Decking the roof of a cabin

[blackdaisies]

In a cabin plan where the cabin has been extended and you want the top of the cabin decked flat, can anyone describe how that could be done? This is only a general question, this is not a current project, and it is just a question.

If the chines in the roof are replaced with flat decking, will that work and what would you omit or add to the boat? Do you make the original walls of the boat sides taller, or do you just build the boat as normal and add a flat top on top of the roof? Does that make sense as how the question is written? I hope so.

[PAR]

I can understand a viewing platform over a cabin roof, but you really don't want it flat. It should have some crown, maybe not as much as a cabin roof, but some to permit water to shed off in rain, splashes, etc. Other wise it'll pool or collect and now you've got other issues to deal with like leaks and a few hundred gallons (at 8+ pounds each) roaming around your flat roof, looking for trouble to get into (literally).

What are you trying to do?

[lazeyjack]

flat rooves need more support, OR they must be thick
When loaded heavily the cabin sides will in theory want to buckle, so unrights to stiffen the sides are necessary, a crowned up roof, of laminations may need no beams at all, but the loads are always tranferred to he sides, a flat roof will drain if it has fall fore and aft, nothing wrong with that, its just an engineering exercise

[blackdaisies]

I asked a website about extending the cabin on a boat plan all the way to the end making the rudder handle inside and being able to sail from inside for a very small 15 foot boat. He said "Yes, you can deck the whole thing." I asked him twice to be sure, but it didn't make sense on how you would rise the deck to be even with the cabin, and then deck it? or just extend the cabin and make it rounded all the way to the end?

I thought maybe it was a typical term used in boat plans and maybe someone had heard of it. I think I'll just extend the cabin and not deck anything. Or would that be bad when handling the sails? I think it should be becked, so I can get to the sails if I have to, so maybe that is what he meant by decking.

I figure there when they rise to make the deck for the back, I'll rise it equal to the cabin, and deck it, so I can walk on top? I don't know. I just thought someone would know. I was just wondering how that would be done.
Thanks for the replies already.

http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/sf...lynx/index.htm




http://www.buildboats.com/lynx14-planreview.html



The method would be to canvas the top for gripping, so not to slip I guess. Maybe he meant that as go ahead and deck it meaning to put the roof on top of the whole thing. I see I would have to go on top of the cabin anyways to handle sails pulling them down for stowage, so it won't matter if I have to go on top. I'm going to add a hatch on top.