Aft Hatch Framing

I managed to carve out a few hours to finish epoxy coating the aft hatch area and add the framing for the rear deck. Some of the framing is left a bit high at this point so I can plane it down later to match the curve of the transom.


The offset framing on the starboard side defines where the rear hatch is located. At first I wasn't crazy about the asymmetric look of this hatch location. But after thinking about it for a bit I decided that the ability to access that hatch while sailing (since it is not under the tiller) is quite practical, which makes it look much nicer.



The hatch opening is just large enough for one of those large, 5 gallon buckets to fit easily through. I've heard from several people that these make for excellent watertight storage on extended camping trips. There is enough room in the rear compartment to hold 8 of these buckets with room left over for loose stuff like sleeping bags, tents, etc.


I'm leaving the rear hatch unpainted to make it easier to inspect the wood over time.

Next up is scribing and cutting the remainder of the seat sides and epoxy coating the side compartments. More soon hopefully.