Tonight was continuing work on the PVC conduits and forward bulkhead. I started the night by trimming the excess fiberglass from last night, knocking off the last of the peanut butter drips and then sanding smooth the tops of the ribs and the stringers. A good vacuuming and that was done.
Next up was the PVC pipes. I was anxious to see just how well the holes lined up and if my planning for the elbows to vertical risers would work out. When Caitlin and Kenneth drilled the holes in the ribs they were using hole saws 1/8" larger than the actual pipe diameter. I did this intentionally to allow for a little wiggle room and it was a good thing I did because it was needed.
Now the cabin is longer than the rear deck so the PVC had to be cut short of the cabin length to fit in the holes starting at the rear. This leaves a joint in between the ribs which is fine, I just had to measure correctly for it. I cut the PVC to fit under the deck, contemplated for a couple minutes how tall I wanted the vertical risers and cut them too. Hauled everything into the hull and started putting the PVC through the holes in the ribs. They were obviously not perfectly lined up, but the extra space plus the flex in the PVC allowed me to get them through. I dry fitted the elbows and then the risers and Woo Hoo! it all fits!
Up next was the blocking to go between the stringers under the forward bulkhead. I cut and trimmed a piece of 1-1/8" plywood, sanded the hull, applied epoxy, peanut butter and 10oz fiberglass to the rear side, including the joint between the blocking and the bulkhead, and repeated that on the front side except for the bulkhead joint as there's no way to get to it with the PVC running underneath.
I bought some Silicone tonight to use to seal around the PVC risers where they come up through the 2x4 for the bulkhead and I used some right away around the PVC that runs under the bulkhead.
Last for the night I used what was left of the epoxy to coat the insides of the holes for the PVC pipes after pulling them all apart. They'll get reinstalled permanently after blocking is installed for the tank tie-downs and this area of the bilge gets a good coat of stinky Bilgekote paint!
Tomorrow I need to cut the decking to fit over the ribs to protect that area until I get back to it, apply fiberglass to the rear of the forward bulkhead and then start work in the cuddy. Much work to be done there!
4.5 Hours