Floor Work In Progress
11 September 2007 | New Bern, NC
Doug Mayle
11 months ago we purchased Prudence up in Annaplolis, MD and promptly made plans to sail her down to North Carolina. It was night three on this journey when we drug our weary bodies down the companionway steps, only to hear a 'CRACK' when we stepped onto the sole.
A wooden grate sits atop an opening to our bilge immediately at the bottom of the steps. The wooden supports for that grate had separated from the sole, allowing half of the grate to droop down into the bilge. Not a happy day in the eyes of a new boat owner. We attempted a quick-fix with some gorilla glue and set a companionway hatch board over the opening at the bottom of the steps to take our weight for the remainder of the trip down.
Once we arrived at our home port in Whortonsville, we attempted a more permanent fix by adding some screws to hold the old supports in place. That lasted until about a month ago, when the supports began to 'give' again. I attached some angle brackets, in an attempt to add strength, but we decided that it was finally time to call in some professional help.
The carpenter arrived yesterday with new mahogany support beams in hand. He fashioned and worked-in two beams going across the boat laterally, such that they extend all the way to the hull. They were planed down to squeeze in tight and provide rock-solid support for the grate and surrounding floor. Once glued in place, we got to spend the night with an obstacle course of clamps and a hole in the floor each time we entered or departed the boat (see the photo shown above).
The carpenter is currently fitting the two fore-aft supports in order to complete the rectangle of support. We will spend one more night dodging clamps surrounding the abyss, before life aboard returns to normal. At that point, we should be able to jump down the companionway without fear of collapsing into the bilge. More importantly, we will no longer have to worry about telling guests to please exercise caution on that last step as they enter our boat. Our standard admonition toward visitors has been to "come down the companionway steps backwards, like a ladder." It made for a more natural gentle landing on our weak grate.
My special thank-you goes out to Sheryl for her efforts over the last two days. While I have retreated to the relative quiet of the common room here in order to work, she has stayed aboard to oversee the work-in progress. Her goal has been to facilitate the work of our carpenter in any way she can (and thereby keep the hourly charge to a minimum). I sincerely express my appreciation to her and for her in this and all regards. I could not ask for a better partner in this endeavor we call life. I am, without a doubt, the luckiest man on the planet!