Hi,
While I am waiting for the plywood to arrive ... I have two questions. Firstly, there are a couple of things that puzzle me in regard to the floorboards. If these boards are screwed down and the screw holes (might) get counterbored and plugged, why would the boards not be treated with epoxy ? Sure, oil is nice, but you never get back to the underside of the boards to re-oil them after some time. Also, should there not be a dab of silicon/sealant over each screw hole ( between board and cleat ) during the final install ? Otherwise, capillary action will make sure that any water ( spills or otherwise ) will get in and stay between the cleat and the floor board for long enough to work itself along one or two of the 100+ screws into the wood ( unprotected from pre-drilling ).
The second question is about the Dorade boxes. I'd like to 'convert' them into storage by running a 1/2" PVC pipe through the bottom of the boxes to take care of the fore-deck drainage. A new floor for each box will then cover these pipes. The question is how big can a make the cut-outs in bulkhead 2 without worrying about strength. Ideally, I would like to leave no more than 1-1/2" to 2" rim. I will, of course, put in a doubler around that larger opening inside the box.
Cheers,
Peter