[Rhodes22-list] cockpit filler planks for outdoor sleeping

[Jesse Shumaker]

A friend had some left over 3/4" plywood in 2' x 4' sections that he no
longer needed so I took this opportunity to put it to use by making some
planks that sit on the ledge that surrounds the cockpit just under the lip
of the benches.  My friend also had some extra styrofoam board that I used
to make a pattern before cutting the wood.  I happen to have some varnish
available from another project so I used that too.  This was the rare
project that didn't require purchases. 

I saw some past posts on this topic but didn't see any photos so here are
some attached photos with a brief project recap in case anyone else is
thinking about doing this.

Steps:
- Used styrofoam board to lay across the cockpit and electrical tape to mark
where I thought the edge was. 
- Cut the styrofoam, erring to go a bit wide and then trim down
- Test the fit of the styroam piece and trim as needed
- Use the styrofoam to trace onto the plywood
- Use a jig saw to cut the plywood
- Repeated the prior steps for each section of plywood
- Used a circular saw to cut the 2' sections into 1' sections
- Used a 1.25" hole saw bit to cut holes in the sides to make the planks
easy to pull up and easy to carry
- Used a sander with rough sandpaper to round off the edges (a router would
have been preferable)
- Used a sander with medium grit sandpaper to go over the wood
- Applied Minwax pre-stain conditioner
- Applied 2 coats of Minwax Polyshades 1 step stain and polyurethane (went
over first coat with fine steel wool before applying second coat)

These planks can fit aft in the cabin under my tool box, or I may try
stowing them under cushions in the cabin.  I might only put them in the boat
for times when I'm going to stay the night.

Lesson learned: I should have checked to make sure I had the wood grain
facing the same way on the different plywood sheets before making the cuts
and drilling the holes.  After applying the varnish, the difference is quite
noticeable.

While my wife and I can probably squeeze into the main berth, if I anchor
out with a friend then one of us may sleep in the cockpit if the weather is
nice.  I'm planning on getting a big mosquito net to go over the bimini or a
tarp that I use for a boom tent.  I think I could tuck in the mosquito net
under cockpit cushions.  For cockpit sleeping I'll probably just use a
therm-a-rest backpacking mattress.  I'll post photos in the summer once I've
got the whole setup figured out.  Of course the v-berth is another sleeping
space but that could get quite warm in the summer.   Also, getting to the
portapotty could be a challenge in the middle of the night if more than 1
person is sleeping in the cabin.  

<http://rhodes-22.1065344.n5.nabble.com/file/t907/FittingWithStyrofoam.jpg> 
<http://rhodes-22.1065344.n5.nabble.com/file/t907/InitialFit.jpg> 
<http://rhodes-22.1065344.n5.nabble.com/file/t907/LookingForward.jpg> 
<http://rhodes-22.1065344.n5.nabble.com/file/t907/LookingAft.jpg> 
<http://rhodes-22.1065344.n5.nabble.com/file/t907/stowed.jpg> 




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