In fitting an inner forestay, even if it's a detachable one, the foredeck needs to be reinforced. Though I've filled all the rotten core adequately, the deck alone won't support something that amounts to a chainplate and may be called upon, in a catastrophe, to support the rig as the only surviving headstay. So I decided upon a "horse", a structure going athwartships at this point. Here is my original drawing (on the piece of plywood I would use for the crossmember/deck beam).
Below is shown the initial structure, two short little bulkheads in the forepeak, aligned with a couple of sticks. The stick under the starboard-side shelf is propping up the shelf from its as-built position, as it was both angled downwards inboard and also too low. The cleat on the forward bulkhead (what used to be the rode locker) is aligning the two shelves more or less evenly; though the starboard-side one, once leveled, is too high by 1/4". Such is the nature of budget-minded mass-produced yachts of the 1970s.
Of course these pieces narrowed the space considerably. I had trouble wedging my out-of-shape self forward of this to disconnect the running-light wiring (along the port side) which kept getting in the way; so I decided to cut out the bulkheads a little.
I am always wary of amorphous shapes like this (such as on the back of the Hyundai Sante Fe SUV, which is downright hideous) so I just used a 4" sanding block to scribe a line parallel to the hull and deck all round. This picture shows the cutout with the crossmember in place. The bulkheads are 3/8" and the crossmember is 1/2". I use mainly good-quality cabinet-grade plywood, well-saturated in epoxy and sealed in epoxy paint (these will be done in Easypoxy). The void to port is for the wiring, which here I have tucked back out of the way.
Pretty cool how the bow-locker door hinges open and fits into the curve of this new bulkhead; huh? (Should I say I planned it this way?)
(And, yes; this is where the microwave goes. I've written on this before.)
On most budget-minded production boats, the V-berth shelf is meant mainly to stiffen the hull above the bunktop, as this tends to be the longest and highest section of otherwise-unsupported fiberglass hull on most boats. It's not there to be useful; and most of the time the fiddles on the shelf are so miniscule as to be only for show. Determined to have a proper forepeak, I made these high enough (6" inside) to contain plenty of gnarly gear that will accummulate here, like fenders, mooring lines, a mooring pennant, spare tackle, and probably even a couple of sailbags (Diana's main and jib already share a bag that would fit in here as it is). The fiddles are made of 1/4" plywood, just decent cabinet-grade lauan that I had got to finish some Barbie dollhouses for my kids. I cut them down forward of the new bulkheads to allow the little door (the only cabinet door with hinges in the whole boat) to open fully.
Above is to go a mahogany plank, about 4" wide and 1/2" thick, to serve as a backing plate for the deck winch (which serves the anchor rode), the mooring cleat, and the inner-forestay attachment fitting, as well as the aesthetic purpose of representing the centerline. Originally I made this for the full length of the space; but I will cut it and fit two pieces to the fore and aft of this crossmember. It occurs to me to have some really nice bright white LED floodlights under the deck, forward of this, to illumine the whole compartment.
Along the deck, against the hull, kind of like a facia meant to hide the toerail bolts, I will fit a wooden cleat between the new bulkheads and the (new) chain-locker bulkheads, on which can be mounted hooks and straps on which to hang line and sailbags and other stuff.
These pics were taken a few days ago. As of today (Saturday, 24 May) I have applied a fillet of 5200 along the hull and, using WEST epoxy, 'glassed the bulkheads and crossmember into place. When this is kicked-off I'll be painting this with semi-gloss Easypoxy.The original faux-teak forward bulkhead will be left as original; though when I replace the door I'll be replacing the tired old brass-plated-steel offset hinges with some in SS or chrome. My daughter Rachel hand-painted ship's wheels and anchors onto some wooden knobs for my mother's kitchen cabinets recently; there is one left over and I may use it on this door.
Stay tuned for the pics of after I install the rode-locker bulkheads and trim up here. I've mocked it up a few times and it's going to look really cool.
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