In readiness for completing the Dorade boxes I got the pieces for internal installation prepared. These are the cleats for fastening down the cabin roof over the boxes, and the blocking for the mooring cleats.
At this stage I simply gave them a clear coat of resin and rounded them over with a 1/4" bit on the router table when cured.
Here they are.
One day someone will look inside the Dorade boxes, and I don't want them to think that the builder did not pay attention to detail!
My timber pack provided more than enough Douglas Fir boards to make the cabin roof cleats. I managed to make all five cleats from just two boards, so I have spare stock for other parts.
I made the cleats 1 1/4" deep, allowing for enough to be planed off when levelling for the installation of the cabin roof.
I will apply a 3/8" round over before fitting, but for now here are the two cleats either side of the companionway on the rear cabin wall.
And here are the three cleats between carlins on the forward face of the cabin, on bulkhead 2.
Looking good!
While the Dorade box fillets were hardening to their terrible granite, sharkskin finish I switched to the easier task of making patterns for the cleats which support the cabin roof.
The build manual calls it a deck, but I won't be spending much time standing or sitting on it!
The patterns are easy to make. I clamped the sole remaining piece of scrap packing ply to bulkhead 2 and scribed in the curve, as here.
Here is the resulting pattern for the forward cabin wall, marked out. The upper, outside curve is being trimmed with the block plane.
And here is the lower, inside curve of the pattern being cleaned up with a rasp after cutting out.
Lastly, here are the three required patterns ready for use.
A quick and easy task, for a change!
When their tack welds were secure I pulled the wire stitches from the Dorade boxes and set about applying fillets, inside and outside the boxes.
This went quite well, using a 'pastry bag' to dispense the wood flour fillet mixture evenly.
Here is the starboard box with its external fillets.
And here are the internal fillets, on the inside of the box.
As usual and despite my best efforts, the fillets cured like roughly poured concrete. At least I know I have the right tools and techniques to reduce them to smoothly contoured joins ...
Satisfied that the Dorade boxes were wired in correctly I went ahead and fixed them permanently with tack welds.
Here is the port box with tack welds.
And just to be sure that the sides are aligned correctly, here is the pattern taken from the drawing on the inside of the box.
Looking good!
The next step with these Dorade boxes is the application and finishing of fillets, which as any reader knows is my least preferred activity of all time.
When the flanges for the locker openings in the seatbacks were fully cured I rounded them over on the inside edge with a 1/4" bit in the router.
Here is the starboard seatback on the bench, held up from the bench with pieces of ply to give clearance for the router bit. More pieces of ply of the same thickness as the flanges are laid on top of the seatback to provide a wide surface for the router to slide across.
It took a while to set up but the task was completed in minutes.
When the support blocks for the boom gallows tubes were well and truly cured I cleaned them up and glued them in place, secured by a temporary screw through the hull side to make sure they were in exactly the right position.
This is the port block glued in.
It looks a bit messy at the moment but it will tidy up nicely later.
