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Project Log:  Wednesday, December 10, 2014

The overhead panels extended aft where they landed on the solid wood companionway trim, leaving an exposed edge.


To trim out this opening, I started with 1-1/2" x 1/4" cherry stock to cover the edge of the overhead panel within the opening.  The forward side of the opening featured a compound angle, so I started with this joint, as it was the most difficult to lay out.  With a couple pieces of scrap material, I worked out the angles and cuts required, and then used the trial pieces to determine the final lengths of the real trim pieces. 

I let the trim hang down to cover the plywood edge, as well as an additional amount to accommodate the thickness of additional trim pieces that would band the area from beneath.  The green tape around the opening simply gave me a place to draw layout lines for the appropriate height of the top of the trim.

         

With the first two pieces eventually cut and fit into position, and temporarily secured with exposed bronze screws (my choice for these particular pieces in this visible location), I cut and fit the two side pieces, which were more straightfoward.

    

The trim extended below the opening to accommodate the variable curvature of the overhead at the forward side, and the thickness of the additional trim that would surround the opening at the overhead.  Now that the vertical trim was in place, I worked to install the final trim around the edges.  Because of the way the main ovberhead centerline trim landed at the opening, it dictated a 9/16" width for the trim on that side, which I carried around the whole opening.

         

         

With the new trim in place, I marked the vertical trim where I needed to trim it so it would be flush all the way around, and removed the pieces so I could do the work, after which I reinstalled the trim for a final fit.

         


That wrapped up the current round of overhead trim in the main cabin, so I removed all the pieces from the companionway and overhead and, down in the woodshop, milled rounded edge profiles on the trims at the router table as needed before sanding them smooth once more with 220 grit.  Afterwards, I applied tung oil to the trim, managing a couple coats before the end of the day.

    

The three overhead hatch openings required their own trim details.  In the main cabin, this trim would be fairly straightforward, as the smaller hatches were already banded with overhead framework that would make trim details easier.  I planned to install narrow strips of solid wood within the opening, bringing them as close to the underside of the hatch as made possible by the openings and the hatches themselves; for various reasons I also decided that I'd paint this portion of the trim, as it would make dealing with the corners and the awkward transition between the hatch, its cutout, and the overhead frame and trim much easier to deal with, plus there was already plenty of natural wood in the interior.   Then, I planned to install flat trim (like that on the other portions of the overhead) to cover the edge of the vertical trim and the screw holes in the overhead.

        

In the forward cabin, however, the large opening and the way the molded cabin trunk and hatch surround worked meant that there was a pretty deep and wide area to be trimmed somehow.  I'd brought the overhead framing up as close to the raised molded hatch surround as possible, but this still left a large gap and void to deal with. 

It had been easy to ignore this problem so far, but during the past couple days I'd found that in the usual way, an idea had begun to take form on its own for how to finish off this opening.  From appropriately-sized material, I'd build a box that I could install close around the hatch, glued into position as needed, and then span the gap between the overhead and the new box with trim to cover the wide void.  As with the smaller hatch openings, I decided to paint the box portion of the trim, which opened the door to various materials on hand and would make otherwise fussy trim details much more straightforward to deal with. 

     

From leftover sections of the original plywood cabin sole from this boat, I milled four 4" wide strips of the 3/4" thick material that would form the basis for the forward hatch surround.  It looked awful now but would clean up easily for gluing and paint.  I'd come back to the forward hatch a little later.

Then, choosing the least-good piece of remaining cherry overhead trim stock that I'd milled earlier, I milled 3/4" wide strips to use to band out the smaller hatch openings in the main cabin; since this would be painted it was a good way to use an otherwise unsatisfactory piece.


Cutting the cherry to length as needed, I trimmed out the two small hatch openings in the main cabin, installing the trim with glue and brads into the overhead framework (but not to the overhead itself, as the overhead would remain removable); I held the bottoms of the trim flush with the overhead.  I chose simple butt joints at the corners.  Later, I'd apply a bead of sealant between the tops of the new trim and the hatch above to finish off that particular seam before painting this area to match the overhead.  Then, I'd install mitered flat cherry trim around the edges to complete the work.

    

    
 

Total Time Today:  6.75 hours

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