77. Further Foredecking
With the scribed ply scrap from the
previous month the final shape of the windscreen end of the subdeck can
be cut and fitted. My initial intention was to take the area between
the screen and bulkhead B in a single stretch, one on each side meeting
in the midline. But the cut-out for the hatch made that a bit awkward.
So, instead, a single piece of ply was shaped to cover each side
between the screen and bulkhead C. From the outboard end of the screen
to the gunwale the subdeck straddles the gap between the carling and
the sheer clamp, but, as the screen has been pulled back from bulkhead
C laterally, there is no structure on which to secure the trailing edge
of the
forward section of subdeck where it meets the side deck aft of it. That
could be
overcome with a butt strap, but it is just as easy to terminate the
pre-screen subdeck at screen level overlying the carling, and continue
the sheer-to-carling
section of side deck right through from bulkhead D to bulkhead C.
The cut-out is copied onto the subdeck (left), and the subdeck is applied to the stringers, allowing the lateral part to come
right up to the level of the dash bulkhead (C) and terminating the pre-screen piece over the carling.
The boat now has about half of its
subdecking either glued or screwed down, and the rest should be
relatively straight
forward.
View over the foredeck (left), and rear deck.
That is the end of my decking supply. It is obvious now, that I am going to have to get some more 6 mm. ply, probably two sheets. There is plenty of 9 mm. left over, so the instructions with the plans have to be taken with a grain of salt. I would suggest ordering at least one less sheet of 9 mm. and two or three more of 6 mm. for this boat.
Top of Page
78.
Securing
the Screen and Column The cut-out is copied onto the subdeck (left), and the subdeck is applied to the stringers, allowing the lateral part to come
right up to the level of the dash bulkhead (C) and terminating the pre-screen piece over the carling.
Repeating the exercise on the
other side completes the pre-screen subdeck, and fills the gap between
carling and sheer on both gunwales.
View over the foredeck (left), and rear deck.
Here, the piece between the forward hatch
and the dash bulkhead is added.
While I am filling up the spaces
in the foredeck I am left some spare pieces of ply, which I am using to
continue the rear subdeck.
That is the end of my decking supply. It is obvious now, that I am going to have to get some more 6 mm. ply, probably two sheets. There is plenty of 9 mm. left over, so the instructions with the plans have to be taken with a grain of salt. I would suggest ordering at least one less sheet of 9 mm. and two or three more of 6 mm. for this boat.
Top of Page
In order to secure the steering column, the outer
stainless tube must be fixed in two spots: the hole through the dash
bulkhead, and the attachment to the windscreen. So, the first step was
to devise some way of holding the windscreen. Its lower frame abuts the
buttress segments which I attached to the deck stringers, but it is not
yet fixed there. It is permissible to screw in from the cockpit
side
of the frame to the buttresses, as they meet at an oblique angle which
means
that you are not screwing into end grain, but it is not far
off at that angle, so the screws have to be positioned so as to allow
the
deepest grip possible.
The front end of the windscreen bottom frame rests against its buttresses.
Counterbored screw holes are cut with a brad point drill for a clean edge. A conical plug of the
same nominal diameter as the bore will later be used to fill the holes.
Until the plugs are glued in I protect the edge of the bore with tape.
The front end of the windscreen bottom frame rests against its buttresses.
Counterbored screw holes are cut with a brad point drill for a clean edge. A conical plug of the
same nominal diameter as the bore will later be used to fill the holes.
Until the plugs are glued in I protect the edge of the bore with tape.
Once the windscreen is fixed in
position against the deck stringers, the permanent angle of the
steering column can be decided. In the old boats a delightful shaped
bracket was used to attach the column to the screen bottom frame, but
until such time as I can get my hands on one of those, I will make do
with a U-bolt arrangement clamping onto the forward side of the frame,
so that
the cockpit side of it can be used later if a genuine one can be
found. As this
is much easier to do without the deck on, you can see why the subdeck
has not yet been glued down.
The column itself is a beautiful
piece of engineering from D H
Porter. The shaft is bronze, and flares
out to house the taper of the helm, onto which it screws and is further
held in with grub screws.
Its top end is tapered to accept the wheel, and a polished stainless
steel tube fits over it, holding bearings at top and bottom ends.
The steering shaft and helm, with and without the tube.
The steering shaft and helm, with and without the tube.
Temporary wheel attached.
The helm is bolted to the
mounting plate, and the mechanism is held in a vise to check for
alignment and fitting problems, of which there are none.
The dummy steering column is
now reattached to the windscreen and bulkhead to take the angle
reading on a sliding bevel. The angle is transferred onto the sides of
the mounting box, and a table of the drill press is inclined to the
same angle, to cut a holding block for the column's tube. This will be
mounted in the motor compartment, glued to the bulkhead, and will clamp
around the tube where is passes through the bulkhead.
The holding block is slipped over the steering column tube, and box sides are constructed around it.
The holding block is slipped over the steering column tube, and box sides are constructed around it.
The box is enlarged to incorporate heavy sides which will be attached to the dash bulkhead along with
the support block.
To enable access to the inside
of the box the top of it will only be screwed down, not glued.
Especially as it will be necessary to disassemble the helm from its
mounting plate if I ever need to remove the column in the future.
Because of the flare on the shaft it will not be able to be pulled back
into the cockpit. It will have to come out into the motor compartment.
The holding block is next
removed and fixed to the cockpit side of the dash bulkhead to act as a
guide for the hole saw to cut through at the correct angle, and a hole
is made in the bulkhead. The block is then replaced onto the motor
compartment side of the bulkhead and screwed in, and the shaft tube is
introduced.
The holding block for the tube is attached to the dash bulkhead.
The holding block for the tube is attached to the dash bulkhead.
The steering column was fed up
from the motor side and the wheel was attached to it. The column was
then screwed onto the
helm which was already bolted to the mounting box. A trial assembly of
the helm with the rack of the steering cable showed that it was a very
tight fit, so the helm was rotated 20° towards the rack to
help with the fitting. Eventually the rack was able to be bolted onto
the helm, with absolutely no slack - a situation which owed as much to
luck as management, as I had not foreseen the length of the mounting
box
when I ordered the cable. But it all works smoothly now, and the wheel
can be seen peeping above the screen.
The still topless mounting box is added.
Then the rack is bolted on to the helm.
...and the steering system is finally fully functional.
Then the rack is bolted on to the helm.
...and the steering system is finally fully functional.
To lock the tube in position and
prevent it from rotating, a threaded bolt is fed into the holding
block. A suitably shaped dowel is at the bottom of the hole, and as the
bolt is tightened it drives the dowel onto the tube, like a poor man's
grub screw. The box top is fitted too, and the box is coach screwed
through the bulkhead, and epoxied with the column engaged to ensure a
proper alignment.
The tightening bolt is accessible from the bottom of the box (left), and the mechanism is replaced right way up onto the bulkhead (right).
The tightening bolt is accessible from the bottom of the box (left), and the mechanism is replaced right way up onto the bulkhead (right).
79. Laying Out the Dashboard
My plan for the dashboard is to have a false
front made up of the same lining timbers as the cockpit, in the centre
of which there will be a console for the instruments and gauges. This
will be thrust out at an angle to the bulkhead and will be contained
between two sides, emulating the central console of some cars, but not
nearly as invasively into the driving compartment. Beneath the visible
instruments and gauges will be a hinged door which can be opened to
reveal the fused switchboard which will operate the domestic circuits.
The fused switchboard, which
can be mounted either horizontally or vertically. The unsympathetic look of the
stereo console can also be hidden behind the door, as can any digital
equipment. The latter may be necessary for such pieces of equipment as
battery condition meter and high capacity voltmeter. I have not ever
seen any attractive analogue voltmeters which read above 32 volts, and
the minimum
necessary for this boat will be 24, with possibly 48 in the future.
Mind you, I suppose that voltmeters are not really vital parts of the
equipment. They are not accurate enough to be more than coarse
indicators of battery life, so by the time they begin to show any
deterioration in voltage the battery is heavily discharged anyway.
Still, it is nice to have them to reassure you of the fully charged
state. True battery condition monitors, on the other hand, can indicate
accurately how many amp hours remain, and so act as a kind of fuel
gauge for electric vehicles. The down side is that they tend to be very
expensive. Battery condition monitors sometimes come with alarms to
notify you of a predetermined state of discharge, but these are more
likely to be necessary for cranking batteries so that you can preserve
enough power to restart your engine.
But that is off the point: the task now is to design an instrument cluster which will be permanently visible on the dash board. That means meters for each system, domestic and propulsion, which will be at different voltages, and a scattering of switches and buttons which bypass the distribution panel. These latter include the keyed "ignition" switch, the horn push button, possibly cabin light switches, bilge pump, etc. They will all fit into a grouping at the top of the dash console, and their mounting board will be attached to the front of the dash bulkhead which will have an opening cut into it for the depth of the gauges to fit through. The board will be mounted at an angle sloping out towards the cockpit as it descends. The slope will not be great, but sufficient to mark a definite difference from the dash bulkhead.
So now, the position of the cluster board is decided, and its slope is determined by trial and error, and the board is made up with sides which hold the angle and attach to the bulkhead. At this stage I do not have the actual gauges which I will use, so I do not know their precise dimensions, but most of the small gauges are in the 52 mm. to 54 mm. diameter range, and the big ones about 86 mm. I will make up a temporary board to hold the configuration I expect to use, making allowance for the other switches and buttons, and screw this only to its sides and attach it to the bulkhead.
The mock instrument console is positioned
The skeleton of the central console is made up, using the same flare angle as the mounting board sides will have, and wide enough that a covering plate of mahogany can frame the instruments and continue downwards to become an opening door which has enough room behind it to be able to house the stereo, etc.
The mounting board sides sitting inside the side frame members of the console, which just clear the central segment of sole.
The console then has to be able to clear the central section of the sole, to allow for that sole segment, which covers the shaft seal, to be lifted for access to that compartment.
There are few photos of the dash in traditional boats, but of them the Freebody design is the stand-out winner:
Beneath the instrument cluster will be the stereo console, but because of its protrusion at the front its mounting board will have to be more deeply placed than the board for the instruments. So a separate board section is used, with its cut-out centred between the sides.
But that is off the point: the task now is to design an instrument cluster which will be permanently visible on the dash board. That means meters for each system, domestic and propulsion, which will be at different voltages, and a scattering of switches and buttons which bypass the distribution panel. These latter include the keyed "ignition" switch, the horn push button, possibly cabin light switches, bilge pump, etc. They will all fit into a grouping at the top of the dash console, and their mounting board will be attached to the front of the dash bulkhead which will have an opening cut into it for the depth of the gauges to fit through. The board will be mounted at an angle sloping out towards the cockpit as it descends. The slope will not be great, but sufficient to mark a definite difference from the dash bulkhead.
So now, the position of the cluster board is decided, and its slope is determined by trial and error, and the board is made up with sides which hold the angle and attach to the bulkhead. At this stage I do not have the actual gauges which I will use, so I do not know their precise dimensions, but most of the small gauges are in the 52 mm. to 54 mm. diameter range, and the big ones about 86 mm. I will make up a temporary board to hold the configuration I expect to use, making allowance for the other switches and buttons, and screw this only to its sides and attach it to the bulkhead.
The mock instrument console is positioned
The skeleton of the central console is made up, using the same flare angle as the mounting board sides will have, and wide enough that a covering plate of mahogany can frame the instruments and continue downwards to become an opening door which has enough room behind it to be able to house the stereo, etc.
The mounting board sides sitting inside the side frame members of the console, which just clear the central segment of sole.
The console then has to be able to clear the central section of the sole, to allow for that sole segment, which covers the shaft seal, to be lifted for access to that compartment.
There are few photos of the dash in traditional boats, but of them the Freebody design is the stand-out winner:
Freebody at right.
The permanent mounting board for
the gauges and switches is now screwed to the side frames, which are in
turn screwed to the console frames, and the structure is temporarily
stuck to the bulkhead.
Beneath the instrument cluster will be the stereo console, but because of its protrusion at the front its mounting board will have to be more deeply placed than the board for the instruments. So a separate board section is used, with its cut-out centred between the sides.
The board is placed up against
the console to get an approximate outline for the aperture which will
have to be cut into the bulkhead to allow the passage of the equipment.
It is trimmed to width and
fitted into slots cut into the side frames
28 mm. behind the instrument board so as to allow the 25 mm. protrusion
of the fascia to be closed behind the door which will cover it. The
distribution panel too has to be set back, but not by as much as the
stereo, so the best place to fit it is above the stereo.
In the meantime, seeing the spaghetti coming out of the back of the stereo has reminded me that there is more wiring to be done in the cockpit. I have added a length of conduit across the back of bulkhead E, in the rudder compartment, and then back into the cockpit on the starboard side to take the speaker wiring. There is provision for four speakers so eight wires are fed down the conduits to emerge into their appropriate spaces.
A conduit runs through the rudder compartment (left), and wires emerge on the port side of the cockpit (right).
Labelling identifies this wire as the starboard forward speaker cable.
Both of these consoles now lie
at a level which will allow a door to close over them.
In the meantime, seeing the spaghetti coming out of the back of the stereo has reminded me that there is more wiring to be done in the cockpit. I have added a length of conduit across the back of bulkhead E, in the rudder compartment, and then back into the cockpit on the starboard side to take the speaker wiring. There is provision for four speakers so eight wires are fed down the conduits to emerge into their appropriate spaces.
A conduit runs through the rudder compartment (left), and wires emerge on the port side of the cockpit (right).
The scene in the
motor compartment is now beginning to look like a severed wrist, so it
is a good idea to label the wires at both ends.
Labelling identifies this wire as the starboard forward speaker cable.
I am adding an exit conduit in
the rudder compartment for wiring for a detachable navigation light,
and for a small cabin light inside the compartment in case I need to
work on the rudder or steering in the dark.
The protrusion of the dashboard
hardware requires holes to be cut into the bulkhead. After they are,
and the dashboard is fitted up against the bulkhead, the stereo is
lying quite close to the motor, where is may be damaged by water or
oil, so an enclosure on the motor side of the bulkhead seems like a
good idea, but I will wait until all the dashboard instruments are in
place before building it. In the meantime, I frame the covered
compartment of the dash ready to have its door added.
The stereo and
distribution box poke into the motor compartment.
Before and after framing the enclosure
of the dashboard.
All that now remains to be
fitted in the dash console, apart from the door and cover, is a battery
switch. It can be conveniently located in the lowest compartment, below
the stereo, where its depth will not be a problem. That also makes it
very close to the battery terminals so that the cable run will be kept
to a minimum. There is probably no need for a four way battery switch,
as I do not intend to run the boat on separate banks of batteries, but
it will give me the flexibility to change later if I want to. I am keen
to get one which will handle 48 volts though, as I am leaning more
towards operating at that rating. The system I am looking at is one of
the Blue Sea ones. There are mini (m
series) and compact (e series) models which will do the job. The
advantage of the mini, which is 3" x 3" instead of 4" x 4", is that it
may leave room for other devices to be mounted next to it. The motor I
am using, the Perm PMG 132, runs on a continuous current of 110 amps,
with a 10 minute capacity to handle 200 amps. Both of these battery
switches will easily accommodate such low current flows, although the
motor's stall current of nearly 1000 amps at 48 volts would fry them
both. Clearly, some creative fuse placement will be needed. Besides,
there will be a motor controller between the switch and the motor which
will act to regulate the current as well. Unfortunately, the only
retailer of the four way mini switches in Australia is Outback Marine
in Queensland, and I can't get them to respond to emails requesting a
price, so I have settled for the e series model 9001e from the local
dealer, Whitworths Marine.
These devices can be mounted in
front of or behind the fascia panel. Because of the depth of the
switch, which was too much to allow a door to close over it if mounted
in front, I cut a hole in the panel to mount it behind. Not owning a 92
mm. hole saw, I did it by drilling numerous holes around the perimeter
of a drawn circle, and joining them up. The opening then needed to be
smoothed out into a true circle, and also flared so that it was
slightly wider behind than in front, because of the slight slope of the
switch's side wall. Next time I will buy a hole saw!
The start of the 92 mm. hole for the battery switch.
The start of the 92 mm. hole for the battery switch.
The panel was then applied to
the dash bulkhead to mark the cut-out, and the switch was squeezed
through the opening in both bulkhead and dashboard, leaving its
connecting terminals very close to the batteries, which is ideal.
The battery switch in the dash console.
The switch emerges into the motor compartment underneath the stereo.
The battery switch in the dash console.
The switch emerges into the motor compartment underneath the stereo.
All that now remains of the dash
work is to add the gauges and switches in the top panel, and fit the
covering door and frame. Yet another hole will have to be cut into the
bulkhead for the gauges, and a scheme for the joining up of the wiring
will have to be devised, but all that can wait. Now that the console is
in place the cockpit will remain the focus of attention in March, as it
is time to secure the sole permanently.
Back
to Ariadne front
page
Back to Monthly Progress chart
Back to January '06
Back to February '06
Back to March '06
Back to April '06
Back to May '06
Back to June '06
Back to July '06
Back to August '06
Back to September '06
Back to October '06
Back to November '06
Back to December '06
Back to January '07
Back to February '07
Back to March '07
Back to April '07
Back to May '07
Back to June '07
Back to July '07
Back to August '07
Back to September '07
Back to October '07
Back to November '07
Back to December '07
Back to January '08
Problems shows higher resolution shots as well.
Back to Monthly Progress chart
Back to January '06
Back to February '06
Back to March '06
Back to April '06
Back to May '06
Back to June '06
Back to July '06
Back to August '06
Back to September '06
Back to October '06
Back to November '06
Back to December '06
Back to January '07
Back to February '07
Back to March '07
Back to April '07
Back to May '07
Back to June '07
Back to July '07
Back to August '07
Back to September '07
Back to October '07
Back to November '07
Back to December '07
Back to January '08
Problems shows higher resolution shots as well.