On the Mark: Notes on the Riviera Engine Compartment
Continued...
Raise the deck
Modified forward frame showing the added upper bow. |
The deck needs to be raised to clear the engine. A curved and tapered piece was glued on the forward frame. This was cut out of the scrap saved from when the frame was originally cut out and yielded a very nice final match in grain and curvature.
The top of taper curves were made by using another scrap piece cut off from an adjoining frame and drawing the curve from the center point to ~4" on each side. This was then glued in place. The front was raised ~1.25", the rear 0.5".
By tapering the raised portions, the sheer line does not change. The engine deck merely gets more arched than the plans suggest. The discontinuity in the "fairness" of the deck is disguised by the cockpit openings and the seat backs. Do not worry about the frame that was cut for engine installation at this time. Small tapered wedges will be added after the hatch opening is framed out.
Hatch opening sides
Engine hatch framing showing battens and raised frame piece (foreground). |
The hatch sides are framed next. These pieces define the width of the hatch opening. They run the entire length of the engine compartment. The hatch sides are ~4" tall. The non-obvious point is that the sides should not be plumb. They must be perpendicular to the deck, or even slanted slightly, with the bottoms tapered inwards toward the engine. If they are installed plumb, the hatch will not be able to open once the hinge is attached, because the lower edge of the hatch will catch on the opening.
Corner blocks are used to reinforce the joint (triangular pieces shown in the photo). Since all of the hatch and hatch framing joints are butt joints, glue blocks provide the necessary strength and rigidity. This is much easier than having to rabbet the corners or make a box or finger joint.
Hatch opening ends
Engine hatch and deck frame corner blocks. |
The hatch ends are sawn with the curve matching the nearest frame (trace from the frame). Saw out both the hatch opening ends and the hatch ends as a pair. Install the support blocking and then the hatch opening ends. The blocking helps greatly in getting the pieces into alignment as well as strengthening the joint. Set the rear hatch end slightly higher than the frame. This will allow it to be planed down to deck level during fairing.
Hatch outer frame
Now the hatch frame is made and fitted into place. I used scraps of 6mm (1/4") plywood to shim the hatch pieces away from the deck opening. Cover the shims with tape to prevent them from getting glued in place due to dribbles while decking. Screws are driven through the hatch, shim and deck frame to hold the hatch in place. Place them angled slightly upward so they are easily removed once the battens and deck are in place.
A better view of the center battens. 
Hatch corner block. |
The bottom of the hatch corners should be flush with the bottom of the frame. Corner support blocks are added underneath. These blocks will bear the weight of the hatch and people climbing over it. Installing these blocks prior to the hatch frame eases alignment and makes assembly easier. Use tape on the blocks to prevent the hatch from getting stuck to them due to dribbles.
I mounted the hatch sides first and then the fore and aft ends. The inside corner was again reinforced with a corner block. The corner block was simply glued in place after the initial butt joint had hardened. It would have been in the way during initial assembly. The corner block is partially seen as the small square near the orange clamp.
Tapers are added on top of the deck frame pieces to match the height of the hatch opening frames.
Place marks on the cockpit opening to show the gap between the hatch and the deck frame. You can use these marks later to set the saw guide and the angle of the blade. A 6mm gap is not that much wider than the saw blade (1/8" ~= 3mm).
Installing the battens
Engine deck clamp. |
Lay out the battens to approximate what is given in the plans. The battens are splayed to clear the engine in the center. Once the layout looks good, cut the batten notches and fit the battens. Cut the notches carefully as almost all of the joints will be visible either from the rear cockpit, or when the hatch is open. Note, the center frame piece that was cut out when the engine was installed is not replaced. With enough battens and the strength due to the curvature of the deck, it is not necessary. There is no bounce in the final hatch, even with two of us stepping on it!
Clean up the squeeze out and make nice fillets on the joints you can reach. Don't worry about any in between the hatch and frame, that will get sawed and sanded off later, when you cut out the hatch.
Redoing the engine mounts
If you carefully complete engine and shaft alignment before deck framing you can skip this step!
Engine deck edge. 
Front ski tow block. |
The prop shaft flange finally came! When it was time to align the engine to the shaft the engine angle was wrong. The front of the engine was too high, and there was not enough downward adjustment available in the engine mount!
The front of the engine had to be lifted up with the hoist. Yes, it is trapped in the deck, and the chains had to be run between the deck battens. The mounts were removed and the engine bed mounting points were drilled out and chiseled down 1.5". The mounts were reinstalled and now everything lines up. It takes a lot of motion at the front of the engine to move the back a little. The front engine mounts have limited adjustment range and the rear have plenty.
Fairing and decking
Fair the deck frame and apply the decking to match the rest of the boat. I started the plywood sheet for the decking on the first straight batten. This placed it slightly off center but the seam was now over blocking. In the end, this area needed some additional fairing as it was slightly humped due to the upwards pull of the plywood. The hump was well under 1/8" at its worst.
Next month I will cover the fun part - cutting out the hatch and trimming it.
We are very pleased to have Mark sharing his expertise with his fellow boat builders. If you would like to comment on this article to Mark, he can be reached at "builders at bronkalla.com". Replace the at with @. (Just trying to dodge a few spammers). See Mark's great web site for information on his Riviera project.