Thanks to a family friend we were able to acquire the stainless steel tubing free!
early attempts to visualize the project.
visioning complete now it is time to get down to the actualy measurements. One of the more critical and difficult to judge measurements was the height of the gallows. They need to be tall enough to allow headroom, but low enough as to not interfere with the sailplan.
We used a string between port and starboard stanchions as a baseline for our measurements as everything else about the cockpit is radiused or sloping
hmm... guess we will need to fabricate new stanchion bases.
to provide bracing for the gallows supports will plan to use 1" ss tubing to extend the stern rails.
pine 2X10 on the left and sapelle 2X10 on the right. Which one would you choose to create a prototype for the gallows?
always good to experiment with a prototype. Anne and I both like the design on the right side better than the left.
With the excess wood from the gallows crosspiece I created bases for the 2" ss support tubes. I used a 5 1/2" hole saw to create the bases. I then filled the center hole with epoxy.
step one - sanding and layout of new bases.
step two - use modeling clay to create a mold for the new bases.
step three - first pour of thickened epoxy into the mold.
step four - a second pour of epoxy into the mold. The blue mold is the port side and the orange mold is the starboard side.
Step five - remove the molds
step six tape off area in preparation for adding the fillet
step seven - use thickened epoxy to create the fillet an fair the bases
step eight - sand down the bases
to create a suitable place for the backing plates we were forced to cut away the headliner. Fortunately the cut-aways are in areas where the aesthetics are not of paramount importance
Cutting away the headliner created alot of dust so I taped off the area. this lead to sanding and painting the entire quarter berth area.
new gallows bases after primer and top coat
view of headliner cut away on starboard side
installing the stainless steel posts fabricated by Paradise Welding.
Greg from Paradise Welding drive down to Everglades City for the installation. Thanks to our neighbors we tied C'est la Vie up at the mainland. Our Sunset Island docks can be seen a the top and slightly right of center in the photo.
It took all morning to install and correctly position the support posts and wooden cross piece. After lunch the welding began.
after the welding comes the polishing.
and polishing, and polishing, and polishing.
this is the port side post prior to the installation of the bracing.
clean up
here is the port side installation. There remains much to be done - finish the wooden cross piece, install backing plates below deck, etc.
progress!
time to epoxy the wooden bases to the deck.
We used the halyard to lift the bases off the deck. A carabiner attached to the main halyard can be seen at the top of the image. We left the through bolts in place to avoid any issues with realigning the posts.
with the bases approximately 3/4" off the decks, Anne applied thicken epoxy to the underside of the base and to the deck.
After the application of the epoxy we reset the bases on the deck. This should serve to seal the joint and prohibit water from damaging the wooden base or the deck core.
The same day that we set the bases we also installed the backing plates. Prior to securing the backing plates, we filled all the voids with thicken epoxy to ensure the plates would distribute the load evenly. Pictured is the port side plate.
with the frame and posts completed it is time to focus on the wooden cross piece.
here is the initial rough cut of the crosspiece. before moving any further along we want to take this out for a sail. To test the dimensions.
motoring out Indian Key Pass for a test sail with the gallows
the gallows preformed will on every point of sail except close hauled. The gap between the top of the gallows and the boom is only 1.5" and I fear that in heavy sea the boom could strike the gallows.
Once we returned home after the test sail. I took another inch off the top of the crosspiece. Note the difference in the depth of the center notch. I also added port and starboard notches to cradle the boom.
and the final version of the crosspiece.
with the crosspiece sanded down with 220 grit paper it is time to begin finishing the wood. I've saved up a few projects to finish at the same time.
This is after 4 coats of Bristol Finish. Eventually each side of the gallows will receive 8 coats and the top edge will have 16 coats.
hanging the gallows. Finally the final installation of the crosspiece. Note the wood is sanded in preparation for the final coat of finish to be applied in position.
final coat of finish.
stern view
