Patterning the cabin trunk.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Spot

I am confused, where is the new trunk going? Could I trouble you to draw over the top of this picture?

Having it taper in slightly more than existing with a generous curve at the corners/seams/edges seems right to me.

Do you know, I spent quite a while trying to edit that very picture and I’m afraid things have just got too complicated for me. Give me the old mspaint.exe any day.

Just plonk a deckhouse on between the mast and the cockpit, approximately 700 mm high and a tad under 2 meters front to back, spanning the full width of the cabin trunk, and you’ve got the picture. It ends up looking a little like a pilot house from afar.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Spot

I am confused, where is the new trunk going? Could I trouble you to draw over the top of this picture?

Having it taper in slightly more than existing with a generous curve at the corners/seams/edges seems right to me.

Incidentally, I’m not sure the proportions are quite correct in that picture. Like a lot of stuff that turns up on the web, the pedigree is downright suspect. There’s more room between the mast and cockpit than that picture suggests.

[Spot]

Originally Posted by GILow

Just plonk a deckhouse on between the mast and the cockpit, approximately 700 mm high and a tad under 2 meters front to back, spanning the full width of the cabin trunk, and you’ve got the picture. It ends up looking a little like a pilot house from afar.

Incidentally, I’m not sure the proportions are quite correct in that picture. Like a lot of stuff that turns up on the web, the pedigree is downright suspect. There’s more room between the mast and cockpit than that picture suggests.

I hear you on picture accuracy. Here's my plonk-

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Spot

I hear you on picture accuracy. Here's my plonk-

Hell no!

Much longer, lower and slinkier. I really hate those upright things. The hard dodger thread made me feel a bit ill.

[Bowdrie]

GILow, I've flapped my jaws a lot in this thread, and many others have chimed-in too, and all of us have had different things to say about technique and "do-this-do-that".
But in the end, when the rubber meets the road, you'll take some sticks, a few small C-clamps, a roll of duct tape, a razor knife, and a few sheets of cardboard.
Then you'll mock-up something, and change it a few times, and you'll fuss and fidget, and look at it from 100 different angles until you get something that pleases your eye.
And you'll know when it looks right.
The only two things I might add:
1, Whatever the camber is of the remaining part of the original cabin trunk is, increase the camber of your new housetop just a little.
2, If any of the side windows are of rectangular shape see if you can make them to the "Golden Rule", ~1.6:1, it's a universally pleasing ratio.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Bowdrie

GILow, I've flapped my jaws a lot in this thread, and many others have chimed-in too, and all of us have had different things to say about technique and "do-this-do-that".
But in the end, when the rubber meets the road, you'll take some sticks, a few small C-clamps, a roll of duct tape, a razor knife, and a few sheets of cardboard.
Then you'll mock-up something, and change it a few times, and you'll fuss and fidget, and look at it from 100 different angles until you get something that pleases your eye.
And you'll know when it looks right.
The only two things I might add:
1, Whatever the camber is of the remaining part of the original cabin trunk is, increase the camber of your new housetop just a little.
2, If any of the side windows are of rectangular shape see if you can make them to the "Golden Rule", ~1.6:1, it's a universally pleasing ratio.

It’s been a great thread, and we are very grateful to those who’ve posted.

Our build process is well planned now. Today we did the hard Bimini as a warmup round and we will recycle the framing bits (MDF batons) into the new deckhouse.

Plan is to use most of the ideas shared here, including your camber advice.

Windows will wait until we have some time to play with black cardboard replicas. We can cut the windows out later, probably a few mo this from now.

I’ll post pictures of progress if I can.

[Spot]

All plonking aside...awesome, looking forward to seeing it come together!

[VNCruzer]

Have you looked at the Gulfstar 39 sailmaster or the Islander Freeport 38 deck house design to get ideas?

[GILow]

Originally Posted by VNCruzer

Have you looked at the Gulfstar 39 sailmaster or the Islander Freeport 38 deck house design to get ideas?

I hadn’t seen those, thank you for the suggestions.

Sadly both appear to be a pilot house design. I say sadly because ours isn’t a pilot house and I really tried to figure out a way to make it one. The pilot house is much less obtrusive than what we are planning to build. It’s going to be very hard to make ours look remotely as nice as those two boats.

But I’ve grabbed some photos for ideas, they are nice looking boats.