What's Hatching?

During this build process I've kept both hulls in the same state of completion.  As the interior fitments are mostly complete, attention is directed to finishing the hull exteriors.  The shop dimensions require one hull to be placed on a dolly and rolled out of the way and the other hull to be suspended into the newly created space.  This arrangement permits the suspended hull to be rotated 90° to shape and finish the keels as well as the hull exterior surfaces.  The hulls will depart from identical states of competition at this point due to space constraints and some material shortages.

This image may not look impressive, but it represents a fare amount of work in preparing the hull for fiberglassing.  Fiberglass doesn't go over sharp bends so transition easing fillets are needed.  Fillets have been applied between the keel/lower hull panel, between the upper/lower hull panels and between the hull panels/stem and stern.  The deck/shear stringer was rounded over and finished out with filler.  Each fillet requires about three passes to complete.  Each pass starts will a round of sanding followed by an application of the filleting compound.  One full lenght fillet is about all the sanding and filling I want to do in one day so multiple days were consumed in preparing both sides of the starboard hull for fiberglassing.  I confess, this was not a job I had great enthusiasm for, but it has to be done.  In the end it was gratifying to see the hull surfaces moving closer to the finished state.

The main hatch coaming and painted arcs are installed.

Above, the cabin top is screwed to the gently curving substructure for the first time.  This deviation from the flat top plan looks great to me.  In the previous episode I had issues that created a saddle shaped cabin top.  The multiple arcs provide the support necessary to create a uniform curve in the 3/8" plywood cabin top. 

The cabin hatch is shown in the closed position here.

In some cases it is easier to paint parts before installation than to paint them once installed.  When this is the case it is necessary to accurately mark and mask areas not requiring a finish.  With the cabin top screwed on it was time to go inside and mark the top underside epoxy joining areas.  These areas do not receive a finish to avoid compromising the epoxy bond.  My initial idea was to paint the top underside with the same off-white used on the interior.  Marking off the underside I noticed how much more visually interesting it is to see the off-white structure contrasted against the unpainted wood.  The underside top surface is slated to receive two epoxy coats before any finishing coats.  Much work can be saved by varnishing rather than painting the top underside and the end result will be much more visually pleasing! 

In the closed position, the hatch drip rail overhangs the inner coaming.  The white hatch collar will face against a housing mounted aft of the coaming.  These features should help exclude water from the interior.

 The beginnings of a washboard prevent interior entry.

Remove the washboard and open the hatch extends a welcome to the interior.

Top Side

Above are the frames and 1/4" plywood tops for the the main cabin hatches.  These are forward sliding hatches that will cover inner coamings.  Notice that the foreground ends are open to clear the coamings and that the tops will mate to the gently curving frame surfaces.

Above, the main hatch top has been installed and the exterior is covered with fiberglass fabric.  A green filler compound has been applied and is sanded to create a smooth surface by removing minor imperfections.  This repetitive process is known as fairing and will be applied to all the vessel's exterior surfaces.  It is fair to predict a sanding filled future for me.

Resting on the hatch is a length of thin plywood with 60 grit sandpaper attached to the underside.  This is known as a longboard or torture board by those who use them.  The longboard averages out the surface to take down the high spots and helps reveal the low spots for the next round of faring.  I have seen three men on one longboard fairing the surface of a larger vessel.

A collar was added near the main hatch open end after fairing.  The open end will slide into a housing that seats against the collar face to help exclude water from the interior.

A groove is cut on the underside edge of the hatch's open end.  The groove extends past the inner coaming end in the closed position.  This groove prevents water from bridging across and entering the interior.  Water will instead collect at the groove edge and drop off as an additional measure should any water makes its' way into the housing. 

Plan A and Plan B

In spite of previous experience; I hoped that the 3/8" plywood cabin tops would nicely conform to gentle bulkhead curve without requiring additional structure.  The resulting saddle shape was not meeting my ambitions.  Time for a plan B.

The plan B longitudinal stringers provided sub-marginal improvement in the saddle shape.

In the background can be seen the green forward locker lid part way through the fairing process.

Plan C1 and C2

 Transverse arcs are the great hope to achieve the plan C2 gently curved cabin tops.  This can not be tested until the arcs are painted and installed as they are presently held in place by screwed on wood scraps resting on the cabin side lips.  There is only a small area to epoxy the arcs to the cabin lips so loads applied while bending the top over the curves must be kept low to prevent bonding failures.  The 3/8" plywood top will be epoxied to the structural members.  My plan is to screw the top to each of the arcs starting in the center and working outward.  This will mostly confine the bending forces on the arc rather than the arc/lip bond.  I long to declare success with this method in a future episode.  Should this fail, there will be a significant mess to recover from.

In the background, aft cabin area, can be seen the main hatch inner coaming.  This is the structure the main hatch will slide over.

Plan C1 was to lighten things with arcs 3/4 of an inch thick.  This proved way too bendie for success.

Above is an arc in the raw form.  The pencil lines show the compound angle that must be measured and cut on each end of every arc.  The compound angle is cut on one end and then the saw is set up for the other end.  Laying out these cuts resulted in longer pieces than needed, but repeated cuts on one end with the same saw setting allows sneaking up on the correct length to seat the arc as needed.  Once seated, marks are made at the cabin lips to position the arc template for finishing with rough arc cutting and arc pattern routing operations.

Jam Rock Murals

Corozal has been spruced up with new murals.  I like the ones on the Jam Rock bayside bar.

I like the lady's eyes.

Another Top Side

The newly finished house in December 2016.  By 2020 it was starting to look tired and run down.

Newly finished house in June 2020.  The house looks larger and more imposing.  Why do this you might ask:

The East facing dormer has leaked since day one.  I cut holes below the dormer so the water could be caught as it poured in.  The dormer structure was rotting and other roof issues indicated it was time to do something.

The crew has installed a steel ridge beam as the wooden structure is removed.  The lumber and roofing materials were donated to a nearby Belizean who lives in a one room house with his wife and two kids.  He has a start on a second room expansion and he should be able to finish it with the donated materials.

The new roof is an all steel structure firmly anchored to the new concrete columns as well as steel structures surrounding the former dormer windows.  I have confidence it will do much better in a storm than the previous wooden structure.  The heavy wooden structure was pushing the walls out and creating a crack in a bathroom corner.  At this stage the house is a solar oven.  It later received R11 insulation that greatly deadens the deafening sound experienced in the old structure during rain storms.

The finished interior is a bit stark and sterile compared to the old structure, but someday contrasting paint on the partitions it will spark things up.  

This stitched together image is a bit distorted, but I'm greatly pleased with the revised deck living space.  It now features handrails as well as tongue and groove flooring replacing the splintery gapped floor boards.  I'll have to endeavor in finding furnishings to enjoy this space!

I heartily recommend LLP Constructors Ltd. (info.llpconstructors.com) for your construction needs in the Corozal area.  The crews are well equipped with good tools and a good work ethic.  The director, Peter Maurmann, is a Canadian national of proud German heritage with the German virtue of thoroughness.  His Belizean partener, Luis, is the site foreman.  He is a person with a stream of good ideas, always thinking ahead to keep the project moving.  Both are very pleasant and easy to work with.  Thanks Peter and Luis, my expectations were exceeded.

Hatching a Plan

Regular readers may be quick to notice something new and different on the forward ends.  If it is not obvious I will contain my disappointment, only to point out the newly constructed hatches for the forward lockers.  The new additions required more time and effort than I would have anticipated, but fret not for the details are soon revealed.  These hatches are larger than normally found on other examples of Tiki 26s.  The larger size is to accomodate a composting head in the starboard hull.  The hatches feature a gentle curve and form a double coaming.  Gentle curve is largely understood, but coaming coupled with double may impose learning on the readers.  I have only, just now, learned the correct spelling of coaming.

The hatch frames and tops received two coats of epoxy and a sanding before assembly.  The tops are 1/4" plywood bent over the frame's gentle curve.  Initially the frames did not have the three stringers extending from one curved end to the other.  The hatch tops took on the shape of a saddle without additional features to encourage the shape of a cylindrical section.  First, arc segments spanning the hatch width were applied to the top underside, but this arrangement did not change the saddle shape.  Next, the plywood was kerfed (parallel saw cuts almost through the material thickness) to encourage a bend following the curve.  One top panel shows the kerf cuts filled with green epoxy.  The only effective solution was to run the three stringers from one curved end to the other.  The stringer ends are reduced in thickness to clear the inner coaming allowing the hatch to seat against the outer coaming (learning: double = inner and outer).

Plywood forming a saddle shape over the curved forms was first observed with the cabin top trial fitting in the last episode.  Constructing the locker hatches will served as a pathfinder for applying corrections to the cabin top.  Curves applied to the various tops is a deviation from the flat tops detailed in the plans.  The flat tops seem crude and aesthetically unpleasing to my eye.  The locker hatches will serve as mounting locations for flexible solar panels.  The hatch stringers and curved shape will strengthen and stiffen the solar panel mounting substrates.

Double Coaming

Coaming is a surface intended to deflect water.  Double coamings are a proven method of producing water tight hatches without relying on a sealing material.  The water must take an unlikely tortuous path in order to reach the vessel's insides.  Above, the locker hatch is propped open over the head compartment. The compartment opening is surrounded by the taller inner coaming.  A 1/4" lip extends outward from the inner coaming top  to help deflect water from the inside.  The hatch seats against the much lower outer coamings spaced outside the inner coaming's perimeter.  

Water attempting to board the vessel must pass through a very small gap between the hatch and outer coaming, squirt across a gap to hit and travel up the inner coaming, then be redirected to the outer coaming by the inner coaming lip.  Water will lose energy at each of these encounters and then fall into the trough between the inner and outer coamings.  All bets on water tightness are off should the hatches be submerged.  A gap at the outer coaming's lowest points (image: lower and upper right) allows water to drain from the space between inner and outer coamings. 

The hatch requires a minimal gap when seated against the outer coaming to resist water intrusion.  Small holes are drilled through the coaming and hatch to accept green fishing line used to clamp the mating surfaces together as the epoxy sets between the deck and outer coaming.  This arrangement assured a minimal gap, flush outer surfaces and permitted thickened epoxy to be worked into the larger gaps between the deck and coaming.  The drilled holes are later epoxy filled by syringe injection.  Too much time and effort was spent attempting shape the coaming's face contour to match the deck when thickened epoxy is so forgiving with approximate fits.

The double coaming system creates narrow spaces that are not easily maintained or refurbished.  Care was taken to assure all areas are water proofed with a fiberglass covering.  Above the inner coaming side and surrounding trough area are water proofed.

Above edges of the outer coaming are fiberglassed.  For these narrow parts I find it easier to set the parts close together and cut a single piece of fiberglass fabric to cover them all in one operation.  The coamings received fiberglass on the three sides not in deck contact.  Once fiberglass is applied, no additional work can be performed with the part until the epoxy cures and the excess fiberglass is cut away the next day.

I have found that a sharp chisel is about the best way to clean up and flush out fiberglass overhang.

Hinges, latches, prop rods and screws are required to complete the hatches.  These items will have to wait until we exit the coronaverse.  Until then other things will receive my attentions.

Closing In

I've deviated from the plans in the cabin side installations.  The plans call for epoxy fillets to join the bulkheads to the cabin side corners.  Wooden cleats are installed in the corners instead to facilitate the next image's major feature.

A generous radius is applied to all exterior cabin corners.  The wooden cleats strengthen corners that would otherwise be compromised by cutting a large radius.  Radiused corners will give the boat a more finished appearance.  

The bulkheads received arced tops rather than the plan's flat tops.  The cabin roofs will have a gentle curve rather than a crude flat surface.  Cleats are fitted to the upper cabin sides so that they follow the bulkhead's top curve.

The square cut cabin side edges are planed off to flush up with the cleats and bulkhead top curves.

A tool box and bucket serve as stools while working on the outboard cabin sides.  This hull is against the wall.  The hull suspension was altered to provided working room between the wall and the hull.  The space limitation allowed only one outboard hull side to be worked on at a time.  The hull is rotated 90° and almost resting on the ground to improve access to the unfinished inside panel.    

The panels are joined together by an epoxy fillet later covered by fiberglass tape.  At this point the panel has received four sandings.  Two more sandings are required to produce a painted surface.  This is true for all the other the fiberglassed surfaces  I could go on to whine about sanding more, but I'll just leave this as a teaser to a subject covered more fully in earlier episodes.

Above the steps are provisions for a washboard.  A washboard is not used for laundry, its' function is to prevent water from washing in.  A quadrilateral wash board will slip into the openings groove and close up the boat's interior.

Above are the two inboard cabin sides are laid next to each other.  The lower one is an exploded arrangement of the washboard components.  The narrower spacer pieces determine the width and depth of the washboard groove surrounding the opening.  Notice that the groove will exist on the left and right sides, but not the bottom.  This will allow any water within the groove to drain out the bottom.  All surfaces within the groove are sheathed in fiberglass for waterproofing.  Both sides of the spacer pieces are fiberglass sheathed to widen the groove and give the washboard an easy slip fit.

The wide and narrow parts must be held in place on the panel and epoxied together before installation.  Clear plastic tape will prevent the parts from adhering to the plywood panel.

The epoxy squeeze out is scraped out of the groove before installation.

Cut off PVC pipe form filler radiuses in the groove corners.  The radiuses prevent water from pooling in the groove corners.  Fiberglass will later reinforce the butt joints on the faces of the wide corner joins.

I could not resist getting ahead of myself and cutting out the starboard cabin top.  It is hard to photograph in the shop's small space, but I think it looks quite rakish.  The main hatch remains to be cut out, but having a top will aid in the layout planning.  The 15th gallon of epoxy was consumed in reaching this completion stage.  The plans estimate that twenty gallons of epoxy are required to  finish the boat.  Thankfully, I have another five gallons of epoxy to apply and turn into sanding dust before it is time to go epoxy shopping.  

The State of Things

The virus has only recently made its appearance in Belize.  A Belizean returned from Los Angeles with the virus to become ill on the island of Ambergris Caye.  Her mother also became ill as a result, but these are the only known cases as of yet.  Those on the island are confined to the island for the time being.

This event caused an immediate change locally.  Most business are closed and face masks are common.  Some public transportation and some basic foodstuffs are not available, welcome to the coronaverse.  If this continues for long it will be very difficult for the average Belizean who faces struggles to make ends meet in the best of times.

Right away, Cuba sent sixty doctors to help Belize deal with the virus outbreak.  It appears U.S. state governors would get more action by lobbying Cuba for help rather than the always butt hurt, very stable jackass.  A full measure of my disgust is better suited for other venues.  

Belize Scooter Travel Advisory 

I was enjoying a scooter ride and the resulting breeze during a trip home with a grocery load.  I was taking it slow and easy as a dozen eggs in a bag would not survive a monster pothole encounter.  I was so focused on the potholes that I failed to notice a very large black snake crossing the road.  The snake reared up as I scootered close to only then enter my awareness.  MAJOR FREAK OUT!!!  Thankfully, the snake folded back on himself and returned to the bush.