I started this weekend with the intent to finish up the bow area. Besides finish work, things that need to be roughed in yet are the platform that head sits on and the sleeping platform extension. I'll explain what that is exactly later on. Its easier to show it than describe it, but not today.
This first pic is of the empty space where the old head platform was cut out. I cut cardboard into the shapes I needed. I've tried to simply measure and then cut, but I always get an angle off, so I've settled for making stencils.
I then took the cardboard and cut out the final pieces from 1/2" treated plywood. Everything I have put asside to be covered in epoxy.
The real challenge I've been putting off has been the cabinets. Since I could not come up with a better use of ths space than what was originally installed, I've relented and made an effort to put it back the way it was originally designed...with a few modification of course.
The first thing I had to do was place the 1x6 board that ran the length of the cabin. Notice that it does not follow the line of the hull, but is pushed back a bit. Like your kitchen, you want to be able to stand close to the sink, so you need room for your toes. This I did not plan to do until I thought the original design through. The orignal plywood was the hardest hit of any piece on the boat, so I'm planning on fully encasing it in epoxy to stave off the inevitable.
I placed the first vertical piece which will be the side to the storage cabinet on the left and a side-splash for the sink.
After a lot of cutting, fitting, re-cutting and re-fitting, I've gotten to this point. Getting all these pieces to match the contours of the hull has been a process of discovery. I had to eventually fall back on something I saw an old carpeter do while on a summer job when I was 22. He used a compass to trace an irregular wall onto the edge of a new cabinet which he then cut to perfectly match the wall. After much trial and error, I eventually figured out how to to this.
Here you can see what I'm talking about. I taped a marker to a compass....I know: REALLY high-tech,huh? Key to a successful trace is to keep the compass at the exact same angle throughout the trace. Here I have it pointed down and at a slight angle away from the carboard I'm going to use as my stencil.
After I did a Vertical trace to get the hull countour correct, I then did a psuedo-horizontal trace to get this curve correct. Notice it took me two tries to get the curve right. No one's perfect, so don't get irritated if you mess up a few times.
On the left is the finished stencil. The plywood has been traced and is ready to be cut. The thing on the right is the original forward berth devider that I'm replacing. The irregular edges are all that is left of the rotted wood so you can see how much was missing.
Just to prove to the masses that I AM doing all this work, here's a picture of me cutting out that panel. This is my 2nd jig saw. I had a Black and Decker which I burned up. I'd like to remind all would-be garage carpeters that decent tools are worth the extra money. Don't scrimp. This Dewalt I'm using is infinitely better than that 2 year old, smoked B&D.
No comments:
Post a Comment