Window frames are ready for windows

The window frames are finished and another job has  made it off of  my list.

Once I had all the Cherry window frames installed, I wanted to make sure all the window trim rings fit as they should. Im glad I did this, because I had to trim some of the frames to allow the trim ring to fit with the 1/8" clearance the manufacturer recommends. The window frames, like most other things, took up a lot more time than I would have estimated. I was also surprised that building the frames consumed a sheet and a half of Cherry veneer plywood. Only one frame made it in to the wood stove, so there was really no waste. The last time I bought Cherry veneer plywood was when I was building the cabins below decks two winters ago. I guess technology has allowed the plywood manufacturers to alter the veneer as this veneer is extremely thin. I dont even want to guess what fraction of an inch is, but one has to be very careful as sanding through it is not to hard to do. Because I was joining frames together using biscuits, it was critical that the frame faces were perfectly flush so that a light sanding with 220 grit would bring the two surfaces perfectly fair.

 

My system of using blocks, while a pain to install, looks like its going to work out good. If I were to do it over again, I would probably glue the blocks to the hull sheathing vs bolting them in place as I did. I had the chance to glue some blocks in place, and also the chance to remove some glued in place blocks. The glued in place blocks I did remove, split away in the wood instead of the glue failing at the hull sheathing. Id have no problem in the future of relying on a glue to metal joint in this application. Before gluing a block to the hull sheathing, I would recommend one scuffs the primer to give the glue something to grab. The biggest reason I wanted to use blocking was have a situation where I have no metal at all not covered with foam insulation. I have two small areas inside the super structure where the foam broke away from the flange due to my aggressive foam trimming, but that will easily be repaired when I foam the hull to super structure joint this spring. The only other place I have bare metal not foamed is the thickness of the hull skin at the window and door rough opening. Once the window is installed, it will be no bid deal at all to go back with a can of foam and seal this joint.

 The foam guy did a pretty good job overall, but the thickness of the foam was inconsistent at the window opening. While installing the windows, Ill have a roll of fiberglass insulation on hand so we can fill this gap. The metal is not exposed, but as you can see from the picture, the thickness varies. I want the maximum amount of insulation for a comfortable boat as much as I want to eliminate any chance of condensation.

I was going to temporally install the windows to see how they looked, but I soon realized that the more I handled them and had them out of the crate, the more they could get damaged. I had toyed with the idea of permanently installing the windows while the super structure is in the barn, but my gut tells me the move to the launch site and the work to land the super structure could jeopardize the windows.

The next project is building the cabinets for the galley. Im well into the cabinet job and am happy with the size and layout of the galley.

 

 

 

Cheers

Read More..

Ready to move

The day after we pulled the hull out of the barn, we moved the wheel house over to side of the barn with the now  modified door. The rest of that second  day was spent jacking the wheel house up high enough to allow our trailer to get underneath it.

Using a floor jack, the wheel house end of the super structure was  lowered down on to one of the 6x6s that were removed from modifying the barn door opening. 2" steel  pipes were first  placed under the 6x6. The aft side of the super structure was raised up enough to get pipes under it by using a block and a crow bar. For some reason, I thought Id be able to move the super structure by having  Shannon and I push on it. After about 5 seconds of pushing, we figured another source of power was going to be needed. The John Deere tractor we use to mow was the perfect tool for the job. We move the structure as far as the tractor would allow, then used the skid steer loader to bump it over the rest of the way from the other side.

Jacking the super structure up for the trailer to fit under it was pretty straight forward. Using the skid steer loader with a set of forks in the front, and a floor jack in the rear, it took about 4 hours of lots of moves to get the job done.

The nice thing about building in metal is how rigid the structures are and how things dont rack when you pull on them. When I hooked the tractor to the super structure on one end, and pulled, the whole structure moved.

The wheel house is ready to transport as is the hull. I spent the last weekend doing some work on the dolly, and tidying up the inside of the boat. We  had about three inches of rain the other day, and while we had spent some time taping and tarping openings in the deck of the hull, we  still got some water inside. The good  news is that all the water tight bulkheads are indeed water tight below the sole, the bad news is that I had to spend Sunday getting the bilges dry. Its really no big deal as this is still a construction project, and its not weather tight yet, but I hate seeing the weather getting to her.

I have the permit to move in hand, and for the most part I have the strategy were going to use to make it happen. The permit expires this Sunday, so the move has to happen between Wednesday and Sunday. So, this time next week, I should have both pieces down at the boat yard ready to join them together.

Cheers,

Read More..