I've drilled holes in my boat before to install new hardware and the like, but before this past weekend, I'd never cut big holes into the hull. Well, I've popped that cherry, so to speak.
One thing that has always bothered my about my boat (an Oday 23) is the tangle of lines I get in the cockpit while sailing. The jib sheets, roller furling line and centerboard pendant line can make a mess in the cockpit while underway. I've taken care of the roller furling line by installing a swivel cam block out of the cockpit to tame that mess. And I've trimmed the pendant line so that it is completely out of the way while extended. But the jib sheets have always been a problem. I've always thought that a couple of storage boxes tucked into the coamings would nicely take care of the problem. One year, I went so far as to measure out which of the many aftermarket options would fit. But I never pulled the trigger; there was always something higher priority to fix, install or ignore.
But over the past year, I've been watching Mads on the Sail Life Youtube channel, and I've been inspired. So this winter, I ordered two coaming boxes, and I planned how to install those bad boys this spring. My biggest question: what tool do I use to cut into the coamings? I figured my choices were a small circular saw, or an angle grinder with a cutting wheel. After researching both options, I decided on the angle grinder/cutting wheel.
So a couple of weekends ago, I tried out my new tool, and it cut into the coaming very easily. But it couldn't seem to go deep enough to cut all the way through, mostly because of the blade guard. And when I maneuvered it around so that I could push the wheel deeper into the glass, the cutting wheel shredded itself. Ugh. Time to rethink things. The coaming box manufacturer recommended using a "saber saw". I don't have a saber saw, but I do have a jig saw. I just wasn't sure if it had enough juice for the job. Rather than go out and buy a bigger jig saw immediately, I figured I would give my old unit a try. I bought some new blades, suitable for cutting metal, and headed back to the marina.
In order to get the blade in, I had to drill large holes at each corner of where the box would go, and fortunately, the jig saw made relatively quick work of the rest. Plenty of power. Below is a picture of the hole, and a picture of the installed coaming box. This first box went so quickly, I was encouraged that the second one would be even easier. Not so much.
I made the mistake of assuming that the area behind the coaming on the starbord side was as empty as it was on the port side. It was not. My first clue was when I drilled the corner holes for jig saw access; it seemed like the glass was thicker than on the port side. This was repeated when I put the jig saw to the coaming. But I really knew things would be different when the cut-out piece of coaming didn't fall into its hole when the cuts were complete: something was clearly in the way. I removed the piece of coaming, only to see an edge of an interior pan in the way. Oday, which never seemed to make neat appearances a high priority, for some reason "finished off" the aft end of the area behind this coaming with a piece of gelcoated glass. This is only visible from the cabin if you stick your head into the space behind the sink; this "bulkhead" is also behind the water tank and is just not accessible. It is also clearly non-structural as it wasn't tabbed to the hull or the coaming, and is only about 1/8" thick. Using the jig saw, but mostly the angle grinder (this time with a grinding wheel, so it turned out to be useful for this job after all), I was able to take away enough material from it to fit in the other coaming box.
All in all, it took about an hour and a half to install both boxes. Their stark white color is quite the contrast to the faded gel coat on my 1979 boat, but I can't wait to try them out!
And I cut holes in the boat!
One thing that has always bothered my about my boat (an Oday 23) is the tangle of lines I get in the cockpit while sailing. The jib sheets, roller furling line and centerboard pendant line can make a mess in the cockpit while underway. I've taken care of the roller furling line by installing a swivel cam block out of the cockpit to tame that mess. And I've trimmed the pendant line so that it is completely out of the way while extended. But the jib sheets have always been a problem. I've always thought that a couple of storage boxes tucked into the coamings would nicely take care of the problem. One year, I went so far as to measure out which of the many aftermarket options would fit. But I never pulled the trigger; there was always something higher priority to fix, install or ignore.
But over the past year, I've been watching Mads on the Sail Life Youtube channel, and I've been inspired. So this winter, I ordered two coaming boxes, and I planned how to install those bad boys this spring. My biggest question: what tool do I use to cut into the coamings? I figured my choices were a small circular saw, or an angle grinder with a cutting wheel. After researching both options, I decided on the angle grinder/cutting wheel.
So a couple of weekends ago, I tried out my new tool, and it cut into the coaming very easily. But it couldn't seem to go deep enough to cut all the way through, mostly because of the blade guard. And when I maneuvered it around so that I could push the wheel deeper into the glass, the cutting wheel shredded itself. Ugh. Time to rethink things. The coaming box manufacturer recommended using a "saber saw". I don't have a saber saw, but I do have a jig saw. I just wasn't sure if it had enough juice for the job. Rather than go out and buy a bigger jig saw immediately, I figured I would give my old unit a try. I bought some new blades, suitable for cutting metal, and headed back to the marina.
In order to get the blade in, I had to drill large holes at each corner of where the box would go, and fortunately, the jig saw made relatively quick work of the rest. Plenty of power. Below is a picture of the hole, and a picture of the installed coaming box. This first box went so quickly, I was encouraged that the second one would be even easier. Not so much.
I made the mistake of assuming that the area behind the coaming on the starbord side was as empty as it was on the port side. It was not. My first clue was when I drilled the corner holes for jig saw access; it seemed like the glass was thicker than on the port side. This was repeated when I put the jig saw to the coaming. But I really knew things would be different when the cut-out piece of coaming didn't fall into its hole when the cuts were complete: something was clearly in the way. I removed the piece of coaming, only to see an edge of an interior pan in the way. Oday, which never seemed to make neat appearances a high priority, for some reason "finished off" the aft end of the area behind this coaming with a piece of gelcoated glass. This is only visible from the cabin if you stick your head into the space behind the sink; this "bulkhead" is also behind the water tank and is just not accessible. It is also clearly non-structural as it wasn't tabbed to the hull or the coaming, and is only about 1/8" thick. Using the jig saw, but mostly the angle grinder (this time with a grinding wheel, so it turned out to be useful for this job after all), I was able to take away enough material from it to fit in the other coaming box.
All in all, it took about an hour and a half to install both boxes. Their stark white color is quite the contrast to the faded gel coat on my 1979 boat, but I can't wait to try them out!
And I cut holes in the boat!
