Sunday, January 1, 2012

Day 96 - Gettin' close

Well, the forward shelves are basically done. I pulled all the screws and clamps from two days ago then started sanding the edges of the shelves even with the sides. That went well except for one spot on the starboard side where the two side panels came together and were epoxied in place. For some reason right at the shelf they bulged out about 3/16". There must have been some little bit of debris in there and I just didn't notice it. Oh well. So in that area today I carefully shaved a little bit of it down with the planer, then sanded the transition somewhat to smooth it out. I can't take it all down or the plywood would just be too thin. I'll refiberglass this area when I glass the outside of the shelves.

Once the sanding was done I made a jig out of a piece of 2x4 and three screws to mark the cutting width of the shelves. I drove two screws perpendicular to the length of the 2x4 and then one screw at the distance I wanted to mark. Then I simply ran it up the side holding the two screws against the shelf and using the third to make a scratch mark. Then I set the skilsaw for 12 degrees (the slant of the sides of the cabin) and cut from the rear almost all the way forward. Couldn't quite get all the way as the curve just got too much.


I cut down the other side and then finished the cuts with a reciprocating saw. Sanded out the curves then the tops making all the pieces even.

Next up was the router with a 3/8" roundover bit. That was run down the outside of the shelves and then once again the sander to finish the round over.



Looks great!

I made so much sawdust inside the boat I finally had to stop and clean it out with the shop vac. Still waiting for the resin and hardener to arrive, but once it does the inside will really have to be cleaned up!

Last for the night was filling the holes from the screws with straight epoxy and then the gaps between the sides and the shelves with peanut butter. All of this will be, you guessed it, sanded smooth tomorrow. Then I think I'll start on the cuddy/cabin bulkhead.

8 Hours