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.   

Aft cabin

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More doors

Last weekend I managed to sand the front of doors and drawer front panel for the galley and then put on coat of primer/undercoat followed by the first coat of gloss I also cut out the doors for the heads locker and the steering gear compartment in the aft cabin.

The first job on Monday morning was to set up the doors in the heads and the aft cabin so that I could mark out the finger holes for the door catches, these were then cut out with a 38mm hole saw.

Heads 

Aft cabin

Once I had cut out the holes in the doors I went on to epoxy wooden blocks to the mouldings to provide a mount for the fixed part of the door/drawer catches, the mount for the galley door catches are simply screwed to the limber cross member. 

Heads locker showing mounting for the door catch

From Wednesday on wards the weather has been far too cold for work involving glue and paint so work on the doors has come to a temporary halt, hopefully it will be warm enough next week to proceed with this project as the doors are a bit of a drawn out job requiring some filler in places and several coats of paint on each side plus wood stain and varnish for the trim.

To round off the week I spent some time fairing the thickened epoxy filler which I had applied to various holes in the heads sole moulding I had filled these holes some time ago finishing had not been a priority job but as the weather had effectively stopped work I decided to get this job out of the way.

Heads sole cleaned up

I am not sure what I will finally do with the heads sole moulding I had thought about re gelcoating but as there will be a shower in there a shiny gelcoat finish will be a bit slippery just add soap, the cover for the shower sump also needs some attention as the current finish is peeling off/discoloured.

 

Galley fit out

This week has been spent working inside as the weather for the most part was forecast to be wet and windy I started be assembling the supports for the drawer by attaching a couple of wooden brackets to the forward bulkhead I had made both of them parallel but as is usual with this boat nothing is straight, flat, or level etc. Too get the first side to sit square I had to taper them both I guess that most boats are the same.

Drawer support brackets

Once the support brackets were in place I fitted the drawer runners to the two side pieces and then secured them in place, the aft piece is secured to the stiffener, that I had previously fitted to stiffen up the original moulding, by a corner block I probably could have glassed these two pieces to the underside of the galley moulding but there would not be a lot of room to work and in any case if I can avoid glass work overhead then I will. A further brace was fitted at the inboard end of the aft piece to stiffen up the assembly.

Both side pieces in place 

The drawer box was then slid into place it works very freely being on rollers it is probably a bit too free for a boat only time will tell.

Drawer box in place

I have also cut out the plywood for the two doors and the drawer front also a dummy drawer front to cover the opening in way of the sink and today I set them up so that I could position the holes for the catches aka finger breakers I believe.

Drawer front

Doors

These parts will be painted white with a varnished hockey stick moulding around the edge to cover the raw plywood, the catches came with a ring to fit in the finger hole to tidy things up. The completion of these parts and the manufacture of the doors for the heads locker and the aft cabin steering gear space  will be the next homework job, the plan is to make them all in the same manner.