With the top part of the aft cabin in place its time to start working on the framework for the bulkhead that separates the aft cabin from the cockpit.
This is an important bulkhead because it supports the aft end of the cockpit. Under the cockpit floor is the fuel tank and battery storage. These are heavy items that need to be very well secured, and the bulkhead is an integral part of the structure.
Ply for the port side section of the bulkhead shaped to fit
Port side also shaped
Framing for the bulkhead
I spent a couple of hours measuring and checking to get the height and level of the central horizontal beam.
The height of this beam is crucial because it sets the position of the cockpit floor. It must be high enough to fit the fuel tank underneath, but low enough so that there is head room under the boom end while in the cockpit. From anecdotal stories, I think that being hit in the head by the boom is one of the biggest killers / injury makers on sailing boats. The biggest seems to be falling off the boat.
Thoughts on tools
One of my favourite tools is the plumb bob. An ingenious simple device that give you a guaranteed vertical line. Of course, the trick is to make sure the boat is level. I have an old one of my fathers that is as good as the day it was made.
A really nice piece of gear
This by contrast is a really crap piece of machinery. The saw blade is not square to the table, the fence is not square to either the table or the saw and there is so much play in the mountings that its impossible to get it right. Never mind, the price was right and it does the job … sort of.
Not a good piece of gear