Gas

I spent some time cleaning out the gas locker in the cockpit it seams to have collected a lot of dust and dirt as well as the rust staining from the gas bottle, after washing it out and sanding the interior it now looks much better.

There were a number of holes in the locker from the original gas installation I had decided to fill them all in and then start again and so after the interior of the locker had dried out I gave all the areas to be filled a wash with acetone before filling with thickened epoxy, the larger hole was backed up with three layers of glass fibre and epoxy on the outside.

Gas bottle locker

Currently the drain fitting that can be seen in the above photograph is blanked off I am not sure where it went originally, I can see no evidence of it going overboard, the drain arrangement at the moment is from the bottom of the locker through to the cockpit and as the cockpit drains discharge below the waterline this is not a satisfactory arrangement. The plan is to reinstate the drain on the outboard side of the locker and lead it to a skin fitting such that it will drain overboard above the waterline.

Earlier this week I had obtained the 8mm copper tube for the gas supply to the cooker and so the first job today was to run it from the gas locker to the galley it runs at high level through the locker on the outboard side of the quarter berth and then down to a point in the locker underneath the cooker where I will fit an isolating cock this is not strictly required by the rules as there will only be one gas appliance on the system but I will fit one anyway.

That is as far as I can go for the moment I am waiting for the rest of the fittings to arrive regulator, bubble leak detector etc.

Before the cooker can be permanently installed the recess needs some work again there are a number of holes and some gelcoat damage that requires attention so this is probably as good a time as any to address  these issues and so the whole area was cleaned up and given a light sanding to remove paint and glue splashes etc and then the holes and damaged areas were made good with some thickened epoxy and glass cloth where necessary. The plan here is to eventually finish the area with a couple of coats of flocoat.

Cooker recess

Holes filled in

Next week will be a short week I am off on a sailing trip down to Dartmouth, I think it helps to have a break from these long term projects from time to time I have never actually lost interest in the job but there are days when you wonder why you ever started the thing in the first place these are usually followed by several satisfying days when everything goes to plan and the project moves forward and I suppose as long as the satisfying days outnumber the bad days then there is a good chance that the project will reach completion.