Main hatch and port bunk rebuild

For the last couple of months I've been working on refurbishing the main hatch and turning the port bunk into more of a storage and cooking area.

The port bunk now has a new hatch on it, which will eventually be completely lockable, so it can't fly out in case the boat gets rolled. It also has a hard storage bin, similar to the ones on the J105, for things like the auto-tiller. That will have a canvas cover flap on it, again so things can't fly out. For now I haven't done anything about mounting the stove securely, but that's next.

The main hatch situation was pretty annoying. The original hatch slides were teak, and they were badly worn, with the caulking failing in the corners and leaking onto the bulkhead directly below the hatch. They came off with extreme prejudice! Additionally, there were about 6 useless holes in that bulkhead screaming to be properly epoxied.

So I removed the bulkhead below the hatch, which had the oval opening through which the bilge is accessed, and the bulkheads between the bunks and the bilge area. I made a replacement for the section directly below the hatch, which you can see in the photo, just to keep things looking neat, but I won't be replacing the rest. I fabricated hatch slides from an aluminum I-beam, which I'm about to install. The rest of the openings I've made are staying open.

Lately I have been really inspired by the economical interior design of the Mini Transpac 6.50 boats, which have that area all open, and, since none of those bulkheads are structural or even contributing to  the folkboat's rigidity, I'm going to work towards that more modern and open design back there.

Next up: move the batteries to the centerline, directly below the companionway. More photos coming!