Day 312

Today was extremely warm for April, 23º so I made 2 long anticipated door frames. These will be the doors for the sail locker and the aft, both only 50" high. The frames in the bulkheads will hold the gasket, so these only need to seat inside those.

A flat surface is a big requirement to getting a water proof seal along the gasket. Because the frames are 3/4" stainless steel angle, they maintain a good rigidity over that sort of length.

They wouldn't be good for submarining or holding back tons of water, but in the case of inundation by being holed or having a window pop out, they should suffice for a while. Better than an open hole I always thought.

I made the curve as before with angle by notching out 5 gaps to allow the bender to make a clean curve. Care had to be taken that after bending, the angle was still 90º and each tab was more or less level with the frame. Tapping with a hammer corrected any problems ( and there were a few! )

As can be seen in the tall photo, the frames came out beautifully.

I tryed out the belt sander on the outside corners with just a regular 120 grit belt and it made the stainless have an almost smooth brushed appearance. Very nice to look at. I may make that the finish.

Inside the frame will be a glued and screwed piece of plywood. The surface going to the aft stateroom on both sides will be oak. The forward door will have the white FG panel on the locker side as it is waterproof for a moist area. That door will likely be closed most of the time.

The remaining 2 doors will have the gasket in the door frame, but those will be done another day.

Gena kept busy today pulling some drain pipe through past the engine to the sump. This is part of the line that comes from the chain locker. She also cleaned out the port side fuel tank and resealed the access hatch. We should never need to get in there again! More wiring was added for the hot water heater area and lines to the dash etc. I'm going to have to draw out a big wiring diagram one of these days before we forget what's what!

Also Gena screwed down the last of the floor aft after running the rudder position indicator wire through along side the hydraulic lines.

Finally, the top of the fuel tank was coated with blue stuff in preparation for putting the floor back down for good.

Day 312:
7 hours - Made 2 door frames for water proof bulkheads, wiring under port floor and aft, drain pipe installed