Even though I do a lot myself in this project, I’m lucky to have so much help from my family. My dad, mom, and my brother Waltteri are always supporting me, each in their own way. My dad and brother mainly help with the construction, while my mom takes care of things like T-shirt orders and other merchandise.
One part of the build where I really needed a hand was the boat’s hatches and windows. Under the bunks, I wanted storage boxes. I could have made the hatches from leftover plywood, but I wanted them to be properly lockable in case of a rollover, so I decided to order plastic hatches the same ones used for the cockpit lockers.
To make sure the hatches were flush with the bunks, we needed to create frames. Waltteri cut the frames on a CNC machine, and we glued them in place under the hatches with epoxy.
We did the same process for the "doghouse" windows. The windows are made of reinforced plastic, kindly provided by my sponsor Lamidoors. I wanted them installed carefully: recessed into the hull and finished with a metal frame on top so they wouldn’t move even if the boat flexed.
For the installation, I used Sikaflex products and I even made a video of the process for my Instagram.
Here’s how it went:
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Taped around the window openings and the window panels to keep the mastic neat.
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Drilled holes for the screws.
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Applied Sikaflex Activator 205 to all surfaces (window panel, boat, and aluminum frame) to activate the primer.
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Applied primers: a thin layer of Primer 209D on the boat and window panel, and Primer 210 on the aluminum frame, then let them dry.
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Injected UV-resistant Sikaflex 296 UV mastic under the window panel.
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Placed the window panel in position and added a bead of mastic along the joint with the wood before fitting the aluminum frame.
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Finally, screwed everything in place, removed the tape
and tada! Now we just wait for next summer to see it all in action.
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