Boat Repair, Restoration, Building
The water-tight bulkhead forward of the engine compartment needs a hatch opening so you can access the area forward of frame 3. We have to cut an opening and frame it and the hatch. We’ll have to design the frame for both pieces, determine proper placement of the hinges and opening hardware, and make it waterproof. Continue reading “Building a Hatch Opening”
We’ve been talking about making all the pieces for the transom of our Palm Beach 22. If you missed that part of the discussion, you can check it out at making the Transom Cheeks and Making the Transom Bows. Now it’s time to put these parts together into a unified whole. We need some guideposts, something to tell us how this piece should look when we’ve put it together successfully. Continue reading “Assembling the Transom Frame”
The transom bows are the curved top and bottom pieces that give you the shape of that beautiful transom you see on classic runabouts. Nelson Zimmer’s plan calls for a 5 foot radius curve. He also calls for a deck crown or “camber” of 2-1/2 inches at the transom.
So we’ve got two pieces to make, bent to a 5 foot radius. And the top one has to have a curve cut on top of it to support the crown of the deck as well. Continue reading “Making the Transom Bows”
It seems like forever since I talked about working on the Palm Beach 22 in this space. Intervening boat repairs do have a way of taking up time here at the boatworks! Anyway, when we left off I was talking about the plan for framing the transom. I had made up 2 blanks with the curve of the transom cheeks. You can read about it here.
You can see the blank laminated to the curve here. Now it’s time to cut the compound curve out of this blank. Remember this piece not only curves inboard, it also curves aft when you look at it from the side. Take a look at Zimmer’s drawing again. It’s at the top of this post. Continue reading “Cutting the Transom Cheeks on the Palm Beach 22”
Nelson Zimmer was a prominent naval architect, born in 1922. He passed away in February 2007. Mr. Zimmer sold his first design in 1931, and over the years worked in a variety of places, including Chris Craft. I don’t know when he designed the Palm Beach 22. If you know, or know how I can find out, please let me know.
But I’m very excited that the Palm Beach 22 is the next project here at Ashley River Boatworks. We’ve got the plans in hand and have researched lumber requirements and suppliers. Lofting will begin soon.