Another bulkhead appears!

Today I cut out the cockpit forward bulkhead. I've left it over-sized on top as this will be planed to shape when the Bridge-deck gets fitted.

Again, for this job I've used 9mm marine ply. I've put the best side facing the cockpit as this will be varnished. The other side won't be seen under the Bridge-deck and will be painted in any case.

Room to manoeuvre.........

It get's quite awkward cutting out from full 8'x4' shhets in tight surroundings. Old pallets are just the job, though, and it doesn't matter if you cut into them!

New Knees!

The two new Knees finally finished today. These were cut out of teak using a band saw from the old rotten oak ones as templates.

They're ready to be glued and fixed into place now. (Between the side decks and forward frame).

Should look nice down below, too........

Room to breathe

There was a nasty damp problem in and around the cockpit area in the past, so I've cut a decent sized vent into the bulkhead.

This will be below the cockpit floor level and will allow the air to circulate more freely.

It also means that should any water find it's way into the lazarette locker, it will run straight into the cockpit bilge and not accumulate behind the bulkhead like before.

In with the new!

I used what was left of the old rear bulkhead to mark out for the new one. Had to get a bit creative here with some fancy measuring!

I've used 9mm marine ply here, same as the hull. It's just loosely in place for now ready for the framework behind it to go in before glueing it all in and planing the top profile.

Out with the old.......

I removed the rear cockpit bulkhead. Came out remarkably easily too. It stayed intact enough to use as a template for the new one.

Ready for the glue

The hull panel is all trimmed up now ready to be glued in. I've taken out the two knees where the foredeck meets the side deck. I've got a nice piece of mahogany to make the new ones out of. A little job for my lunch hour, I think..............

Trying it for size

Once I'd cut the hull panel to shape, I tacked it in place to check for fit. I've left some wood proud at deck level to be planed flush later. All that remains now is to pilot-drill and countersink all my screw holes and "glue and screw" the panel in place.

Using the template

I removed the bigger template and simply used it to mark out the ply.

Lady in Red!

Ian Arnold very kindly sent me these pictures of his boat "Christeel". As her name suggests, she's actually constructed from STEEL! Probably the only steel Silhouette afloat.............

Great effort Ian, You've done an amazing job!

Original Plans

Having a set of the original plans certainly helps. Mine were kindly given to my by a member of SOIA (many thank's again Mike!), however they can still be bought for about £100. I think.

Having a seperate "tidy" area to view the plans over a coffee and escape the chaos helps too!

Shaping up..................again.

Not quite the "Proper little Ship" yet but she's definately becoming a wee bit more "ship-shape".

Templates

Here's the "packing wood" templates in place!

Good Progress

Made a great discovery today..................the packing that protects sheets of marine ply in transit is perfect for making templates! It seems to be a kind of MDF, but it's quite sturdy, lightweight and extremely flexible.
Good job I didn't buy that sheet of hardboard after all!

Anyway, I got the templates cut out and tacked in place. Just got some "fine tuning" to do on them before using them to mark out the ply.

Back to work!

Moved Dewdrop back into the shed today. My 9mm marine ply has arrived so I cleaned up the framework ready for the new hull section to go on.
I've decided to make a template out of thin hardboard first so I get the shape exactly right on the ply.
I'll be so much happier when that's on and I can start work on the decks.