Acrylic Drop Boards | Fitting Out

With the drop board retainers now installed I thought it was time to finish off the acrylic drop boards and get them ready for use - whenever that might eventually be.

Fist of all I quickly dropped the boards into the companionway to make sure the parts still fitted properly.

They did and here they are.

Next came refitting the Sapele flange which seals the two drop boards when in place. I dry fitted the flange and taped up to control squeezed out sealant, like this,

Then came installation. I was so intent on making a good job of it that I neglected to take any pics. But it seemed to go OK.

Next day I checked and was disappointed to find air pockets in the sealant. This is one of them, after removal of the flange.

There was one such air pocket between each pair of fastenings.

I had used spring clamps to squeeze the drop board and the flange together while I tightened the fastenings, forcing out the sealant and creating what I thought looked like a good joint.

In hindsight I could see that the board and the flange had separated slightly when the clamps were removed, sucking air into the voids between the fastenings.

So the clamps were overkill. So now I know.

The flange was removed and everything was cleaned up ready for a second refit.

This time I made sure to use only the fastenings to close the joint, and double checked that it was full of sealant.

All went well this time. Here is the finished article.

Next was connecting the upper drop board to the companionway slide.

The slide was already fitted with a hasp, but I needed a second staple to fit to the upper drop board.

This meant buying a second hasp assembly, which I did to ensure that the fittings matched.

Here we are marking up the new staple on the drop board.

Holes were carefully drilled in the drop board and the staple fitted. Here is the completed hasp fitting.

That looks good.

And finally here are the completed acrylic drop boards in place in the newly fitted retainers.

She is starting to look quite smart again!

Drop Board Retainers | Installation

With the companionway slide complete and ready for installation, it was time to fit the drop board retainers.

First I test fitted the retainers to make sure everything was the right way round and fitted properly.

Here they are, temporarily  fastened in place.

I also test fitted the slide and the drop boards, for the same reasons. Here they are.

All was well and looking very nice indeed!

I decided to apply the sealant to the cabin wall, and taped to prevent too much mess from squeeze out.

Here is the port side, ready to go.

Plenty of sealant was applied and both retainers were soon in place. Looking like this.

I'm pleased with how they turned out.

Excess sealant was removed from the inner slot with thin wooden spatulas fashioned from ice cream scoops. This is them.

They worked really well, with plenty of methylated spirits to wipe off the remainder.

Another task ticked off the list...

Companionway Slide | Fitting Out

Like the mainsheet block, I had not taken the time to fit out the companionway slide because there was no actual hurry, but with time on my hands I decided to do so.

First to be fitted were the slide runners, fastened in place with bronze wood screws and using plenty of sealant.

Here they are, with the slide upside down for access.

I described in a previous post how I cleaned up the edges of the slide runners, including rounding over the forward corners. Like this.

And here is the slide right way up with runners in place.

Next came the hasp for securing the drop boards. Here it is installed on the rear face of the slide.

This is it, in close up.

The hasp connects to a staple on the upper drop board, so that was fitted next. This is it.

And again in close up.

The final item for installation was the rubber bumper which I originally fitted to stop the forward face of the slide from banging up against the front of the companionway hood.

This is it.

So, that's it! The slide awaits installation and is back inside the house, for safekeeping.

Mainsheet Block | Installation

The mainsheet ratchet block had been ready to fit for some time, but I didn't get around to doing it because it wasn't on the critical path for anything.

So, in between other tasks I eventually decided to fit the block.

You might recall that the block has to be fitted to a separate pad on the cockpit deck, which spans the centreboard case. This is because the base of the block itself is very narrow and would require fastening from inside the case, which is obviously not possible.

So here is a view of the underside of the support pad, with the foot of the block fastened in place in its recess.

I have used butyl tape to seal the block fastenings inside the recess, to prevent water ingress.

Next the pad was secured in place on the deck. Here it is with plenty of sealant to bed it down, and using a metal rule to hold the machine screw heads in place.

The rule is held in position with lumps of Blue Tack while the Nyloc nuts are tightened from below deck.

That was quite straightforward. Here is the block, finally installed.

Another tick off the To Do list!

Acrylic Drop Board Edges | Polishing

Like the previous post this activity is more about finishing than material progress, but it is still important...and it's fun!

The acrylic drop boards which I made a long time ago have the same flaw as the slide runners - their edges show saw marks from when they were cut out. Which are unsightly.

So I determined to polish them up.

First I tested the process on the acrylic portholes which were supplied with the kit, but unused due to being replaced with Vetus portlights.

Here is the test.

That went well so I then tackled the drop boards.

First I edge sanded them with the machine sander P180/220/280/320/400. Like this.

That produced a good edge, which I then wet sanded with a P400 grit to get a nice, smooth, flat, matt edge.

Success. That will do nicely for final fitting.

Companionway Slide Runner Edges | Polishing

I can tell we are approaching the final stages of the build when I start to write posts about things which are really finishing activities - maybe even snagging.

Cleaning up the runners for the companionway slide is one such activity. I wanted to do this before refitting them to the slide, which is imminent.

The runners are made from a hard and slippery material called Star Board - honestly - and they work just fine but their outer edges show blade marks from when they were cut. Which I dislike.

So I set about removing the marks with the sander, using successive P180/220/280/320 and 400 grits.

Like this.

Then I wet sanded the edges with a P400 grit until they were a smooth, matt finish.

Like this.

They turned out really nice so I set them aside to await installation.

Drop Board Retainers | Touching Up the Back Plate

I had been aware for a long time that the flange inside the companionway that supports the inner faces of the drop boards would require finishing.

The build manual does indeed call this piece a flange, which of course it is, but I have been calling it the drop board back plate, so that's what it is for the purpose of this blog.

It had been primed when the upper hull was painted, but never glossed.

So I wet sanded it with a P400 grit and applied three coats of white gloss, wet sanding P400 between coats.

I thought three coats would be plenty, given that it is always under cover.

Here it is after the final coat.

And here is a close up of a corner.

It turned out really nice. We're getting there!