The Gougeon Brothers on Boat Construction - WEST SYSTEM Epoxy

326 Later Production Steps
Teak veneer
Cap
Plywood panels
Teak fiddle rail
Resin-impregnated
honeycomp paper
Adhesive flow of the epoxy mixture forms
fillets up the walls of the paper honeycomb
Figure 26-19 Sections through the countertop and cockpit
sole showing core construction.
of the floor permanently to the hull has helped locate
the floor as low as possible within the hull cavity. <strong>The</strong>
permanent floor also has great potential to contribute
structurally to the overall strength and stiffness of the
hull itself.
Obviously, portions of the floor must be removable to
afford complete access to the bilge. This accessibility is
important both for cleaning and for repairing any
damage that might occur. As a minimum guideline, you
should be able to reach every part of the bilge with
your hand when extending your arm through all available
openings in the floor. With narrow, deep hulls,
only a small percentage of the floor needs be removable.
(See Figure 26-20.) Wide, flat hulls, however, may
require that a substantial portion of the floor be removable
to permit suitable access to the bilge.
We feel that floors should be complete and integral
enough to keep general debris out of the bilge. Not
only is refuse difficult to clean out of the bilge, but it
can do a marvelous job of clogging bilge pumps. This is
at best an aggravation, and at worst it is potentially
dangerous. <strong>The</strong> lift-out portions of the floor should fit
well with proper hold-down systems to keep them
snugly in place—this will facilitate keeping the floor
area clean. You should leave a minimum gap of 1 ⁄16"
Figure 26-20 <strong>The</strong> forepeak cabin sole with lift-out sections.
(1mm) between all edges; for unusually large panels,
you should probably increase the gap.
<strong>The</strong> bilge is the area of the boat most prone to
dampness so give special attention to carefully coating
all bilge surfaces to insure maximum protection. We
further recommend that the bilge area always be clear
finished—never painted—so that you can easily detect
any moisture damage which might occur by noticing if
the wood turns dark. A successfully designed and
constructed boat should have dry bilges. <strong>The</strong> only way
for moisture or water to get down below should be
through open hatches or skylights, with wet sails, or
from people coming down from above. Like any other
part of the interior, bilges should be ventilated, utilizing
openings in areas that will allow air passage but not dirt
and debris into the bilge.
Icebox Construction
We have constructed many successful iceboxes using 1 ⁄4"
(6mm) plywood with light density closed cell urethane
foam as the insulation medium. Usually, we design the
inside of the icebox so that we will have the maximum
amount of icebox room for a given amount of interior
space, allowing for a minimum of 2" (50mm) of insulation
all around the exterior of the inner icebox. Two
inches of foam are adequate for most situations, but we
would advise against using any less. On occasion, we
have used up to 4" (100mm) of urethane foam insulation
to get maximum cooling performance.