Internal doors

The main project this week has been to get to grips with the two doors to the heads I have been thinking about them for some time but that is as far as I had got thinking about them and then putting them back in the too difficult I mean pending tray. As can be seen from the photographs the doors and frames had been stripped out and the doorways opened up the original doors having semicircular tops.

Forward heads doorway

Aft heads doorway

I was considering two options the first was to reinstate the door openings to take the original semicircular top doors which came with the boat or make new door frames to suit the existing openings this option would also require completely new doors, while the first option would only require new door frames and some ply infill pieces to return the openings to their original form. After looking through my stock of plywood I found sufficient 12mm ply to make good the forward opening and 18mm ply for the aft opening so I decided to restore the openings and reuse the original doors. This will require two, one for each door, semicircular frame pieces for the top of the opening I haven't decided yet whether to form these by steaming and bending the timber or gluing and laminating them steaming will be quicker and cleaner but I will have to build a steam box and provide a source of steam possibly a wallpaper stripper either way a former will be required and as both doors are a slightly different size the job will require two former's. So far I have cut out the ply for the forward door and marked the door profile on it this weekends homework will be to cut it out with the jig saw. The plan is to screw and glue the ply in place with some thickened epoxy and put some glass mat over the join. The ply for the aft doorway will have to be in two pieces as I did not have a piece of sufficient size to do it in one piece however once it is epoxied in place and glassed over it should be strong enough. On close inspection there is a reference mark from the original doorway a slight curve can just be seen below the centre bolt for the baby stay chain plate I intend to use this as a guide to set the vertical position of the door no such mark with the aft doorway I shall just have to assume that the opening was cut out across the top of the original.

The two doors could do with some refinishing particularly on the heads side as they are still in the original light blue laminate which has been replaced on the bulkheads with the white laminate the opposite side is finished in the original wood veneer which may be OK when it has been re varnished but both these jobs can wait for the moment the main aim is to get the boat back into one piece.

Ply in place on forward door

Door temporarily in place to mark the top profile

Evidence of the original opening profile.

Whilst on the subject of the heads a picture of the front panel for the wet locker.

Last weekend I made up the front panel for the wine locker it still requires some finishing to the opening but I have fitted it into place it has taken me sometime to get to grips with the doors to the heads so these will remain the priority while I have the enthusiasm.

Front panel to wine locker

Also this week I have completed the glassing in of the repair to the front of the galley moulding the vertical piece has now been fully secured with full length glass tape and epoxy the whole moulding is now much more rigid.

Completed repair to the galley moulding