Worked on something besides tanks

Finally got to work on something besides those bloody tanks. Started working on the new structure of the aft cabin. The new layout has the access to the stuffing box from the engine room rather than a little hole in the cabin sole.




So the first thing to do is cut the hole in the main bulkhead where the access will be. You can just see the heat exchange on the back of the main engine behind the plastic. You can also see a bit of the stuffing box at the bottom of the picture.

The builder did not use enough glass when tabbing this bulkhead in. It looks like it was just a layer or two of mat. I intend to beef that up in the places where the bulkhead is not removed.

Here is part of the accommodation plan showing the stuffing box which is just under the seat in the shower. I need to add the little bulkhead just above the "stuffing box" in the plan before I glass the port tank top on.

The bulkhead I am talking about is outlined in blue in this picture. You can see the forward access cover for the port side water tank. It will be under the bottom shelf of the linen closet. The blue line you see coming across the propeller shaft is the forward edge of the shower. You can see the stuffing box just under it. The will be about 12" of clearance over the top of the stuffing box.
So it is off to the plywood store to buy some 1/2" Dura-Ply plywood. I plan to laminate two pieces together to make the bulkhead. The little area you see at the bottom of the blue rectangle is the stringer side rising above the stringer elevation in the engine room. I want to extend this up to the top of the blue rectangle, so I am going to add a piece  that overlaps the stringer side and then another piece going up directly above it. You see....when I get it done

Here is the first side of the tank top I taped into the stringer. I used 3 layers of 24 oz Biax tape. I also mixed up some filler compound to create a fillet in the joint between the top and the side of the stringer. The white you see is the epoxy paint around the openings and a little extra I had left over.

Here is a closeup of the forward end of the tank. You can see a little more detail of the joint. I sure will be glad when this is done. It is kind of back breaking work on your knees. I cute the tape into 33" long pieces so I am only doing 33" at a time but it still keeps you moving.







In the day dream department I have been pondering the different ways to wire 3 and 4 way circuits to control the lights in the cabins. For instance it would be nice to have a switch at each entrance to the main cabin, so you could turn the lights on or off as you enter or leave without having to pass the same switch. Could turn into a real mass of wiring. Then I thought about using capacitive touch switches and a central controller. I found what I was looking for today. It is a controller for up to 8 circuits with 2.5 amps on each circuit, which should be plenty if we are using LED lighting. So if you do not need illuminated switches you would only need 1 wire to each "switch" location.

Capacitive Touch Sensor Switch - 8 Channels - 12V DC [XCTS-8M]

I was thinking of using bronze "coins" as the touch plates. Hey I gotta have something to think about besides fiberglass....