Cabin and Hatch Beams

Today I finished the last of the deck beams and made a jig for the cabin and hatch beams. Tomorrow I’ll have a go at cutting and laminating one of the cabin beams.

The vertical thickness of the beams which support the cabin roof are all 22 mm, but the forward one, supporting the front window, needs to made from a battens 52 mm in width, and the one at the rear of cabin requires battens that are 74 mm wide. Beam number two, supporting the deck under the front end of the hatch, must be made from battens 26 mm wide; whereas the beam above it (and the deck) should be 20 mm wide; but this latter beam has a capping piece on top that is 26 mm wide, giving a 6 mm overhang forwards. This overhang provides security for a foam weather strip used to stop water from entering the boat when the hatch is closed.

Making the deck and cabin beams will be trickier than building the deck beams, because the horizontal widths of the battens vary, and both the forward and aft battens are angled differently to support the Perspex windows.

Embarking on the production of the deck and hatch beams requires ‘faith’ in the designer’s drawings.

I feel sure most people would start building a Paradox sailing cruiser by cutting and assembling the hull; only after fixing the deck, would they build the cabin top, including the cabin roof and sliding hatch. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m attempting to make all the small items before starting the hull, so that I’ll have room in my garage for building them. Once the hull is assembled, there will only be about 2 feet either side for working, because the width of the garage is just over 8 feet and the beam of Paradox is slightly over 4 feet.