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Re: Bulkhead #2 Fiberglass?
Posted:
Tue Aug 26, 2014 10:00 pmby Bflat
Another mod I'm glad I did was to make the floor cleats on bulkheads 2 and 8 twice as thick as called for so that they stand out from those bulkheads more. This made screwing in the ends of the floorboards much easier. Otherwise the screws are very close to the ends of the floorboards (too close in my opinion). I made those cleats 1 1/2" instead of 3/4". I made them a little thicker in the vertical dimension as well.
Bob
Re: Bulkhead #2 Fiberglass?
Posted:
Wed Aug 27, 2014 9:56 amby craig
I wish I had waited to install the floor cleats as others have said. The perfect time is after tack-welding but before filleting, so you can filet around the cleat. I did wait to fit bulkhead 2 and 8 until after wiring into the boat so I wouldn't have any problem with placing these cleats too high.
Re: Bulkhead #2 Fiberglass?
Posted:
Wed Aug 27, 2014 10:14 amby Bflat
I actually did the filleting and glassing before installing the cleats. Not having the cleats in the way made the glassing and sanding in the bilge much easier.
Re: Bulkhead #2 Fiberglass?
Posted:
Wed Aug 27, 2014 10:49 amby truenorth
Oh, one last thing about cleats. If you're adding lift outs, you will need to add cleats to the other side of the floor. These don't need to go all the way across the floor, just enough to catch the lip of the plank for the sole. Onto these extra cleats, you will likely want to add latches or some other mechanism to keep the cleat down in the event of heavy heeling or, worst case, a knock down. In addition, you may want to make the cleats extra thick. I mention this now because it may help you plan the number of cleats, where to drill the planks, etc.
Re: Bulkhead #2 Fiberglass?
Posted:
Wed Aug 27, 2014 10:56 amby craig
Fiberglassing and sanding without cleats getting in your way would be fantastic. If you install the cleats last, make sure you leave a gap in your fillet against the floor where the cleat will eventual go. I didn't, and when I tried to install the cleat on bulkhead 2 and 8, was forced to cut the cleat shorter than I wanted to because the fillet prevented the cleat from abutting flush against the bilge panel.
Re: Bulkhead #2 Fiberglass?
Posted:
Wed Aug 27, 2014 1:02 pmby Bflat
craig wrote:Fiberglassing and sanding without cleats getting in your way would be fantastic. If you install the cleats last, make sure you leave a gap in your fillet against the floor where the cleat will eventual go. I didn't, and when I tried to install the cleat on bulkhead 2 and 8, was forced to cut the cleat shorter than I wanted to because the fillet prevented the cleat from abutting flush against the bilge panel.
I didn't leave any gap and it worked fine. Before installing the cleats I just filleted, sanded and glassed all the way. Later, shaping a radius on the ends of each floor cleat to match the fillets was super simple. A couple minutes with a block plane and it's done. The gap filling nature of thickened epoxy means a perfect fit isn't necessary.
Re: Bulkhead #2 Fiberglass?
Posted:
Wed Aug 27, 2014 3:54 pmby John in CC
truenorth wrote:John in CC, you don't 'glass over the top of the cleats. You stop the 'glass just below it - which is a complete PITA if the cleats are installed. So there's no worry about losing that support. The cleats there only support the sole. This was a tip I passed on from another builder. Another advantage of waiting is you can size the cleat to your build. There will be areas just longer, just shorter, just higher, etc and putting the cleats on later will help correct for that.
Note that in Jeff's photo, there's blue tape where he will use a razor to trim the 'glass. In other words, he's not 'glassing over the top of the cleat. And yes, Jeff's work is probably the most amazing in DIY boatbuilding history, not just PocketShip. Mere mortals will have to settle for less!
Sorry, I was thinking bulkhead when you said cleat earlier...and stayed confused : ) I understand now. That is a great idea along with the wider cleats at the ends to have a wider ledge to get the screws in. Thanks everyone!
Re: Bulkhead #2 Fiberglass?
Posted:
Wed Aug 27, 2014 5:04 pmby craig
bflat: good idea, I didn't think of that. Oh well, too late now.
Re: Bulkhead #2 Fiberglass?
Posted:
Wed Aug 27, 2014 9:42 pmby Bflat
I should probably add that before installing the bulkheads I did mark and cut the floor cleats so that the length and angle was established. I then labeled them and set them aside until the bulkhead/floors were installed, filleted, sanded and glassed. Then when ready to install I had to simply round the ends of each cleat to more or less match the radius of the fillet it would lie against.
Re: Bulkhead #2 Fiberglass?
Posted:
Thu Aug 28, 2014 10:59 amby John in CC
I just finished taking the bulkheads out, removing the cleats and reinstalled them. I will just use the full size plans to cut the new cleats before installing them. My two step ahead thinking needs a bit of sharpening : )