Side Deck Stairs

I had this brilliant idea (you know the kind) that I could stash 4 20 Lb. propane tanks in a locker under the port side stairs up to the Sun Deck and the dead corner in the galley. So I started to build it by cutting out the floor of it.


This is not a great shot of the floor but you can get the idea. So there would be one tank located where the one in the picture is, the 2nd tank just aft of it, The 3rd tank to the right side of the 2nd tank and the 4th tank will sit on a shelf over the 2nd tank.

One neat little hole full of propane tanks. ABYC rules say that this locker has to be completely sealed off from the rest of the interior of the boat, thus everything is glassed together. It also has to drain directly overboard, so there will be a hole through the hull at the forward bottom corner of the locker. The floor also drains to that corner. Once I got the floor in I realized that I need to know the height of the forward partition before I could build it. Will that depended on the height of the stair tread at that point, which depended on the height of the Sun Deck where the stairs finished. So I had to stop the propane locker and build the little piece of Sun Deck that leads forward to the stairs and then the stair supports.

I did not take pictures of the building of the little piece of deck. But I did record the process of building the stair supports.

It took me awhile to figure out just how to make these buggers. The problem is that if the stairs are going to open than you have to have drains on each side for the water to run off instead of getting into the locker. this is the mold I made for that support and drain piece. It is upside down right now. It is made of 3 layers of plywood, the larger or outside piece is what forms one side of the drain, the middle and top piece form the rounded tread supports. The outside wall of the opening becomes the other side of the drain channel.

Of course you want that to be nicely rounded over and the wood pieces are cut square. So I used this special clay to form the fillets on each side of the channel. It is a slow and tedious process that has to be done for each piece you make. Luckily I have only two to do for this side.

Here is the mold ready to be glassed. The glass will roll down off the mold and onto the larger white piece under it. That will form the flange that I will screw to the side wall of the opening. the 40 Lbs. Lead weights hold everything in place.

One last closeup showing the channel that will form the lip that supports the stair treads. I have already sprayed the gel coat on at time.

Here is the finished piece after I have pulled the mold apart, filled the little imperfections and sprayed another layer of gel coat on. I also filled the rolled over part with a filler I make from grinding powder and resin to add strength to the support.

This is a shot of the back side of it. The part that has no gel coat on it gets glassed and screwed to the wall of the locker opening. The top of the support is at the bottom of the picture and the bottom at the top, so you are viewing it from above the stairs. I found the additive to put in the gel coat that makes it cure very smooth with a great gloss.