Now that I have a rough idea of what is required, I have started the engine compartments deck tops and their large access hatches. None of the deck pieces are pre cut, so as there are no right angles or straight edges. One can’t just “drop some duflex on the compartment and draw a line around“. After a little bit of joggling I made two deck pieces from two virgin 16mm Duflex panels, see below.
I then used a ply template to rout the largest cut out that could be supported in the deck. The large access is required for engine maintenance including non-juggling removal and refit of the engine and gearbox. The double trench, shown below, allows two reinforcement bands with a 3mm duflex fence between each one. This enables a very simple and accurate cut out of the hatch even with a hand held jigsaw.
The two trenches were then laid up, over filled with runny glue and cured, see below
The completed cut was then made with a hand held jigsaw to form a hatch opening with a reinforced edge, and a lid with a reinforced edge. See below.
The addition of two layers of 16mm Duflex then provide extra reinforcement and depth to create the gutter drain and lid seal. These latter items were covered in the previous posts about the forward hatches. See below for photos through to the embryonic engine hatch.
The Scrumble Project 