I dont understand some of the steps when making the cuddy side panels!?

[xrayengineer]

I am just about to start making the cuddy side panels.  I am very confused about some of the steps, they seem to be a bit wordy.

First of all, why do the side panels extend the foot or so aft of the cuddy aft bulkhead.  In the instructions is goes on about leaving them long and letting the angle go wild and trimming to level or slightly level.  Why wouldnt you just stop the cuddy side panel at the cuddy aft bulk head and then start a new side panel for the pilot house lower side panels?

Secondly, fitting and cutting the cuddy side panels seems confusing to me.....

Please tell me if this is the general idea....

Cut blanks at 18" x 80" ( i left mine at 96")
Place blank into slot at Cuddy Aft and Fwd bulkhead
Clamp blank against sheerdeck between bulkheads
Scribe sheerdeck line, trim and replace
Mark top of aft and fwd bulkhead
Draw straight line between two points and cut.
Glue in side panel

Is this the general idea?  Why the 1-1/2" line above and clamps and drilling holes and nails and battens?

Also, as mentioned earlier, why not just cut the side panel flush with the aft bulkhead and start a new one?  My pilot house will be 7' long, so this way I would not have to scab two pieces together.

Please educate me!!!

Jim

[Brian.Dixon]

I'll have to look at this more carefully when I get home, but for starters:

- When you install the lower pilot house side panels, they will be bent into a curve to fit the inner edge of the sheer decks.  Allowing the cuddy side panel to extend aft past the aft cuddy bulkhead gives you something to scarf (or butt block) the lower pilot house side panels to.  The idea is that you want the lower pilot house side panels to curve naturally into the curve of the cuddy side panels.  If you cut the cuddy side panels off at the bulkhead, it will be harder to match (and to fair) the joint where the lower pilot house side panels meet up with the cuddy side panels.

- I don't recall the whole discussion in the construction manual about battens and 1-1/2" lines and all that, and I'll review this at home and get back to you, but note that the top edge of the cuddy side panels is curved, and it meets the cuddy roof (also curved).  Just marking the fore and aft ends of this side panel and scribing a straight line will NOT work as the cut line is not a straight line.  Whatever method I described in the manual, it is designed to mark out the proper curve that will fit the cuddy roof.  But anyway ...let me look at the manual tonight and get back to you on this.  NOTE: I need to double check what I said about using a strip of wood along the top edge of the cuddy side panels too ...the strip of wood gives you something to fasten the roof onto (temporary screws, permanent epoxy if I recall), but also makes the top edge of the cuddy side panels take on a natural curve... there might be a typo for what dimensions that strip of wood needs to be ...I need to check that too.

Brian

[xrayengineer]

Thanks for looking into this.  The first paragraph you wrote about the side panels blending between the pilot and cuddy makes perfect sense!  Thank you!

The second paragraph does not.....

Let me know if you can clarify....I just do not understand the whole procedure about getting the top roofline of the cuddy side panel.

Jim

[Brian.Dixon]

...OK, I re-read what I wrote and remembered what it was all about.

So, if you follow the instructions step by step exactly as stated, they will work fine.  Now ...the reasoning that goes behind the instructions (and should likely be added to the errata and manual to help clarify):

1. Initial fit of the blank to the boat:  The goal here is to mark and cut the shape of the sheer deck along the bottom edge of the cuddy side panel, tuning as necessary for a good fit inside the cuddy.  A secondary goal in this step is to mark the location of the aft cuddy bulkhead (you don't cut this line) and the location of the forward cuddy bulkhead (you do cut this line ..later)

2. Once cut and fit back onto the boat, the procedure where you drill through the side panel blank at the top of the aft and forward cuddy bulkheads is to produce a tight little hold that a finishing nail can be stuck into.  Normally, you'd expect to draw a line (with a batten) from nail to nail to mark the top cut-off line of the side panel ...but I have you draw one at about 1-1/2" high instead, and then you trim the top of the blank off along this line.  The only reason for doing this is so that when you have a reasonably stiff batten once again clamped from nail to nail, the shape of the panel is far closer to the finished shape and will bend much more like the finished cuddy side panel should.  With the excess wood still on the blank, it will not bend exactly the same and that's what we're trying to avoid.  So, to make a long story short, you first make the cuddy side panel 'close' to what it will be, then you use a batten (reasonably stiff... like 1/2" thick or so) that both describes the final cut-off line and also forces the top edge of the cuddy side panel to take on it's final shape.  Note that you will also be permanently installing a strip of wood along the inside/top of the cuddy side panel to permanently hold this shape ...read the section on installing the cuddy roof and you'll see.  I think I said 3/4" square for that piece, but if I recall, I ended up going with something more like 1/2" thick by about 1" tall.  You can experiment a bit since the type of wood that you use for both this strip and for the plywood of the side panel will affect the curve a bit ...do what you need to to produce a fair curve.

Hopefully this clarifies things, but if not ...keep asking.  I'll draw pix if I have to...

Brian

[xrayengineer]

I still dont understand the point of the batten and the nails.  It seems that you cant use a batten with only two points.  A batten between two points is a straight line.

What am i missing?  Would a chalk lime do the same thing?

[Brian.Dixon]

I still dont understand the point of the batten and the nails.  It seems that you cant use a batten with only two points.  A batten between two points is a straight line.

What am i missing?  Would a chalk lime do the same thing?

I imagine that chalk line could work, but it'll be bumping the wood as you bring the ends in to the nails.  Also, the batten should be reasonably stiff so that it'll force the top edge of the wood to take a natural curve.

As for imagining how a straight line can result in a curved cut on the wood ...think about conic sections.  Are you familiar with them?  Imagine a cone shape (like a funnel) ...if you slice through it with a straight knife but slice through it at an angle, then the slice produces a curved cut through the cone ...like parabolas etc.  If you split the cone down one side and flattened it out, you'd see that the straight slice that you made is actually quite a curved line.  The same thing is true on those side panels.  The cuddy roof will meet it along a straight line when the side panels are bent into their final shape, but the cut-line for the top edge of the cuddy side panel will be a curve when the wood is flat on your sawhorses and getting cut out.  I know some of these things are hard to visualize, but trust me ...just follow the steps and you'll see what I'm talking about when you actually make those pieces.  It's one of those "easier done than said" situations for sure, but the steps work and each step has a reason ...all so you'll get a nice looking boat in the end, all curves pretty and all parts fitting together nicely.

Brian

[xrayengineer]

That makes sense to me now!  I got it now....sometimes i am a little slow!

I will make the sides today.

Thank you for the clarifications,

Jim

[Brian.Dixon]

Ha!  I'll tell ya what's slow ...figuring this stuff out the hard way with no instructions and ...getting it wrong a time or two before your brain kicks in.  I won't tell you how I know that...

Brian

[Ed Snyder]

If anyone else has this problem, a real easy way is to just start the project, for me anyway, it seems to clear itself up as I go - penny drops etc.
I also have an arm chair in the shed, it works too! 

[Ed Snyder]

Here's an easy way to get a shape of ply measured and cut using coreflut - sign stuff
I use a hot melt (glue) gun to join the bits and it's so easy to cut with a knife to any shape

[Grady300]

Here's an easy way to get a shape of ply measured and cut using coreflut - sign stuff
I use a hot melt (glue) gun to join the bits and it's so easy to cut with a knife to any shape

Yep its a good trick I do the same thing with cardboard or 1 1/2" wide pieces of 1/8" door skin. Cardboard cuts easier though, I will have to try the coreflut good idea its probably stiffer than cardboard and would work better