In this installment of the never-ending build, I perform the scariest thing I've done such pouring lead. That being cutting the hull for the dorades, hatches, and portholes. You can't imagine my angst at setting a blade to that which I had spent so much time creating. It ain't right.
Before I attempted this work I finished filling the weave on the fiberglass by adding 2 more coats of epoxy on the rub rail and everything above it.
Everyone has heard measure twice and cut once. Well I must have measured this stuff about 8 times and I still didn't feel good when I grabbed my saw. The first cuts I made were for the storage hatches. I took one of the hatches and used it's base as a template. The hardest part about this was holding it in place while I traced the opening. The hatch would slide and I would have to start over. It was difficult maneuvering the pencil around the corner between the seat back and the transom. Eventually, I got them both marked correctly and cut out with the jig saw. A follow up with the hatch showed that I got it about as perfect as I could expect. Very snug fit.
The portholes were already scored for me. I cut to the INSIDE of the scoring so that I would be sure that I wouldn't make a mistake I couldn't easily fix. Doing that left about 1/8" of extra that needed to be removed around the outside edge. I did this very gingerly with a Dremel tool and a sanding wheel. I tested it with the precut plexiglass provided by CLC and found that although I'm very close to the right size they're still a little small and I need a few more passes with the Dremel to finish this up.
The dorade vents were a little easier. They don't have to be perfect since the trim ring will hide any issues. Test fit went well.
Moving on to the rudder.
Hours this session: 6
Total hours 482
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