Aft Cabin Side Section In Place

I knew from the start that this one would be a bit tougher and I scrapped a couple of hardboard templates trying to find the right way to do it. The plans show this section lying straight across the width of the hull but given its quite steep rake towards the stern and the fact that it then needed to sit fair to the curve of the cabin roof I just couldn’t see how it was possible. I realised that the flexible hardboard template, when raked back at the right angle, bent naturally to match the curve of the cabin roof, not only making it easier to match the cabin top curve but also looking far nicer. but how could I achieve the same thing with a far less flexible piece of 9mm plywood? A sit down with a cup of tea and a bit of thought gave me the answer….. a ratchet strap. Wrapped around the ply and pulled up until I’d got the right amount of bend, it worked perfectly. A few small locating blocks hot-melt glued in critical places and suddenly my piece of uncooperative ply became super compliant and all I needed to do was mark. cut and make a few adjustments and I was ready to glue.

Strapped, Weighted and Blocked

Curved, Angled and Straight

Port Cabin Top Ready To Go

Business and some essential Land Rover maintenance has used up a chunk of building time so far this week but today I was finally able to get cracking again. I got the recently completed port cabin roof off the mould, cut out the companionway and sanded off all the edges so that it’s all ready to use and then I turned my attention back to the starboard side. I took my time checking measurements and making sure everything was square and then concentrated on templating and cutting the aft end of the cabin sides. It was fairly straightforward using hardboard as the template material although it’s natural tendency to bend easily meant that it was impossible to get it perfectly right but it was near enough to allow me to cut the actual section out of 9mm ply and then make the final small adjustments. I also hit on what I think will be a really handy way of keeping things in place whilst the epoxy glue goes off…… a hot melt glue gun. It grabs almost instantly, is strong enough to take a fair bit of pressure, but releases cleanly with a sharp tap of a hammer. Using this method I was able to glue a few small wooden blocks in place to keep things in the right place whilst I concentrated on the gluing. My plan is to get the forward and aft sections in position, glue the cabin top to them and then fit the sides afterwards, thereby avoiding a repeat of my now infamous tumblehome saga!

Starboard Aft Cabin Side In Position

Another View

Forward Cabin Section Template Beginning To Take Shape

I’ve been using a 50:50 mix of fast and slow hardener for the epoxy but I can see I’m going to have to revert to fast soon. All these things remind me that I am entering my 4th Winter in the barn and time is flying past. If I’m to hit my target of getting the hulls enclosed before the weather really turns then I need to crack on.

I’ve done OK today as I got the polystyrene all glued into place and weighted on the portside cabin top which means I should get it finished this weekend. I also spent quite a bit of time playing with hardboard templates for the forward and aft sections of the cabin sides. Because I’ve changed the heights I can’t use the dimensions on the plans so I’m using the hardboard to experiment and get things right before I go cutting any expensive ply. On the plus side I’ll be able to use the same templates for the port hull so things will go far quicker.

Portside Cabin Top Progress

A busy business day meant I was only able to do a couple of hours today but I pushed on and got all the remaining strengtheners cut and glued onto the portside cabin top. I also got the polystyrene cut ready to glue tomorrow. I had another good look at the starboard cabin roof position and I’ve decided I’m happy with where it is. It’s turned out to be only about 10 cm or so lower than the plans but it looks right and feels comfortable inside.  If I get any tall visitors they’ll have to duck or stand in the companionway (obviously that include Eric Dobson who commented the other night and is 6′ 7″!). If time permits tomorrow I’ll crack on and get the forward and aft parts of the cabin sides cut, looking forward to that.

Looks Good To Me

Starboard Cabin Top Trial Positioning

Well the starboard cabin top came off the mould relatively OK with the exception of one temporary screw that I’d left in place causing me to wonder why it wasn’t budging! But that aside it came away cleanly and after a bit of tidying up round the edges I’m really pleased with the result. My next task was to get it up onto the hull and somewhere in position so that I could start experimenting with the height. Looking around for suitable timber it dawned on me that the offcuts of timber from the mould bearers were of course already cut to the right radius to take the cabin top so it was an easy job to screw these to some additional battens long enough to straddle the cabin and allow me to drop the cabin top in place. The Mk1 version didn’t work too well as they were very unstable and tipped over if I moved the cabin top forward or backwards at all so I added a wide strip of ply to the bottom of each and they then worked perfectly. I spent some time playing with different heights, testing inside and viewing from outside. The objective being to find heights that make the cabin comfortable for me and slightly taller visitors whilst still looking ‘right’ outside.

Bend It!

Now I know I’m straying into contentious territory here because I’ve seen lots of example of ‘modified’ Wharrams with raised/extended cabin sides and tops and whilst I totally respect each individual builders decision to do what’s right for them, many of these modification, to my eye at least, ruin the beautiful lines of the boat. Actually it’s far easier for me because I’m ‘lucky’ enough to stand a towering 5’6″ and I guess if I was a foot taller I would probably have a different view, in any case I spent 2 years living on a boat with no standing headroom at all so ‘Gleda’ is streets ahead anyway!

Anyway I think I’ve found the right heights for me but I’m going to sleep on it and have another look with fresh eyes tomorrow. To finish off todays session I started work on the portside cabin top. As usual things moved along far quicker as I already knew what I needed to do and what the measurements all were although I did need to keep reminding myself that the companionway cutout needed to be on the other side! The timber I used for the transverse strengtheners seemed reluctant to bend today and I broke one piece trying but with some additional screws and some added weight I got them there.