Companionway Step

I needed to come up with a design for the companionway step. I've made a simple one that has masses of storage inside. It will also be a platform for the gas stove (pictured).

It will obviously be painted and nicely capped off to look good and it will be removeable to gain access to that area of bilge if necessary.

Scarpfing the Coachroof

Here, as you can see, the timber has been scarphed and is layed out to check for fit. You can also see that after I applied the glue I found yet another amazing use for some Aircraft Chocks!

Cabin roof

I've made a start on the cabin roof, finally. According to the plans it needs to be at least 12mm thick, however because of the pronounced curve this will be too difficult to achieve in one go.

I've decided, therefore to overcome this by laminating two layers of 6mm ply together in situ.

The next problem I encountered was the cabin roof void is wider than a sheet of ply! This will be overcome by scarphing additional strips onto the full sheet width then bending onto the cabin top to get the camber. (Easier said than done..................scarphing is a tricky business on such thin material and when using a power planer, great care is called for!).

The following pictures will hopefully illustrate what I've been up to recently.

You may also notice the different surroundings. My shed developed a damp problem which was affecting all the new timber, so I've moved her indoors! (Thanks to my management for that!). This should also be a massive help when it comes to drying paint and varnish.