part to the Torqeedo's pod drive mounting plate.
I templated several sections of fiberglass to both repair the old outboard engine well and to glass in the motor mount.
Gravity was rocking my world here, but I managed to both apply the thickened epoxy, creating fillets around the motor mount, and get the fiberglass on. I attempted to apply a large (where I went wrong) section of peel ply, but the forces of the universe where conspiring against me. No big deal, I will water-wash when the epoxy cures and then give it a good rough sanding before applying the fairing compound.
With the day's epoxy work out of the way, I headed up to the companionway to begin fabricating the trim, companionway hatch, and slide rails. My focus for the day, as it turned out, would be the hatch trim - specifically, the deck trim for the companionway.
I started with the port and starboard companionway deck trim. I wanted the portion of this trim to stand 3/4" in height, for the deck, and 1"in width. The "leg" of the trim piece would be 1/4" in width and would cover the fiberglass of coachroof itself - a purely cosmetic application.
I selected the teak stock from the wood shop, and ran them over the table saw, jointer, and planer until I reached the dimensions needed to begin shaping to the finished product. With a few passes on the table saw I had the trim "roughed" out.
the port and starboard deck trim in rough form.
Due to the camber of the coach roof, I needed to bevel the underside of the companionway deck trim so that it would fit snugly to the deck. I used a bevel to find the angle to then apply to the trim.
I set the table saw to the correct angle and cut the bevel on the underside of the companionway deck trim. The fit vastly improved.
With port and starboard pieces out of the way (for now), I turned to the forward piece of companionway deck trim. Using the same measurements, for a consistent look, I prepared a piece of teak and then set it on the deck to scribe the camber of the deck onto it.
Another view of the process of transferring the deck camber to the hatch trim. Because of the need to account for the camber on deck as well as the overhead of the cabin, I decided to fabricate this section of trim from two pieces to then be glued together, with epoxy.
I removed the camber from he deck piece of trim with a jigsaw. Next, I cut a 1/4" piece of teak, scribed the overhead camber onto it, and then removed the camber with a jigsaw. These two pieces were then epoxied together, by first wiping down the surfaces with acetone to remove the teak's natural oils, wetting out with epoxy, and then clamping together. This forward piece of the companionway deck trim will serve as a stop for the slide hatch when pulling to a closed position, it will also serve as a lip to protect against water ingress when the sailing conditions get a bit more intense.
The view of the companionway deck trim thus far.
Total Time Today: 6.25 hrs
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