Settee hatches and head

Not a whole lot to report, but there has been some progress. I finished cutting and installing cleats in the settee backs for the two access hatches. I made a simple cleat arrangement to hold the bottom of each hatch in place, and I'll add a latch of some sort at the top to keep the hatches from falling forward.

A simple cleat locks the bottom in place.

In the head compartment I installed the face for the two shelves, securing it to the cleats on either side with ss screws.

I'll fiberglass the top and bottom when I do another round of glassing.

I'm going to reuse the original settee cabinet fronts, so I fitted the fronts on both sides. The starboard side is entirely original - and a little beat up. I'll refinish it at some point, and I think I'll do something to cover the holes in the masonite fronts (they're kinda ugly).

The front for the port side was cut by a PO at some point, leaving two doors and part of another. I trimmed the remaining legs flush and fastened the front to the shelf.

I used a 3/4" piece of teak plywood cut to size to fill the area. I was thinking that I could stain the teak to match the old mahogany, but at this point I'm thinking I might paint it white and trim it in mahogany. That decision is far down the road, though.

I think that piece of ply might make a good location for a VHF radio or the electrical panel. At this point I'm not planning on installing another door there.

I had a few minutes today, so I gave my last round of tabbing a quick sanding and vacuumed the area.

Head compartment and more sanding

It's odd how a few hours of work doesn't really look like much when it comes down to posting the progress. I worked for about four hours today, doing everything from lightly sanding the tabbing to reconstructing the head compartment.

I began by hitting all the fiberglass and tabbing work I've completed with the sander to knock off the sharp bits and prep the areas for paint, which included cutting some of the tabbing flush with a port opening. I also removed the unsightly dried epoxy that had dripped down the bulkheads. Although a bit cooler today, the weather is still hot and humid, making sanding a sweaty, sticky - and itchy - affair.

I'd planned to reinstall two shelves in the starboard hanging locker, per the original construction, but only installed the upper shelf, which will be glassed to the chainplate knee.

After installing cleats for the lower shelf, I got to thinking that there might be a better setup for the space and opted to wait on making the second shelf. Stowing items high and outboard doesn't make much sense - unless they're light - and I just couldn't imagine stowing clothes or other similar items in an area that is intended for damp foulies. But perhaps I'll change my mind. It can wait for now.

With the shelves and cleats installed on the opposite side in the head compartment, I made a template for the head cabinet and transferred my marks to 1/2" plywood and did a test fit. After a bit of shaping with the sander, the face slipped into place and I secured it temporarily with two SS screws.

Before

After

I discovered two original wooden doors in my pile of parts that appear to be the old head cabinet doors, so I plan to remove the face and cut the openings. To that end, I marked the position of the two shelves for reference and drew a line marking level. Before I can make the cuts, however, I need to buy a decent jigsaw. (I borrowed one from my school for the weekend, but I haven't experimented with it yet so I decided to move forward with the base for the head.)

Originally I'd planned to make the base for the head a bit deeper, but after discovering that sitting on the head would require tippee-toeing, I located it very near to its original height. Again, I set up a small board for reference, made a series of marks and measurements, then transferred those measurements to a piece of 3/4" plywood. I added two cleats for support inboard, and set the base in place.

And with the head in its approximate position…

And here's what the area looked like when I acquired the boat:

There are two holes - intake and discharge - that I will fill and glass. The lower one, located under the base of the head, is too awkward to use. The upper one, pictured below, is too big for the intake seacock I plan to use, so once it's filled, I'll drill a new hole. It looks like the location is going to work well.

That little bit wrapped up my work for today. All in all, today was a good day - even for just a few hours. I checked off about seven different items on my to-do list, and I'm hoping to check off a few more over the long weekend.