Windows & Entrance

Here are the side windows for the boat.

I had these CNC cut which did not cost much more than the cost of the Acrylic. I simply emailed the DXF files and picked them up. The edges are polished and look great. I didn't trust myself to do a good job cutting them, so it is nice to know they are exactly the shape designed for the boat.

I then used the actual windows to mark out the hole.

Next job was cutting out the area which will become the hatch and entrance for the cabin.

Obviously, lots of care needed here, so I took my time using the multitool to get a nice clean and straight cut.

The pieces I cut out will be used to help form the sliding hatch and entrance panels.

Cabin continues

The outside of the cabin is now really taking shape. I used the laser level to get both sides of the cabin to match, and added an extra layer of ply on the inside to strengthen the chain plate area. Then the roof is placed on as two layers of 4mm ply to get the curve.

I thought I would add this photo after speculating in the previous post comments about how it will sail. The hulls are fairly slim with a 16:1 l/b ratio.

Starting the cabin

Time now to build the cabin. The process of getting the roof profile is tricky especially as I have to repeat it exactly for the next hull.

Going off the plans, I drew a grid and copied the intersecting locations on the grid to get the roof profile and then screwed two pieces of ply together to cut out a matching piece for the starboard hull at the same time.

I now have a lot of pieces ready to go for hull number 2. It will be interesting to see how much less time it takes.

With the cabin starting to take shape I can get a feel for how much room will be in there. There should be plenty of room for overnighting and more. It is probably the most space you could reasonably expect to have in an open deck cat this size.

The back

The aft deck has is now almost finished.

The Rudder gudgeons are fixed in place and the deck is reinforced for the beam loads. The beam mounts are not on yet. Because the hulls are not being built at the same time I might wait until both hulls are finished before adding the beam mounts so I can get the alignment exact. I will likely add an outboard mount to the inboard side here also, but it might wait also until the other hull is finished as it's location is partly dictated by the beam location.

Front deck

After at least a month of not being able to do any work, I have resumed the fun.

From this angle you could almost be fooled into thinking the first hull is complete. The truth is far from this.

I have mostly completed the decking of the bow area including the main beam area. The decking under the main beam mounts took quite a lot of time for not a lot of visible progress, compared to plain single sheet planking which is actually very fast. There is significant reinforcing to take the loads from the main beam here. I still need to take to the hard edges with the router but I'll wait for the rest of the decking and cabin before doing that.
I have left the hatch sitting in it's cut out mostly just to stop dust, screws and whatever else might be around from falling in there.

Hatch

I have prepared the port bow hatch.

I did some research on hatch types and sizes and thought about what kind of stuff I will be putting in here. This hatch is big enough for the anchor I have in mind and a bucket for chain etc. The locker will easily fit fenders and extra stuff also. I also put another small inspection port in the bulkhead aft of the locker to allow ventilation because there will be wet things in here. The starboard hatch will be identical.

The hatch is not actually mounted yet. This will happen once the deck is glassed and painted.

This photo shows the deck with measurements, ready to cut.

More Wood

I had a drive across town to get some more supplies.
What you see here is a few sheets of ply and some nice Mahogany which will be used for beam mounts and hatch trim.

This should be the last wood I need to buy for the boat!
I bought 3 more sheets of 4mm ply and 1 more sheet of 6mm. I have bought 1 more sheet of 6mm than stated in the plans and 4 more sheets of 4mm. I probably could have used 1 less sheet of 4mm if had been more efficient cutting for the rudders.

Also I have machined some more wood for framing for the Cabin and Deck.