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I am building a Weekender and have arrived at the point where I need to attach the cabin roof. I followed the directions in the plans, but it seems like the curvature of the cabing rafters is such that attaching the 3/8" roof panel will be very difficult. I'm also concerned that, because of the upward pressure of the cabin roof, the screws might pull out of the rafters before the glue has a chance to set.

If anyone has experience overcoming the difficulties with this step, or could share some helpful tips, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks in advance for your help.

It would be helpful to know what you made your rafters out of, but I think you'll have no problems. Start from the centerline of the boat, attach the roof to the rafters, and work out slowly, about 3-4 inches at a time, attaching to the stringers last. This way, each screw is holding a smaller portion of the tension, and it evens out through the whole process.

Good luck,

I thought the same thing when I got to that point - especially because of the double curve at the front of the cabin. But - if you start in the middle and work out like brit says - it really does sort of come together. If I were to do it over again, I would have used a bit wider stringer on the sides. But that said - it wasn't nearly as difficult as it looked like it would be. Here is mine with the significant doulbe curve just after getting it all screwed down. I used ss screws with self tapping threads...




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The roof panel on the Vacationer is 1/2 inch plywood, trust in that it will bend and stay put. I presume that the rafters are either Douglas Fir or some hardwood type, I used cherrywood for my rafters. As everyone says start in the middle and work out from there.

NO problems with the cabin top either. My son, son-in-law and daughter helped me one afternoon with mine. But two of us could have done it alone. Centerline first and started at the front and worked both sides out and back. I had wider stringers on the roof top because I incorporated the panel joiners into the stringers on the sides. Dropped down to 1" screws though to attach it. Be careful about setting them too deep.

Thanks for all of your replies. I guess I'm just kind of nervous, not just about something going wrong, but something going wrong that would be extra difficult to fix. But its encouraging hearing from you who have already been there. Thanks again

You'd be amazed at just how much you can make materials bend if you take your time and work it one screw at a time. I still remember the shock at how easy mine came together. I had a shorter cabin, and we had too many bodies when all was said and done ... almost anti-climactic. Great step to reach on construction though. Keep plugging away, we're rooting for ya.

I used a cargo strap as I attached mine by myself with a cold Rolling Rock.

Ya know, all the cool tricks come out AFTER you've plowed through the hard way.....

Cool idea.

I was alone bending my Vacationer cabin roof, so two rods trough the deck helped me.