Cleats for Cockpit Deck!

 I was able to get a lot accomplished last week and weekend. I probably spent a good 10-12 hours. I started to work on the interior cleats that will support the cockpit deck. I decided to do it a little differently than the manual states to find the locations of the side cleats. I used the actual footwell sides with a cleat cut to fit the exact dimensions of the footwell side. I held it in place with a clamp and set both in the positions they would be in.  I also inserted the footwell bottom piece to get the correct dimensions side to side.

I then used multiple levels to find the location of the cleats on the rear transom. I have them screwed into place now and will epoxy later after I cut the notches.

Cleat attached to footwell sides with clamps. 

Another view of footwell side with cleat temporarily attached with clamp. 

The side and rear cleats on the sides of the boat and transom have to be at an angle. I remember reading another post about cutting them at 15 degrees. I used a tool to mark the actual angle and it turned out to be 15 degrees. So I setup my table saw and made a couple test cuts and made sure they fit into the notches on the sides of bulkheads 7 and 8. Once I got the angle that I wanted, I cut both sides. I then cut the 2 horizontal pieces that get glued to the transom.

The next job was to do a round over on the all the pieces that will be exposed on the inside of the boat. I just realized that I missed 2 pieces with the round-over. oops! They are the horizontal pieces on bulkhead 7. No big deal, I will use a block plane and some sand paper and fix them.  I setup the router and router table I borrowed from my dad and made a couple test cuts with scraps. I was using a 1/4 inch round over bit.

Cleat with 15 degree angle and round over. This is a scrap piece, so the final would only be rounded over on one side.

Below are some additional pictures of the finished cleats. I still have a lot todo, but I was able to complete 1/2 of them. The whole exercise is a lot of geometry and I would recommend taking your time and doing test cuts before cutting the actual pieces.

Transom pieces are just screwed in, so I could locate the position of the long side pieces. 

Starboard side horizontal piece glued on bulkhead 7. I bought a fine tooth blade the trim the extra wood off. 

Port side horizontal piece clued on. 

View of footwell sides temporarily held in place to measure. I think my process worked out well. Everything is level. 

Horizontal cleats on bulk-head 7. These are the ones I forgot the round over. 

Once I measured everything, I glued the cleat to one of the side panels.
I will be putting a couple of coats of epoxy on as well. 

Overhead shots of inside. Both starboard and port side long cleats are glued and screwed. The screws will be removed. 

Another overhead shot.