Aft bulkhead. Last two pieces!

Ron brought over two pieces of 3/4 marine plywood and I made a template out of cardboard, trimmed the to fit the last to places--high up under the side deck I left space for wires in conduit and throttle and transmission cables. 

Here are two shots showing them cleared in place on the aft side.

Port side aft view:

Starboard side aft view:

Here is the Starboard side of this bulkhead viewed from the front and tabbed in place.  I need to pull the engine control wired inboard before tabbing the top. I will put some PVC conduit in here on case I need to pull wire aft later on. When the new panel goes in, most wire will feed through this side. 

Port side looking aft, and all tabbed in except for access to conduit which I will add soon. Control cables are visible. AC power enters the boat in front of this bulkhead. No need to pass that through. 

Port Side Aft Bulkhead

Here is the forward side tabbed in, except for the inboard end. I want to plug the hole where I removed a shore telephone and cable connection. Multiple layers are the lighter spots. 

I added some tabbing to bond the shelf after tabbing the seam between the bulkhead panels. I still need to tab in the bottom and may wait until the bunks are in for that. 

This is the aft side cleared together for aligned purposes. Barely noticeable it the hole for the shore cable and telephone connector that needs to be plugged. 

Better view of where the bulkhead meets the shore power connection panel. All AC wiring is on the forward side. I'll move the cable and telephone connector aft, or perhaps I'll simply leave that off. 

 

Outside view of shore power connection panel. 

Aft Cabin

Ron and I test fitted the upper bunks.  Ron marked up the old pieces for a pattern. Now that is done, I was able to start installing the third level of the bulkhead.  This is in two pieces already cut a few days ago. 

Looking forward from the lazarette to the starboard side. aft bulkhead. I used two cleats to hold this in place while I tabbed in the other side 

Here is a view aft of the area that I subsequently tabbed in. I tabbed the four sides and the top of the shelf. 

Note there is a bit of a gap on the hull edge so I laid most of that tabbing on the wood and will add another layer of stitched mat, mat and roving, in that order, on that edge. I will need more roving to do that. 

Forward Cockpit Drains

I had a late drawing up my fuel tank plans, watching my brother blast his future garage, and running to West Marine for paint and primer. 

After spraying a second coat of paint on my settee boards I was soaked and took a break for 20 minutes to cool off. The shadows were getting long but I had to place another piece of overhead tabbing on the port side shelf, and I wanted to get the cockpit drains bulkhead pass-thru tabbed in on the forward side. 

This leave two small 13" pieces of tabbing for the shelves left to do. Ill do one a day then next few days to wrap that up. 

Drilling two 1.5" holes was easy. I was not happy with the length of one of my pass thru fiberglass tubes--cutting a longer one was easy too. 

So  few more minutes work on the other side tomorrow and a bit of work with a dremel sander and I can reinstall those two drains and not worry about ECHO's bilge filling with water when it rains. 

I have noticed a few minor jeans where fresh water gets into ECHO.  Both of the cockpit drains leak at the cockpit sole.  I was unable to remove those last year. Perhaps caulking is the solution.  I have a leak at the emergency rudder cover plate. That was seal well, I thought, last year. And I have two small leaks at the tow rail amidships--very minor. 

Lower Hoses in; Upper Bulkhead Panel In!

I purchase more hose to today to complete the bulkhead pass though connection. Still to do--complete exhaust  and manual bilge pump (which requires a better pump).

Next I trimmed the upper bulkhead panel and fitted it. I began tabbing it in on the forward side edges and seam with lower panel. Still to do--tab in top against cockpit sole, aft side, and then a fillet on the forward side followed by a heavy layup of roving from top to bottom.

Originally I planned to make this a cofferdam, but instead I think I'll take it up higher and close if off except for wire pass throughs, which I can seal with silicone. In the event if a rudder failure, or aft collision, any water that makes it through to the middle of the boat will be manageable. 

Some photo's:

Test fitting the upper panel.

Upper panel tabbed in place.  I used up the excess epoxy painting the marine plywood. 

The gaps on either side I plan to fill with small pieces of marine plywood.  The port side houses the shore power connectors.  The starboard side has the cockpit shower connectors.   In each case there is shape for more in there. 

Some ideas--use port side for a spare emergency power battery for emergency lighting. Starboard side might be good for storing motor oil and a oil change pump. 

Bilge Pump and Exhaust Hoses

I am short about 8' of hose to complete the bilge pump hose reinstall.   I need 8' for the aft bilge compartment drain and 8' to connect the manual bilge pump. 

The manual bilge pump is a replacement someone bought and they also glassed over the old mount because this one won't fit. I'll need a 90 deg elbow fitting to mount it where it belongs, or else a whole new pump. I'd rather have one with a removable handle. I'll investigate that. 

Here is the aft side of the bulkhead with the exhaust hose connected. I still need to fabricate mount for some glass tubing and a means to secure the other anti-siphon loop in the transom.  Plus I need a few more 3" diameter hose clamps. 

Here are the two electric bilge pump hoses securely connected.  The other side is temporarily attached. Ill need the bilge drain secured, then the exhaust hose, and then the three bilge pump hoses attached on the other side. 

This side needs one more hose and then I can install the upper half of the bulkhead panel.  Once that is in, these four hoses will be difficult to reach. 

The bolt sticking out needs to come off. It is a remnant of a prior steering system. 

This is a photo for the record of the steering system. The cable are removed at the moment and a lamp illuminates the bilge. 

Lower Half of the Rear Collision Bulkhead

This is actually the lower half of a bulkhead which is in fact a cofferdam.  I may decide to later completely block this aft part of the boat from the middle of the boat.

My  main concern is completing this, so I can install a 110 gallon fuel tank in this area.  This will give me a nice range under power of over 500 miles.

I began by giving the recent steering box tabbing a light grinding to remove any surface wax for a strong bond.  I applied two layers of mat with some overlap in the middle, followed by two layers of sticked matt.  On second thought I should have just butted these together.  In any event, it is pretty strong.  I left out the bottom so that any water that comes aboard will flow into the bilge.

I plan to apply a filet of thickened epoxy to smooth the radius between the bulkhead and the hull and glass in two layers of roving, and one final layer of random matt.

Once the top panel is installed I'll bond the seem and the remaining portion of this section.

I also applied three pieces of random matt on the other side.  My project for tomorrow is to finish the other side.

I also discovered the reason my steering is limited.  The control sheaves are not far enough apart.  I'll have to relocate those before closing in the top sections.

Finally, on the right side of this photo is located the area where I'll be mounting the hydraulic ram for the autopilot.  I have an Edson steering arm on order and it will take some careful measurement to locate the mounting position and building a support out of wood that can be glassed into place.

I also bonded the lower section of my new floor into the boat.  I used stainless bolts, a 1/2" thick strip of fiberglass to bond the seam between the adjacent panel, tabbing on the port side, and weight and pressure to bond the starboard side.  I'll need to return the 1" balsa core I bought and exchange it for 1/2" because the lower panel is much thicker (1/4") than the original lower skin.

Tomorrow, I can finish tabbing in the two forward bulkhead whose bonds failed for the bottom 18" or so.  I have the material cut and ready to laminate. Plus I have a few other areas that need minor fiberglass repair.  I plan to have all of this done within a week.  After that, furniture install can begin.  Or I can address one other area in the floor that needs some core replaced and prettied up.

I will also need to make two new drop in covers for my water tanks.  Eventually, I'd like to skin the entire cabin sole with a thin layer of teak and holly plywood.