Plastic Classic Forum

Here are some pictures of my recent re-work on the cockpit of Aeolus, my Tartan 34C. Over the past couple of months I have:

-removed the cockpit teak
-built 3 new locker lids
-built engine controls and Sailcomp recesses
-reconfigured the cockpit drains
-rerouted and reconfigured the seat drains
-replaced all of the core material in the cockpit and cockpit sole


















Joe

Nice, I like those lids. Did you incorporate a provision for a rubber seal in there?

Nice work, Joe. Way to move the project along!

Thanks for the update.

Thanks Tim!

Did you incorporate a provision for a rubber seal in there?

The existing gutters on the lockers don't have enough clearance to allow for gaskets around the lids. I built gutters for my Triton project, and I can say, without hesitation, that I will avoid the complexities of that this time. All the lids do have sides that should encourage the water to drain into the existing gutters.

Joe

Do you ever get the feeling that you have done all this before?...

Looks good!

Do you ever get the feeling that you have done all this before?...

Britton

Yep. It’s déjà vu all over again!

It does seem easier this time. There's less time standing around pondering the next step. Also, I’ve taken Tim’s advice, and I'm laying up new top skins. Friends shouldn’t let friends reuse the top skins on a deck recore.

Joe

huh? I thought you sold the project and bought a boat?

:)

huh? I thought you sold the project and bought a boat?

Your right!! I does feel like a project boat right now.

The survey turned up some "isolated" areas of core work. Just a quick deck paint job, and I was to be off and sailing. The surveyor recommended leaving the cockpit alone, but I just couldn't do it. It is turning out to be a bit more than I thought, but seems more manageable this time.

Joe

A case of ship fitters disease?

Marvellous job Joe!. Thanks for sharing the process with us.
I am curious about how you did your lids construction. I have only one locker in the cockpit and it has leaking problems.

Miguel

Nice work!

I am curious about how you did your lids construction.

Miguel,

I used a bit different technique on the locker lids and panel recesses than I have before.

On the Triton project, I made some things like seat gutters, and panel recesses by laying up material over a mould made out of inexpensive pine lumber. This system works fine when you are doing something like an engine panel recess where you cut the opening to fit what you make. The problem I found for things like locker lids is that the mold must be rather precise to fit a fairly complicated three dimensional opening like a seat locker. On the Tartan, the main lid is trapezoidal shaped, with sides that must fit into sloping gutters (both sides have a different angle). If the mold is off at all, you have the potential for a lid that fits rather poorly.

So instead, I made all these assemblies using 1/8” fiberglass sheet material. I started with the top panel of the lids. By measuring and cutting the top of the lids a bit oversize (about a 1/16”), I was able to grind the pieces down where necessary for a very precise fit. Having the top the right size, I turned it upside down, and screwed it temporarily to a sheet of plywood. Then, each of the four sides was cut out of sheet material to conform to the shape of the gutter sections. The sides were held into position using cheap lumber screwed into the plywood from below. I then “tack welded’ the pieces into position using small epoxy fillets (about an inch long) in a couple of positions along each side. Once the epoxy cured, I removed the assembly and checked it for fit into the locker opening. I cut them a bit oversize, where able, to allow trimming to fit the opening. The beauty of doing it this way is that if you don’t like the fit, you can grind off the small fillets, snap the piece off the top panel and try again.

Once I had the piece fit to my satisfaction, I filled in the fillets around the entire perimeter of all sections. I now had essentially a mould made of fiberglass to which I could add material, (except this time the mould stays attached to the finished piece). I laid up 2 - 3 layers of biax cloth on the unfinished side of each assembly to get to the desired finished thickness, and the resulting structure seems quite strong. There is also little fairing required on the finished side.

I hope all this makes sense.

Joe

Thanks Joe. Definitely I see that lid construction is a whole project in itself. I am going to do my best with mine.
Miguel