Backing Plate Concerns vignette on janice142

To make sure the support hinge does not pull through the aft bulkhead, I needed a backing plate. I gave a bit of a Primer on the whys and wherefores in the Backing Plates article yesterday.

Another page website visitors have found helpful is

Boat Talk

Boat Talk is a dictionary of sorts for some of the terms boaters become familiar with over time. This page is like me, and not fancy at all. Boat Talk does provide a brief description along with links to various articles should you want more details.

Three strips were cut, each 17" long. That is the length of the stainless hinge.

The third will go under the shelf board and extend an extra inch as
a support for the wood. The three backing plates are 17" x 2" wide.

Backing Plate Concerns:

I had a myriad of concerns regarding this project. The wood chosen for the shelf is just 3/8" thick plywood. As there is not going to be a lot of weight on it, I did not see any reason to go with something sturdier.

Still, I do not want it to break or warp. I opted for two pieces of backing plate (aka cutting board) to reinforce the top portion of the hinge. One is on the outside of the cabin. The other is inside, between the hinge and the bulkhead.

There are a couple of reasons for that one on the inside. The primary is so that any shifting of the boat will not cause the metal in the hinge to damage the wall. Seaweed vibrates slightly when the engine is running. The cutting board will act as a gasket of sorts. Secondary is to add strength at the connection point where the bolts penetrate the aft bulkhead.

Now outside I wanted the washers to be larger. Fender washers are the ones that are real big and of course I did not have enough in my ship's supplies. Fortunately there is a right nice hardware store in the neighborhood.

FENDER WASHERS AND NUTS secure the backing plate to the aft bulkhead.

Additionally, I wanted to be sure the plywood shelf would not break at the hinge. The shelf will have a backing plate beneath the wood that is wider than the hinge. I'm *spreading the load once again. Next, the wood, with the hinge on top.

*Spreading the Load means enlarging the contact point so that things will not break, pull through nor fail.

It was done that way so the shelf could raise flush with the back bulkhead. If I had the wood on top of the hinge it would not lift properly. The thickness of the shelf would prevent the hinge from folding completely.

Prices are reasonable at Beach Hardware too. That is
definitely a bonus for those budget conscious folks out here.

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