The Gougeon Brothers on Boat Construction - WEST SYSTEM Epoxy

Chapter 27 – Deck Construction 349
Figure 27-24 All spaces between the blocking in the deck
shown in Figure 27-23 were filled with honeycomb core.
Figure 27-25 A sandwich deck with all of the framing and
honeycomb core in place before the top plywood deck surface
was laid.
Most blocking is easiest to install before the plywood
decking goes on. With core decks, the blocking must all
be installed before the final layer of plywood is bonded
in place. It is much easier to fit, install, and fair in the
blocking to the bare deck framework than to install it
laboriously from the underside of a capped-over deck.
Sometimes, however, it’s difficult to complete your deck
hardware layout plan until the deck is fully completed
and you can study it for a while. If this is the case,
you’re probably better off installing blocking for those
items later on from underneath the completed deck,
rather than installing it wrong and having to chisel out
blocking that is not needed (if you’re like us and can’t
stand to sail with unnecessary weight).
Cabin Construction
For construction purposes, the cabin is really an extension
of the deck. It increases standing headroom and
provides a place for windows or ports that will let in
light and fresh air below. Cabins are always installed
after the deck has been at least framed in, and usually
after the deck has been completed. Design the deck
framework with an opening for the cabin and sufficient
framework around the opening perimeter for attaching
the cabin walls. You will have to pre-bevel to the degree
desired for the cabin walls.
Plywood is the most common material for making
cabin sides. It should be thick enough to stand on its
own with no further frame support for minimal deflection.
You may laminate the walls out of several layers of
plywood or veneers to get a desired precurved shape
that might be difficult to form with a single piece of
thicker ply. It is common to laminate the front wall of
the cabin to provide attractive curves and improve
windage. As we mentioned in Chapter 23, cabins can
also be built with strip composite techniques.
Fitting cabin walls can be tricky. It is a good idea to
make patterns of cheap paneling and then carefully cut
the cabin walls to the exact pattern size before final
fitting and installation. It is usual to install the walls of
the cabin first and then join the corners with an appropriate
wood gusset that has enough bonding area for a
strong joint.
<strong>The</strong> most difficult part of building cabins is to establish
a cabin top sheer-line dimension. This may be a difficult
dimension to take from the plans, and it is complicated
by the fact that the type and shape of the cabin roof
that is installed might dictate some of the final sheer