Galley Flat fitment problem

[rovineye]

For sure I chamfered  the lowering edge and bowed the galley flat to get it in , forcing it with light hand on rubber mallet when scraping against wires. In the end the fillet covers up the deformations. No issues in the end but it was the worst fitting of the project.

[faithie999]

my experience was about 3 months ago, so my memory is a bit foggy.  when I first tried to install the flat, I thought it was just plain-ol too wide.  so I took about 1/8 inch off each outside edge of the flat.  it was still a tight fit, but after several tries, putting it in at different angles, it finally dropped right into place.  then I discovered that I had trimmed off too much, but a thick bead of epoxy putty on top and bottom of both edge joints covered up the slot caused by the excess trimming.

because of the way the sides of the hull are angled, I think there is just one “magic angle” that you need to position the flat in, relative to the floor of your workshop, at which it slides right in without much force being applied.

if you can’t find any angle at which it slides in, get out your block plane and shave a little bit off each outside edge and try again.

 

[faithie999]

yes, it’s the drip catch.  I couldn’t remember what it is called.

[caveprod]

For what its worth, the galley flat is in. I’m happy with the solution in the end, I agonised over it and put it off for a week or two, but in the end you just have to make it happen. My intended solution was to round the sides to make it easier to get in and take a sixteenth of an inch off both sides. It might have worked but I ended up taking an eighth of an inch off instead and then trying it. A Solution? The flat went in easily enough but I had maybe a quarter of an inch gap either side which I didnt fancy filling in with a fillet, so I used some 3/4″ quad, and it works and wont show since its underneath. Have now moved on.

[faithie999]

there definitely must be one and only one “magic angle” at which to insert the flat so no trimming is needed.  my experience was the same as yours–took 1/8 off each edge and ended up with gaps.  I filleted top and bottom and after a few thousand miles, no issues.

[TnE]

I found that if you start with the camper on its side, the flat will be vertical. Insert the bottom end in a position near the bulkhead slot, then one hand inside and the other hand in the outside top, you pull with the inside and push outside top and the flat will bow enough to slip into near place and can easily be moved to its final position.

Put your long wires through the holes in the hull and bend the wires down flat against the inside so they won’t fall out or interfere . When the galley flat is near position, thread the wires through the flat and twist. Long wires allow you to twist the ends so you won’t loose them and allow movement of the galley flat to slot it into the bulkhead and position on the hatch lip. When you are happy, tighten up the wires.

 

[PatandRay]

We had some trouble with the galley flat.  We softened the edges on each end. There were some weak CA joints that kept popping, so we left them “popped”. Then we turned the mold on its side. In that position, one person could set the lower edge in place while another put a slight bow in the plywood. It popped right into place. Gravity was a great help.

[Author]

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