PocketShip.net

That's really a question for John. I'm away from home and don't remember--does the manual call for fiberglass there? If so, then you should do it. In my own humble opinion though, if the shrouds and jib stay are properly adjusted the only force on the tabernacle comes from any bending of the mast, which is much less forceful than the moment forces you would get from an un-stayed mast. Bui I repeat, ask John Harris unless the manual calls for fiberglass on that bulkhead.

After reading about Pete McCrary's troubles with the tabernacle I did add some doubters (which John later roundly denounced) but they were to add more gluing area to the bulkhead-deck junction, not to strengthen the bulkhead. Again, though, if the shrouds and jib stay are properly adjusted the stress on the tabernacle is minimal. If, for example, a shroud breaks, no amount of strengthening will save the bulkhead. Personally I would rather have to replace the tabernacle than the mast or bulkhead.

For the benefit of other builders wondering about the advisability of fiberglass application to bulkheads (as in my question earlier in this thread), John H. of CLC says there is nothing to be gained by 'glassing bulkheads, including #2. From JH: "Those bulkheads just aren't under the kinds of loads whereby they'd benefit from a fiberglass sheathing."

My thanks to JH, the CLC crew, and all of you posting to the PS Forum - a spectacularly valuable source of info for us.

Mark

Just for the record. I did not fiberglass the bulkheads...

Several builders have advised delay on gluing cleats to floors and bulkheads until these pieces have been (1) epoxied, (2) sanded, and (3) wired or filleted (?) into the developing hull to ensure the cleat upper surfaces are all in the same plane to support the floor boards. This sounds like a great idea (even though the fitting of cleats to an installed floor / bulkhead will necessarily involve some trial and trim as others have observed) - although if the build cradle is placed on a flat surface and has no twist, I'd have thought the top surfaces of the floors would be in the same plane. Famous last words...

However, if I delay gluing cleats on bulkheads until after bulkheads are installed, how does one "clamp" the cleat to the vertical surface while the epoxy is curing. I can see the gluing of cleats to bulkheads is straightforward if the cleat is fixed to a top edge of the bulkhead, or if the bulkheads are on the work-table using weights and spring clamps - but once the bulkheads are installed, clamping of some cleats would seem a challenge. Any cleat I can glue onto a bulkhead while the plywood is on the bench while also being sure of its position would be a much easier glue job.

Also, it would seem smart to run lengths of cleat through a router table to give a gentle quarter-round treatment to one edge - also easire to do before the cleats are installed.

Thanks for advice,
Mark

I held off on attaching the cleats to the floors and bulkheads and I'm glad I did. It made filleting, glassing and particularly, sanding much easier. Fitting the cleats later wasn't difficult. When it came to attaching the cleats to the bulkheads I just used temporary drywall screws (spring clamps for the floors, of course). Filling the holes after removing the screws was an easy and small price to pay for the convenience of laying fillets and glass on surfaces unencumbered by cleats. As others have noted, do watch that the cleat on bulkhead 2 is miss-marked and will be about 1/2" too high if placed where indicated. Other than that, everything worked out accurately, but I was careful to make sure the form was level and the hull assembled without twist. The floors managed to lie on the same plane just as nice as could be.

Also, like you've observed. it is a good idea to round over each cleat's bottom outer edge before installing.

Although it went smoothly, I found that filleting glassing, and sanding in the bilge was the least fun part of the build. This is partly due to the fact that the operation has to be done so many times. Also, the work is uncomfortable. Picture kneeling and having to sand surfaces below where you're kneeling. Doing it with the cleats in the way would have been awful in my opinion.