Retrofitting a base to a finished hull

[Rik Thistle]

When I started on the Dallas Cutter (25 years ago) I wasn't aware enough to incorporate two captive nuts into the hull/keel area for the eventual mounting of pedestals.

 

This week I received a base and a pair of pedestals (29mm high, slot 8mm deep x 5mm wide, with a 4mm appx through hole).

The pedestals would need a means of fixing to the keel of the Dallas that didn't involve nuts inside the hull.

Also, the slope on the keel meant that using two pedestals of the same height caused the deck to slope unnaturally.

 

I turned a wooden 5mm thick spacer (on the right of the pic below) to lift up one of the pedestals to compensate for the keel slope, and stained it to match the wooden base.

 

As for fixing the base to the keel, I threaded the pedestal with a 2 BA tap (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Association_screw_threads) to match two suitably long, slotted head, countersunk machine screws.

 

With a 1mm drill in a hand-held Dremel (I don't have a small, high speed pillar drill) I drilled through the pedestals' rears (and partially into the fronts). These 1mm holes are for accepting 1mm dia brass attachment rods - see below.

 

As seen below, the Dallas was then mounted on the pedestals (now screwed onto the base) and using that same 1mm drill (now in a pin vice), I drilled into the keel using the existing pedestal holes as a drill guide. I then dry fitted the brass rod. The drill holes will aways be at the rear of the display so no one will see them. (Note: drill one hole first and then insert the brass rod in to it before drilling the second hole in the keel - to prevent the keel slipping out of position).

 

Although the pic below seems to show there is still a bit of a slope to the deck it's isn't that noticeable in reality. The Dallas deck slopes upwards to the bow and stern, being horizontal only in midships. And the the holes etc will be towards the wall so will not be visible.

 

I will also put a short 90 deg bend on the rods' external ends to give purchase if I ever need to extract the rods. I'll use a small dab of Evostick to hold the rods in position. 

 

I'll finish the base off by gluing green felt to the underside.

 

Richard

 

 

 

 

 

[Wacom]

Very clever solution to the problem👌