New owner of BCC 28

I recently bought a BCC in Seattle and shipped it out to Flathead Lake in Montana. An unlikely place for her, but it is a big lake. The interior was recently finished in a competent but simple way, primarily with white plywood and I want to upgrade a bit.

(1) The pull-out double berth appears to be built pretty close to plans (a plywood platform that pulls out between two wooden guides), but it binds badly when pushed back in. Any thoughts about this? I’m considering tacking on some sort of non-slip surface to the board ends.

(2) The engine compartment is closed with a single very large plywood door hinged on one side. I’ve seen photos of a panel with a built in trash container and very vague photos of how it is all mounted to the frame-- hinge or…? Two separate pieces or something else?

(3) Exterior teak- bulwarks etc., are in good shape but unfinished, gray and rough. I don’t want to varnish or paint. Shall I leave it or use some sort of oil to brighten it a bit?

Any information and/or photos would be helpful.

And thanks much!

There is a workshop manual in pdf format somewhere on the forum which will give you everything you need for construction. Also if you do not wish to spend the time and effort on varnish some folks use semco as an easy finish seems to work quite well and very easy to use. Seems like a good product.

I’ve down loaded a couple of construction manuals awhile back. They are pretty piecemeal and vague if I want details about finished furniture. I’ll definitely look into semco!

Has anyone else had difficulty with the double berth sticking when it is returned to the closed position?

paul.silverman@umontana.edu Wrote:

(1) The pull-out double berth appears to be built
pretty close to plans (a plywood platform that
pulls out between two wooden guides), but it binds
badly when pushed back in. Any thoughts about
this? I’m considering tacking on some sort of
non-slip surface to the board ends.

Think of the plywood platform/teak guides as a plain bearing. No roller bearing, no low friction surface. Just timber to timber.

As long as that timber-to-timber plain bearing is dry (i.e. without damage from a deck leak) it should provide fair service. A little dry lubricant helps. Plain bearings are not meant to carry a heavy load or to deal with fast motion.

A. Do not push the platform outboard too vigorously. Over pushing can cause a jam.

B. Lubricate. Two techniques: (i) the traditional - get a wax candle and run the candle along the load bearing surface of the fore and aft guides; and (ii) the modern (but not necessarily superior) technique - get a stick of Dri Lube and run the stick along those same load bearing surfaces.

(2) The engine compartment is closed with a single
very large plywood door hinged on one side. I’ve
seen photos of a panel with a built in trash
container and very vague photos of how it is all
mounted to the frame-- hinge or…? Two separate
pieces or something else?

As Stewart noted, the BCC Construction Manual has a drawing of the Engine Room Door with Trash Bin. See page 88. If all goes perfectly, a copy of that page will be attached to this post.

As you’ve recognised, Paul, the electronic version of the Construction Manual is a mish-mash that gained its current shape under Roger Olson as president of Sam L Morse Co. Roger added his excellent technical drawings to earlier work that was intended to supplement the skills and knowledge of the adept who were prepared to finish a hull-deck by themselves.

The Engine Room Door with Trash Bin was fairly common in the hulls built during the watches of Roger and Sumio Oya.

On Zygote, a Southco push to close latch (aka a flush pull latch) securely holds the trash bin in the engine room door. The latch is almost superfluous, because the centre of gravity of the trash bin means the trash bin is not liable to fall out unless the boat inverts.

Another Southco push to close latch holds the engine room door closed against the bulkhead frame. Two cleats at the inside bottom of the engine room door provide a channel that embraces the bulkhead frame and holds the engine room door in place. Those cleats are not shown in Roger’s sketch found in the Construction Manual.

Engine Room Door with Trash Bin.pdf (37.1 KB)

on topic, I recently fitted a serpentine belt to a high output alternator, and I have to say that this together with smart charging has been a tremendous success. However there is one problem, the temperature of the alternator is going up, and the close apposition of the trash bin prevents the air circulation. Now I wedge the bin open when under power just to let some air in to cool the alt.

You fix one thing and another thing crops up.

Thanks so much for your help! I’m looking forward to some pleasant winter projects and sailing in the spring.