Shelter Island Boat Works

The aft bulkhead is made of 1/2″ mahogany marine plywood. It has a removable door panel. It had to be fitted tightly to the lapped planking so a series of templates were made. I started with a crude cardboard template, over sized, then used it to make a 1/4″ plywood template. I trimmed the plywood template to fit tightly to the planking. This took a while.

Cardboard template

Plywood template

I then transferred the profile of the refined template to the final bulkhead mahogany ply. After some minor trimming it fit nicely. The bulkhead was glued and screwed to a laminated deck beam at the top and a substantial fillet was applied to the aft joint where it met the planking. The forward joint was filled flush.

After cutting an opening for the door, the door stops and trim were next. The trim was built to hold the door panel in slots along the edges. The bottom slot had half limber holes cut in at the ends of the slotted trim to let water drain.

Door panel trim being added

Bulkhead trimmed and contoured to deck framing

Then the door panel was cut to fit somewhat loosely to accommodate the thickness of eventual paint. Two side latches will be added later to hold the panel securely.

Door Panel

Laminated deck beams were notched and glued into the shear clamp.

The transom top edge can now be trimmed to the curvature of the deck beams. The interior was coated with two layers of liquid epoxy. Careful attention was paid to making sure the limber holes in the bulkhead and floors were kept clear of epoxy. Onto the centerboard trunk.