Cockpit

I started on the cockpit seats Friday December 8. There have been a number of informal sketches of the cockpit on scrap paper and restaurant napkins but I basically make it up as I go.

The first step was to figure out where to start and what was level, etc. I used a carpenter's level and also the cheap laser level from Home Depot that I bought to scribe the waterline on the outside of the hull. I set up a 2X4 frame with C-clamps and sheetrock screws and tweaked this frame and measured, measured, measured.....for about a day. I discovered several departures from "symmetry" of up to half an inch both in my work and in the original factory built parts of the boat. I eventually had reference 2x4's that established the location of the proposed seats that was "mostly level, mostly centered, pretty symmetrical", etc.

I measured and cut the bulkheads and held them temporarily in place with a few gobs of Bondo. Then I measured the kick panels, shelves, and seats and cut them out of 1/2 inch, certified plywood from Home Depot. I used 1x2 framing that was glued to the plywood and by this evening, after about three days work, the seats are roughed in as the last picture shows. The next step is to remove the seat "modules" and clean up the inside of the hull with sanders and brushes. Then the seat modules will be set back into the hull and taped to the hull with fiberglass tape and epoxy.