Pilothouse Console

Pilothouse Console

I ordered more meranti BS1088 plywood, fiberglass and epoxy. While waiting for the orders to arrive, I designed the pilothouse console.

              Side view                       Rear view                             Front view
Pilothouse console

 Design details...

Elevation

Layout on plywood panel

Detail dimensions for windshield

Materials have arrived. Time to start cutting and glassing.

I saved the plywood pieces cut out to make the openings for the side windows and windshield. The glass supplier used the plywood pieces as templates for cutting the 1/4-inch laminated safety glass windows and windshield.

Pilot house side panels cut and glassed

Exterior window frames cut from select pine and epoxied to the
exterior of the pilot house

Interior window frames cut from ½ ACX and glassed

Interior window frames painted. These will be installed using
screws to allow future window maintenance.

Backer added to top of pilot house side panels

Edge stiffener added to pilot house side panels

Pilothouse console clamped for gluing

Pilothouse console clamped for gluing

Backer added to top of pilot house front

Backer added to top of pilot house rear

Curved roof beams, 3/4 plywood. cut, routed, sanded and glassed

Roof beams installed

3/8 plywood roof panel, inside glassed then the weave is filled
and it is sanded for future varnish

Kerfs cut in outside of the roof panel. 4" OC, ¼" deep

Roof panel bent over roof beams and epoxied in-place

Masking roof outside before filling kerfs

Kerfs filled with thickened epoxy and masking removed

Glass the roof panel

After cutting the roof panel to final dimensions,
the filled kerfs can be examined

Route, sand and glass the roof edges

Fill the weave on the roof panel exterior

Flip the pilot house and fillet the roof beams to the roof panel

Two coats of varnish on the inside of the roof

Cut, route, sand and epoxy the pilot house nailers

Install nailers along bottom edge of top half of pilot house
and start varnishing the exterior

After three coats of varnish on the exterior, flip it over

Scouring pad on RO sander for lightly
scuffing varnish between coats

Final of the four coats of varnish on the roof

Pilothouse console in final position.
Pilothouse varnish complete (2 coats on interior surfaces,
3 coats on exterior vertical surfaces,
4 coats on exterior horizontal surfaces)

Bottom half of pilothouse console will be glued to the deck.
Top half of pilothouse console will be screwed to bottom
half to allow future removal if needed.

Interior

The top half of the pilothouse console is fastened to the bottom half with brass wood screws, from the inside, into the nailer. The horizontal strip of pine beneath the window is the nailer - more meat for the screws to grip.

Pine strip nailer on outside of top half

Column splice piece on inside

Column splice and top half
fastened to bottom half with brass screws
from inside

Column splice and top half
fastened to bottom half with brass screws
from inside

Interior of pilothouse console glassed to deck with
17oz. 4-inch biax

Exterior of pilothouse console glassed to deck

Vent tube, for venting the bulkhead chamber beneath the deck,
installed on the inside wall of the pilothouse, with a cap.

It is a sunny windy day so I thought I would drag her outside and do some sanding in the wind.

She hasn't seen the light of day in a long time.

It is going to be a tight fit...

Oh shit! Gonna have to raise the house 1 inch.