Then I moved on to fixing an old DDD. Way back when I installed the floor of the rear deck I cut out a rectangular hole for the access hatch. The original plan was to have it oriented lengthwise with the boat and put batteries on either side. Well, after getting the measurements needed for the transom well for the motor there was no way the batteries would fit underneath, nor would the lid on the access hatch open, so I knew it was going to have to be moved at some point.
That point was tonight. I realigned the hatch, traced around it and cut it out.
I cut a piece of 3/4" plywood a little larger than the space I needed to fill, held it up underneath and traced the outline. A little work with the table saw and the jigsaw and I had a nice tight fit.
I took it out and painted the bottom with a good coat of Bilgekote. Tomorrow I'll epoxy and fiberglass it in. It won't need a lot of strength as it's underneath the transom well and will never have any weight on it.
Since I was on a bit of a cutting tear I cut two pieces of plywood that will be painted and glued to the hull in the battery bays. The port side will be for mounting the fuel filter and the starboard side will be for mounting the battery switch, automatic charging relay and common ground point. The corners of the plywood were cut off for good measure and then primered.
The plan for tomorrow and this weekend is to focus on finishing building stuff on the rear deck as I'd like to start painting it, the roof trim (a couple more coats), the area around the radar mount and the spray rail. That's more than enough to keep me busy painting each night next week.
3.5 Hours