REBUILDING MIDSHIPS, STARBOARD SIDE (1)

[bob mitchell]

       Well, four months of a winter carpentry job is done, got a little money in my pocket, so its back to work on the boat. The starboard side is a disaster - the first place to start is with the area around the engine ventilation entrance.

In the picture above you can see the vertical frames are somewhat deteriated. The broad board behind the vertical frames is the inner clamp, which is three layers of douglas fir that run the full length of the boat. This is the only spot that I found them deteriated. In right upper you can see a narrow board in front of the vertical frames that is the outer clamp. A for each vertical frame there is a horizontal deck beam end sitting on top of the inner clamps that the outer clamp covers.  All will be replaced. So for the rest of this segment I just copied an email I just sent to Clyde.

   

ha! I can see your humor has not. diminished! I have to say, about myself, I am probably a little wacko for doing this boat. With that understood, I, no we, will continue on. I am thinking Don Quiote.

            The inner clamp is problematical in the sense that, if you think about it, I can't really get to it with any "length" without out either sliding in from the back, where I might get ten feet, -but would have to undo the bulk head end and redo later, or just flat dis assemble the deck and structure. The problem with disassembling the deck structure to get to the deck beams to get to the inner clamp is that the front 5 feet (? or through the second window if headed aft) of the doghouse and deck beams are in good shape, so i am going to try not to disturb them. The main frame and deck beam replacement will ocurr around the engine ventilation area. That is also where the inner clamp, all three layers, are completely GONE for 2 feet. (and of course the outer clamp gets replaced for the whole side.) So it is a slide in from the "mechanical" room beneath the cockpit.  Just to refresh your memory, I have already installed a 5/4 high quality pressure treated pine board on the port side inner clamp - glued and bolted to the old inner clamp. I have also put the first length of that (starting aft) on the starboard side. It goes through the pilot house/engine compartment bulkhead (photo) a couple of feet, ready to be scarfed (10" scarf) into the next piece, which will back up the 3 new pieces of relatively short doug fir that I will scarf into the original inner clamp. The photo that is included is of the 5/4 going through the pilot house back bulkhead (if I can find it.) So where it goes through will have to have a ANOTHER slot cut so I can slide the new inner clamp pieces through. I might even slide the final front piece of 5/4 quarter through first. You talk about physical work!!!.

Once that is in place and the inner clamp is rebuilt, I will start on the rest. But I want to get that inner clamp rebuilt while I have the rest of the boat to shape it.

     The first photo is the area in question. The board that you see where the inner clamp should be is just a short length someone put there to cover the problem. The next ones show the original starboard clamp and the SLOT that I slid the 5/4 reinforcement through, and then the other side of the bulkhead, where the first reinforcement board stops, with prepared scarf (not yet in place), and then the reinforcement. The New slot through the bulkhead will be just like the old one, maybe a little wider. Then I will have to go back a rescarf the bulkhead plywood (but there are two layers) when I am finished installing new inner clamp pieces. Of course, all the "shelf bulkheads" forward will also recieve slots for new reinforcement.

     So there - you are up to date with plan and I have it clear in my mind what is going to happen in first phase.