Further distractions

This week has seen further distractions with visits to the doctor and optician which meant that I didn't get a great deal done started on Monday morning by giving the engine a run to charge the battery the plan was to use a battery charger but unfortunately I had left it at home, I then spent the rest of the day having a good clean round followed by a general tidy up.

The rest of the week was spent clearing up various outstanding odds and end replacing missing screws etc and putting in some more of the hull lining which I had started some time ago but had been put aside while I got on with external work. The first part was to finish off the lining on the bookshelf at the aft end of the saloon I had cut out the overhead panel some time ago but it just needed final fitting and after searching through the pile of carpet offcuts I found just enough to complete this area.

Aft end bookshelf lining

Once the bookshelf was completed I started on preparing the starboard side of the saloon for re lining this will take a bit of effort to remove the old paint and glue residues.

Starboard side saloon

I have a sufficient carpet to cover the hull side which has already been cut to size but I will require some more for the overhead panels in this area I also need more for the forward bulkhead in the aft cabin, the hull sides in the fore cabin and the quarter berth so the next job will be to measure up and get it ordered. Oh and yes that is the sun shining on the starboard side it might have been warmer today but for the most part it has been pretty grey and miserable.

Bit of a quiet week

I started off the week with the woodwork to hold the storage box under the sink in the heads it was a bit of a short day and I didn't get very far and also as things stood the box was not going to fit the space as the shower drain pump was in the way, I would need either a smaller box or move the pump so I called it a day and went home.

I started on Wednesday with the intention of sorting the heads storage box however best laid plans and all that a friend came by and by the time we had had a cup of tea it was lunchtime. I did a little bit more woodwork and then went round to his boat for more tea and biscuits by after which it was time to wash up and head off home there is always another day.

First job today was to arrange an electricity supply so that I could have some heating in the boat it was jolly cold this morning. Once that was organised I unbolted the shower drain pump so that I could complete the woodwork for the storage box. Once the woodwork was completed I drilled a couple of new bolt holes for the pump and replaced it, I moved it outboard by half the pitch of the mounting bolts so that I only needed to drill two holes and fortunately the hoses and cables had sufficient slack to allow the move.

Pump replaced and woodwork complete

All done

I spent the rest of the day planning the installation of the 240V shore supply this project had not been a particularly high priority but as the plan is to eventually install a diesel fired heater a means of keeping the batteries fully charged through the winter will be required also most of the rest of the internal work is held up by cold weather at the moment much too cold for painting and glueing.  

Galley storage boxes

The plastic storage boxes came with boat they were full of various bits and pieces and as the boat started to come back together they gradually became surplus to requirements but rather than bin them I had been thinking of a possible use for them. After some thought I decided to use them under the galley sink and the heads washbasin these are large awkward shaped spaces and to keep stuff in some semblance of order it will also keep stuff clear of any water which may collect in this area especially as the saloon bilge is quite shallow and when heeled it can run through to these spaces.  I decided to use the said boxes with some timber supports. I started on Monday with the galley under sink area and built up the supports from 2"x 1" softwood.

Timber supports under the galley sink

Storage boxes in place

Should more storage space be required I could probably build another tier either above or outboard of the two boxes.

After looking at the space under the cooker I decided that I could fit a box in this space this required some additional woodwork to prevent the box from damaging the gas pipe which runs through this space which can be seen in the photograph below.

Space under the cooker

Box under the cooker

Today I made a start on the woodwork under the heads washbasin but I didn't get very far as I had run out of timber I had used the timber for the space under the cooker which I had originally intended to leave as a void space, also the guy came to make up the pattern for a new spray hood we had been waiting for a spell of calm dry weather and today was just about suitable.

As far as I got

I will probably only manage one box in this space as it tapers quite sharply towards the forward end.

Christmas break

In spite of the Christmas/New Year break I did manage to get some work done to begin with I completed the fairing of the galley moulding gelcoat. One of my homework tasks had been to sand and varnish the two pieces of timber trim which fit around the cooker opening I then managed to get them fitted.

Galley moulding with trim added

The two storage boxes in the above photograph are part of a plan to have lift out storage in the locker so that it can be easily removed to allow access to various bits of plumbing, seacock etc the idea is to build in a wooden rack to hold the boxes.

The other achievement was to remove the temporary wiring for the solar panel and do a proper permanent installation one of those jobs that I have been putting off because the temporary wiring despite being untidy worked OK.

Temporary solar panel wiring

I purchased a double side entry cable gland which I fitted under the spray hood and then led the cables under the saloon head lining and then down through the engine space and into the battery locker before reconnecting them to the charge controller.

New cable gland

Just to finish the job I will secure the exposed cables with a couple of cable clips, at least I can now shut the companionway hatch without having to trap the cables between the hatch and the top washboard.

I have also managed to make some progress with the current homework job which is to make doors for the remaining lockers and the front panel for the galley draw, the plywood proved to be somewhat prone to splintering on the edges when cut and the faces also had some rough patches all of which I had filled with some lightweight epoxy filler namely West's epoxy thickened with West's 407. I have sanded all the filler so that I am ready to finish painting the doors but at the moment the current cold weather has put a stop to that. Also I have been experimenting with the edging for the doors I could only obtain the 'hockey stick' section in softwood locally so I have been trying to dye the wood to a colour which when varnished will match the timber trim for the finger holes in the doors, watch this apace.