a two bench job

Not really 'benchwork' when you bury two good sized benches under the 'piece' and have cascades of off-cuts, tools and timber all over the floor. I'm proud to say all of these pieces  are from timber I have saved from other jobs, some going back decades. This is a cockpit roof for Bandicoot. The really tricky part has been accomodating the asymmetry in the back of the cabin and the cockpit itself. Measuring up on the boat and re-creating it in the incomplete workshop has required endless triangulation and small adjustments in all three dimensions...I sure hope it fits.

 By covering the cockpit, Bandicoot is morphing from a utility (truck) to a wagon and I thought there may be some interest in the process involved. Covering the cockpit will add to the all-weather use of the boat I hope.The hull tapers in a gentle curve from cab to transom so the rails will match the curve of the coaming. I'm just building a roof, the sides will be open roll up canvas.

All of the roof beams are from Philippine Mahogany reclaimed from our house renovation. By making half widths it was possible to squeeze three pieces out of each old rafter. These were pattern routed with a flush trim bit on my router table.

Clamped together, the beams could be accurately rebated to accept little ties or purlins. They form the only right angles in the entire structure. In the old measure the roof is about 9ft wide and these beams have been rather labor-intensive...