Moisture in cockpit and foredeck

I remember seeing a case of tubes called Sika, and the carpenter always let it sit with weighted water buckets for 48 hours before walking on it. It was all cut from templets brought to his shop and after the initial fitting he coated it there with Interlux Satin Clear before final glue down. Was a LOT more involved then I had ever anticipated and in my opinion only a project for a top marine carpenter; in this case one I had used to build some custom cabinets in the previous Bertram about 20 years earlier.

Yeah getting the hatches right added to the project. We decided the need for any hatch pulls up there could be avoided. When need be we'll simply push each up from down below. When he did the galley, one challenge was not "locking in" the fridge & freezer since neither had enough height between bottom of the counter to lift and slide out so he matched the height to the new hallway flooring and since the galley also had a large hatch only cemented it there so a sharp blade could free the new floor for removal so the appliances could then just slide out.
Your comment reminded me when I put down the head floor in the 38 years ago. Being the novice, my template was heavy clear vinyl but the new one piece teak & holly I had cut at a local shop didn't have the flex to fit the extremely awkward area that also had two small hatches.

Front deck completion just waiting for an Awlgrip custom mix sample which supply company says should be better match then from their color charts; the old ones they told me with actual paint chips; the new ones photos and not as accurate. Open deck area received a layor of glass and then some type of hard foam glassed around the perimeter. The center area received a glassed in honey comb type product and eventually two different types of bonding with endless sanding and primer. Decided to paint more then originally planned in order to eliminate as many new paint to original gelcoat areas as possible and if need be extend the painting down each side just below and including the window frames depending on the final paint match. Also glassed into the deck now is a pre drilled 3/8 aluminum backing plate for the removed port side cleat. Below deck head liner had to be removed for access to the nuts for the cleats 4 bolts; holes to be re drilled from below after final paint.

All ready for Awlgrip in the AM as it appears after the paint supply used an electronic paint matching device the custom blended sample appeared perfect.

Decided to glass an aluminum plate into the deck.



They glassed in some really stiff light-weight foam around the perimeter and a thick honeycomb looking product in the center area.


Forward headliner removed and replaced and after more glass & resin and endless sanding on the two areas (only one showing here) just waiting for a decent weather day to spray front deck.