Day 133

The photo above shows how the cooling units will go together once against the hull. The 1" flatbar is just tacked in as we saw no real reason to weld them in solid. The ends are tacked in now so they will be easy to weld on once in place. We could have just added a piece of flatbar on after, but this way 2 sides can be welded. Why tempt fate? Before installation, the insides will be brushed clean of any loose slag. ( Not something you want flowing through the engines water pump! )
To the right is one of the slots cut out under the web frames. Note that the stringers are not compromised and all of the plate will fit between the stringers in place with enough each side to weld. The hull plate will be sandblasted ( yuk! ) then the pieces, each four feet in length, will be slid in from aft, where there are frames nearly 4 feet apart. This all works out very well being able to slide longer pieces in, thus less welding. Placing the holes for circulation was a subject of some debate. I'll show what we decided on next day.
We are confident the approx. 32 square feet of area will give ample cooling, and hope to have to use the bypass valve to an extent! Guess we won't know for sure until she is in the water, with the engine running.

Day 133:
11 hours - Welded in baffles and tryed final fit. Cut out holes for drains and topping off etc