Ray said:
>I am about to embark on two projects and would appreciate any advice.
<snip>
>>The second:
>
>I am planning to cut an access hatch for the area under the v-berth, on
>the starboard side of the boat, just in front of the porta-potti. Any
advice
>on doing this project. I am interested in hearing about how the cut was
>done and what was done to prevent the fibreglass "hatch" from falling as
>the cut was completed.
>
Hi Ray:
Funny you should ask - I just finished that project.>
1. Burrow in to the area under the V berth and determine exactly where you
want the hatch to be. You don't want it to simply provide access to the
poured in foam. Also decide how big - I went with the same size as the port
side hatch.
2. Trace the outline of the hole you want to cut on the V berth floor with
semi-permanent marker (Sharpie, i.e.). Visualize what you want to put in the
space and rethink until you are satisfied. Consider that the hull is not
level, and you may need a bigger hole to manuever whatever it is you want to
store into place than would first appear.
3. POINT OF NO RETURN. Open a beer, relax and let the whole project simmer
for a day or two before this step. Using a jigsaw with a metal cutting
blade, or a router, cut out the hole so that the removed portion is in one
piece. Go slow, stay on your lines and never move the cutting tool unless
you are balanced and have unrestricted vision (this is not so easy as it
seems). Remove the piece you just cut out.
4. Clean up the edges just enough to keep from scratching yourself when you
reach in. You don't want to enlarge the hole here.
5. Acquire some 1/8" by 1½" flat aluminium stock (cheap at Home Depot) and
some 3/16 x 5/8(grip range) aluminium pop rivets.
6. Cut aluminium so that 2 pieces are longer than the width of your new
hole, and 2 pieces just a little shorter. You are going to create a frame
from the the aluminium that protrudes ½" into your hatch hole on all 4
sides. The frame will be on the underside, so no backup plates are needed.
I used 7 rivets on the long sides and 5 on the short sides, spaced equally.
7. Drill 13/64" holes in aluminium ½ inch from one edge. Use aluminium as
a template to drill holes in V berth floor. Work from the center hole out
to the sides to reduce accumulated error. I found that sticking a pop-rivet
in the holes as I progressed aided in keeping the work lined up.
8. When all 4 pieces of aluminium are drilled and the matching holes in the
V berth also drilled, get out the old pop-rivet gun and squeeze away. When
the aluminium is pop-riveted to the V berth, the piece you cut out rests
securely in the hole, supported on all 4 sides by the ½" of aluminium that
sticks out. This will hold my 220 pounds easily.
9. Finally, cut a 1" hole at the appropriate place in the hatch lid as a
finger lift. Smooth up the hatch lid edges and replace the cushions.
10. Took me the about 6 hours in three 2 hour shifts. Cost less than 10
dollars, but I already had all the tools.
Feel free to ask for more details.
Hope this helps,
Mac Davis, Kelpie, WWP19#804, Aripeka, Fl