Template For The New Cockpit Locker Bulkhead

The weather kept me hemmed inside the hull.  The hot glue gun was loaded with a fresh stick and preheated.  Strips of laun plywood were at the ready.   Creating a template for the new bulkhead may be premature, but…

Test fitting mock up of new bulkhead in cockpit locker.

The vision for the ice box is to rebuild it with a minimum of 4” of insulation on each side.  This will reduce the interior space.  Our plan to minimize the loss of volume is to extend the interior of the box aft flush with the original, double bulkhead.  We will add 4” to 5” of insulation starting in-line with the old bulkhead and extending aft into the cockpit locker.   Aft of the insulation we will add a new partial bulkhead that will tie into the original via a 4” horizontal lip across the top. The lip will provide a run for plumbing and wiring.  The lip will also form the forward end a shelf used to mount the Alder-Barbour condenser unit outboard along the hull.  We are considering extending the shelf along the hull the full length of the cockpit locker, but that is definitely always down the road.  Let’s get back to the ice box.

New bulkhead viewed through the ice box access in the galley.

Above is the view from inside the box looking aft at the space along the hull between the original bulkhead, now covered in new fiberglass tabbing, and the future bulkhead.  This space will be filled with insulation.

What about that glue gun and strips of laun mentioned in the beginning of this post?

Using luan strips and hot glue to create a pattern of the hull shape.

They were used to create a pattern of the curve of the hull.   I transferred the stick  hull pattern onto a sheet of laun and connected the dots.  For additional details on this method see our Fabricating Locker Dividers That Match the Hull Shape post from summer 2014

Transferring pattern of hull shape to sheet of luan plywood.

The top and sides of the new bulkhead are square so this portion of the bulkhead required only careful measuring to construct.    

Now that the glue gun has cooled and my laun strips are exhausted, I can get back to insulating the ice box.

More images and notes from this on-going project as available in the Ice Box Rebuild Photo Album.