Sea'pete, Thanks, for your input! Maybe the arch and the windows are related in that we do want to get the widest effect possible. Always in the mix is the 'form follows function' maxim. The give and take of that is the fun part in trying to be unique but also end with something that looks right.
Dodgers are definitely structures that have to be made to be seen thru. My choice of a hatch for the center requires all the framing that comes with those things. Have a feeling it will seem too small. But it was the largest ready-made I could find for that space. And the hatch light is glass.
Have wanted to have windows in the dodger that look related to the windows in the cabin. An attempt to stay with the '60s look. That means a frame around the 'light'. That means giving up see-thru area. The best, easiest, even strongest, way is carbonate slabbed and thru-bolted over openings. Can be cut to look like more see-thru area too. But from the beginning I've wanted to keep that framed look. We'll see!
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3rdmon,
The tank coating is epoxyproducts.com's NSP 120. A 100% solids 2 to 1 NSF 61 Approved Potable Water Epoxy. This is the caveat: NSF (National Sanitation Foundation Testing Lab.) is a private agency that takes FDA statistics and works them into a certification for a product or material. 61 is a number that refers to potable water. This epoxy is certified for tanks of a 1000gals or more. I'd like to know what the criterion is that judges whether an epoxy is good for a tank or a quart container?
When you search for a coating in the USA that is certified for potable water in smaller tanks you won't find it. Imagine all the containers we store and drink water from, including epoxy. I needed something.
I used this NSP 120 as the barrier coat on the outside hull. It's a hard, shiney, recoatable, dense product. It has an odor when fresh that disappears after set. I asked Paul at epoxyproducts.com about the smell and he didn't know - but I was assured it wasn't solvent. And so far as I know using it inside the boat hasn't produced a reaction. I take care to mix this product in one container and then pour it into another and stir again to make sure all of it is thoroly mixed. No uncured epoxy we hope. We're looking for an inert coating when cured. But who knows what we have here. Research it and use it without my recommendation.
Novolac epoxies, highly chemical resistant, used for coating gas tanks for instance, seem to be something to look into. All we're looking for is a hard non-reactive liner. I will pass potable, drinking/cooking water from a tank thru a carbon filter.
Don't know how far you want to get into this: but when I researched rubber (for seams and fittings) NO polysulfide passes the potable water line. NONE! That means polyurethane has to be used. Sikaflex 1A is OK, 5200 probably as well. I think I used the 1A because it had a longer open time(?) and was cheaper, coming from the hardware store. For fuel related we MUST use polysulfide (Thiokol was originally invented to keep WWII planes together, including fuel tanks.) - for water related we MUST use polyurethane.
The tank was made inside the original V-berth. The tank is part of the hull, let's say. Unusual are the large triangular sectioned fillers glassed in under the plywood top. There is a final lid which has two 6" s.s. access plates and a nylon waterfill. Dunno about the vent yet. The interior is completely glassed. The tank has a narrow raised flat bottom. The draw will be out the bottom, ie thru the bulkhead. The baffle is 3/16" homemade frp sheet held in place with fillets - with the top let into a groove in the lid.
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