That Custom Cabin

Posted By: Greg CM26 Seattle CLM005771173
Date: 1/12/08 4:33p.m.

Report: outside forum guidelines

In Response To: Custom Cabin (Russ)

Hi Russ, I still have the original poptop and the cover that goes over it. It's now the roof of an impromptu bicycle garage. The cabin I made is very light weight, and nests in the rain gutters that already surround the opening, just like the poptop does. It's held on with a couple of snap clamps. I have some more secure bolts built into it for when I expect rough weather. Years ago you could go to the Boeing surplus store and get all kinds of exotic stuff. This cabin is made from a sheet of fiberglass honeycomb that was originally destined to be a floorboard in a 727 airplane. The stuff is very strong and very lightweight. But, of course, you can't bend it, so the cabin consists of a lot of flat facets all glassed together using conventional fiberglass. That's why it looks a little funky, kind of like a stealth bomber. I had strong concerns going in: I want a "permanent" hard cabin, water-tight, with standing headroom, good visibility, strong enough to stand on, and easy to remove (it has to come off for stepping the mast, but that's really easy to do, I just move it back to the cockpit). The aesthetics took a definite back seat! Sorry, I haven't gotten around to taking isolated pics of the cabin top. Maybe if there's a groundswell of interest...but here's a slightly different angle anyway (photo). I think that having this cabin makes this boat immensely more satisfying than fooling around with the poptop, and it was well worth every bit of effort that went into it.