I decided to start today by cleaning up the cuddy roof. The temporary vertical side braces were removed and the all four edges of the roof were planed down and then sanded smooth and even. A little trimming was done at the forward corners to even them out. And all the screws and washers were removed.
After putting the vertical side braces back on I started working on the upper sides panels. Two panels were cut to vertical width plus a little for the fudge factor. The angle was cut at the back and then one at a time they were lifted into place and lined up to readjust that angle so that it properly hits the upper corner of the rear cabin wall. The panels were held in place with one screw at the vertical brace and one screw at the top edge into the rear cabin wall. A small wooden brace was attached to the inside of the lower side panel to help hold the two panels in alignment. A little cutting had to be done at the lower forward corner to fit around the stuff there.
Next up was the extension to those upper panels. From the front to the back they're almost nine feet so I cut a triangle shaped piece and the appropriate scarfs then put everything back up again.
Gets bigger by the day!
Now those vertical braces will go eventually so there'll need to be bracing for the roof and the sides. There's a number of things that will be put in play to help. One, the forward windows will help as there will be three panels. Two, there will be a wood strip doubler that will run the full length of the upper edge that the roof will attach to. Three, during the construction of the roof there will be three "stringers" run underneath the roof to help it acquire its' shape. But the most important will be the arched brace that will be installed at the front and that's the other piece I worked on today.
Originally I was going to make it from doubled up 3/4" plywood but a little inspiration struck. If I was going to use two pieces of the 3/4" ply, why not cut them arched on the bottom, separate them and put a piece of 3/8" plywood on the bottom? That provides more support to the side panels and roof, but better yet give me a place to run wires side-to-side.
Brilliant! :-)
Last for the night was epoxying the side panel scarfs. Typical stuff, soak the joints with lots of epoxy, then add slightly runny peanut butter and screws and washers.
Tomorrow I'll clean these up. I haven't figured out the windows yet, so these won't get fiberglass just yet. No point in fiberglassing areas you're going to cut out and throw away.
Hopefully I'll get to work on the cuddy roof tomorrow as well.
9 Hours