Thoughts on cockpit rebuilding.
Essay’s cockpit had a rotted ‘floor;’ the sides (under the seats) were rotted at all four corners and had been patched in several places. The supports below the floor were bad in some areas, missing in others. The bulkhead on the port side was so bad I pushed a finger through it. The starboard upper supports, which the shift bar tied into, was virtually gone and had been patched with steel plates and angle. Before bringing the boat back from Texas, I bolted and screwed enough lumber into place to support both ends of the shift bar, and to support the cockpit. During the trip back, I also cut a square out of the floor to get to the rudder shaft. When the bilge pump starts coming on every 15 seconds, something has to get fixed. And on Essay, that means moving the quadrant, which sets tight on top of the packing nuts.
The cockpit seats and backs are in great shape. No work needed other than refinishing.
1. My goal was to rebuild the cockpit, but opening that area also made it easy to do other jobs: repacking the rudder shaft; repairing and painting slats and hull; cleaning and painting the engine; checking and repairing wiring; checking steering and resetting the quadrant-rudder-wheel so they are straight and the Turk’s head’s at the top; repairing the copper drains from the seat gutters . . . . You get the idea: Plan to spend more time down there. There will be plenty to do and it is much easier with the cockpit open.
A major caveat: Other than the patchwork in Texas, this is the first time I’ve ever dug into a boat, so my methods, decisions, and materials may be suspect. So, some observations:
1. Reference points are crucial. I was working between good seats and hull. Measurements need to come from as many points as you can establish. Essay is in the water, so level was a bit subjective.
2. Don’t count on much of anything being square. Everything is comparative
3. The $50 worth of plans from Alden have no details that resembled my cockpit. But the plans mention construction drawings. That’s what we all need.
4. I used the method already described to fit a new bulkhead. Marine ply. Mine fit into the fiberglass groove that the old one came out of. At the same time, replace the wooden “rib” that supports the forward end of the hull slats. If the bulkhead is bad, that support will be too. Both mine were gone, although I only had to replace the port bulkhead. And you can use your new bulkhead pattern to cut a new rib.
5. I suspect that at one time there were blocks under the floor, supporting the corner drains. I’ll put blocks in. The tubing is long enough to support a one-inch block.
6. Some of my hull-protecting slats were damaged. I replaced them all, ripping Thompsonized decking. Much stronger now. It will take more than 200 screws. I hope to clean and use the mahogany slats in a herringbone pattern as the finished floor. The starboard slats were longer than the port slats. I also learned that the hull ribs are hollow, or, as West System says, “inactive floors.” So be gentle with the screw gun, or reinforce them with glass. I pained the hull with Kilz paint, supposed to be anti-mildew, but I don’t like it. It peals too easily.
7. The long supports on each side, which provide a base for the floor, are two pieces, one on top of the other, that run the length of the cockpit, each about 1” x 2”. I couldn’t find SS bolts long enough to span the 4.5 inches but threaded rod works. A plywood base is sandwiched between them, through-bolted along with the sides.
8. For some reason, the sides and their coved bases set on another board hung from the frame. You might want to re-engineer yours.
I’m using poplar as the sides, biscuit joined, and then painted. The vertical corners of the cockpit sides are rounded, as is the base molding that contains the actual floor. Both will require a 1/2” router bit or a cove cut on the table saw. They may have been tenoned at one time but mine were too far gone to tell. Some of the cross braces under the cockpit are also tenoned.
9. I, too, was concerned about what strength the bulkhead provided, then remembered that the boat was hauled in Texas and even with the powdery bulkhead there has been no evidence of damaged. Still, I added a brace that crosses the hull, connecting both bulkhead to the structure in the center.
I’ll try to answer any questions. I also have photos, but the world’s slowest internet connection.
