VG23 deck question

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mhd
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VG23 deck question

Post by mhd »

I have a question regarding the deck of the VG23 - ply arrived in Albuquerque and will be here in a few days, so things are starting to get real :-)

I recall sitting on the starboard berth in the cabin of Brian's VG23 and my (short!) hair was brushing the deck above - and that was without any padding on the berth. In my mind I'd decided to raise the deck very slightly - say 1 or 2 inches. But I just read that Jacques commented previously that raising the deck would make the ply undevelopable.

viewtopic.php?p=228855&hilit=vg23#p228855

I'm not asking for standing room or anything, but is there any way to raise the deck at all and still have developable ply? 1 or 2 inches would be perfect.

If not I'll live with it as it is.

Thanks,

Mick
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VG23 (Designer Jacques Mertens)

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, con a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. Robert A. Heinlein.

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Re: VG23 deck question

Post by jacquesmm »

It is a complicated change. You can add a few inches to everything, frames and sides then shape the deck to bend over that framing, fit it between the sides and may be, install it in 3 pieces or cut slits.
As designed, at the cockpit bulkhead, the deck edge meets the side edge but close to the bow, it fits between the sides, a couple of inches down. This creates a bulwark which is very nice when retrieving the anchor. With a higher deck, that offset will grow larger and the plywood may not bend all around, it's border line.
I would then make the deck in 3 parts: a king plank and two sides.
The sides would overlap the king plank by 4" or 5". The king plank should be 8 to 10" wide. A king plank is a longitudinal deck plank running on the center line. It is also a nice stiffener.
You will still have to torture the edges of the deck sides a little bit but if needed, you can kerf it.
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mhd
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Re: VG23 deck question

Post by mhd »

jacquesmm wrote: Thu Feb 16, 2023 2:17 pm It is a complicated change. You can add a few inches to everything, frames and sides then shape the deck to bend over that framing, fit it between the sides and may be, install it in 3 pieces or cut slits.
As designed, at the cockpit bulkhead, the deck edge meets the side edge but close to the bow, it fits between the sides, a couple of inches down. This creates a bulwark which is very nice when retrieving the anchor. With a higher deck, that offset will grow larger and the plywood may not bend all around, it's border line.
I would then make the deck in 3 parts: a king plank and two sides.
The sides would overlap the king plank by 4" or 5". The king plank should be 8 to 10" wide. A king plank is a longitudinal deck plank running on the center line. It is also a nice stiffener.
You will still have to torture the edges of the deck sides a little bit but if needed, you can kerf it.
Thanks for the quick response Jacques. Much appreciated. I'll have a think about it then decide if I want to elevate by the method you propose, or risk trying a 1/2 or 1 inch increase in height just by bending. I like the idea of the king plank providing extra stiffening.

I''ll have a few days after the ply arrives to at least join some of ply sheets together lengthwise for the sides/bottom panels, but then I'm going to be working away for over a month. Once I'm back I should be on the build full-time.

Mick
FB11 (Designer Evan Gatehouse)
VG23 (Designer Jacques Mertens)

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, con a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. Robert A. Heinlein.

pee wee
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Re: VG23 deck question

Post by pee wee »

You may also be able to slightly lower the berth to add to what you're doing above. With the hull curvature it probably isn't possible to go two inches, but even if it's only 1/2", it's a gain of headroom. Of course, that reduces the under berth storage by the same amount . . . there's no free lunch!
Hank

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Re: VG23 deck question

Post by rick berrey »

Get a little here and there , and next time you get your hair cut tell them to take a little more off the top .

mhd
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Re: VG23 deck question

Post by mhd »

rick berrey wrote: Fri Feb 17, 2023 10:16 am Get a little here and there , and next time you get your hair cut tell them to take a little more off the top .
Ha, I've not much left as it is :-) Good suggestion though, thanks!
FB11 (Designer Evan Gatehouse)
VG23 (Designer Jacques Mertens)

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, con a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. Robert A. Heinlein.

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Re: VG23 deck question

Post by Jaysen »

mhd wrote: Fri Feb 17, 2023 3:31 pm
rick berrey wrote: Fri Feb 17, 2023 10:16 am Get a little here and there , and next time you get your hair cut tell them to take a little more off the top .
Ha, I've not much left as it is :-) Good suggestion though, thanks!
pee wee wrote: Fri Feb 17, 2023 9:38 am You may also be able to slightly lower the berth to add to what you're doing above. With the hull curvature it probably isn't possible to go two inches, but even if it's only 1/2", it's a gain of headroom. Of course, that reduces the under berth storage by the same amount . . . there's no free lunch!
Or, as one captain told a rotund person on a boat I was tying off... "the boat isn't 'too small' your a$$ is too big!"

Can you lose some off the bottom (in a different context)
My already completed 'Lil Bit'. A Martens Goosen V12 set up to sail me to the fishing holes.
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Jaysen wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2019 3:44 pm I tried to say something but God thought I was wrong and filled my mouth with saltwater. I kept my pie hole shut after that.

mhd
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Re: VG23 deck question

Post by mhd »

pee wee wrote: Fri Feb 17, 2023 9:38 am You may also be able to slightly lower the berth to add to what you're doing above. With the hull curvature it probably isn't possible to go two inches, but even if it's only 1/2", it's a gain of headroom. Of course, that reduces the under berth storage by the same amount . . . there's no free lunch!
Yep Hank, no free lunch. While a bigger boat solves the problem, it generates a whole host of others. I can see now how the entire process of boat-design/building is just one of endless compromises...
FB11 (Designer Evan Gatehouse)
VG23 (Designer Jacques Mertens)

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, con a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. Robert A. Heinlein.

mhd
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Re: VG23 deck question

Post by mhd »

Jaysen wrote: Fri Feb 17, 2023 4:49 pm Can you lose some off the bottom (in a different context)
I'll take what I can get and live with it :- Of course, the solution if I'm not happy, is to keep building :-)
FB11 (Designer Evan Gatehouse)
VG23 (Designer Jacques Mertens)

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, con a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. Robert A. Heinlein.

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Re: VG23 deck question

Post by rick berrey »

I would go with Jacques fix , and then maybe take Pee Wees 1/2 inch . You wanted a more roomy boat from the start , so 2 or 3 inches of head room is going to give you that feeling -v- bumping your head .

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