More topsides

Again most of this week has been spent on filling and fairing the topsides which has now largely been completed there are a few scratches etc to be dealt with but the more serious repairs are complete. After some final sanding with 180 grit paper I have started to apply the International 'Prekote' to the repaired areas the intention is to apply two coats before finishing with International 'Toplac', The transom was given its second coat today the whole area will be repainted as after the repairs there was not a great deal of the original paint left intact.

Transom after 2 coats of 'Prekote'

The area at the bottom of the transom was originally epoxy coated some of which was removed when sanding the repairs to the stress cracks in this area this will be reinstated before the anti fouling is applied.

As a little light relief from sanding the topside repairs I have progressed a little further with the electrical installation by pulling through and connecting the cables for the berth lights in the forward cabin also I have obtained a 30w solar panel and charge controller from Photonic Universe the controller has been connected and I spent some time today temporarily connecting the solar panel and deciding on a route for the cables from the panel to the controller which will require a cable gland and some additional cable. The intention is to mount the panel on the hatch garage.

Charge controller

The wiring to the charge controller still requires tidying up, the photograph is a bit blurred as the camera battery was about to give up and the screen had gone blank so it was point the camera and hope for the best. The controller is an MPPT (maximum power point tracking) which makes the best use of the power from the panel which gives an increase in the charging current than that which would be expected from a conventional PWM (pulse width modulation) controller don't ask it's all magic to me.

Another short post this week which belies the effort applied especially with the filling and fairing but the project is still moving forward.