The missing 5 months

I have been spending a lot of time in the cockpit recently.  Unfortunately, not as most Peterson owners spend time in their cockpits - reading, sailing, socialising, sleeping.  No, I have been sanding and painting - crawling, crouching, kneeling and bending.  And the worst thing - it isn't finished yet.  Close, but by no means close enough.  One of the biggest things I have been dealing with lately is the weather.  After 3 years my home-made cover is showing very distinct signs of wear, mainly by leaking, you guessed it, right into the cockpit.  So now we have covered the entire deck and coachroof in plastic to protect it from overspray, access to inside the boat is not possible and if the weather is wet and windy, progress comes to a halt.  Autumn in Auckland is not particularly dry either so progress has been very slow.  Winter dries out a bit so hope springs eternal (great unintended weather reference there...!).

We have managed 4 coats of Interprotect and 2 coats of YRA600 so the end is in sight.  2 coats of Interspray 9000 and we are all done.  The cockpit floor can go down finally and stuff can be finished!  I have been busy otherwise bolting stuff on permanently.  This is the genoa turning block which is through-bolted on the bulwark.  If it doesn't end up being strong enough I do hope no one is in the way!

Most of the plumbing is finished, I have used John Guest and now have an extensive collection of new incorrect fittings to add to my plumbing collection...  I  have a few more bits to do as soon as the deck plastic is removed.

We have also been busy on the stainless front, this shows the new bow cap and forestay fitting.  The lip on the top of the bow cap sits on top of the bulwark and has yet to have the anchor roller fittings located on it.  They will be removable in case of damage.  The new forestay fitting is slightly more contemporary than the old one, which showed cracks and corrosion after I had it electro-polished.  I feel you need some confidence in this area!  The tie-rod from the bow cap to the forestay is now a 16mm solid rod, removable for inspection.  The lump visible right at the front of the bow cap is the plug that the pulpit will fit onto.


 The chainplates have also been fitted, this shows the external view with the covering plate screwed down.  I chamfered a "V" into the fiberglass plate that is glued to the deck, as well as the 5mm cover plate.  This allowed me to get a good bead of sealant into that join.  I am hoping never to see any water around this area, although when we tighten the mast down I might need to reseal, depending on how much the chainplates move when the strain comes on.  Resealing them is only a matter of removing the 2 cover screws and it is all there.

I fitted carpet below, instantly transforming the boat to look considerably more finished than it did.  It feels and sounds much better as well.

Getting there

There always seems so little to show for our efforts, it has been a struggle to get some pictures of anything worthwhile!  Oh well, maybe its a symptom of nearing completion...  This shot shows the newly installed window glass above the chart table and in the head.  After a couple of years with nothing but a hole there I am still getting surprised when trying to pass things through the window.

I resanded the vanity top and we repainted it, so that is now finished. Although I have fitted the tapware the fresh water plumbing is still to be done but first I have to visit the plumbing shop and buy another assortment of fittings, which in my experience will be all the wrong sizes....

The hard top for the dodger sitting roughly in place on its stands.  We had the tubes bent with the lower ends 50mm too long, so we could cut them down and get it all to fit correctly.  The cockpit teak has been sanded down and has received 1 coat of Uroxsys.  Once we have completed fitting the dodger top and painted the cockpit, I will give it another 5 coats of varnish.

All but one of the headliner panels are finished, I can't believe I was 2 metres of headliner material short. Hopefully I can still get the exact same material! This shows how it looks in the saloon with the headliner panel fitted.

Something is in sight...

But I'm not too sure what it is. Christmas was a time of celebration for some, for me it seemed to be time to sand the deck. Last week we finished that job and got some paint on, first 3 coats of undercoat sprayed on then 2 coats of top coat. We sprayed all 5 coats and added beads to the 2 top coats to give a non-skid finish over the entire area. It was pretty stressful as we had a couple of minor issues - on day two the spray gun we were using decided to detach from the paint can, while the compressor was overheating some days and fine on others. There's nothing like a crisis to ramp up the stress levels!

This week we have been bolting stuff on for the final time, all the hatches are on and most of the portlights. Grabrails, windlass, staysail stay fitting - it is exciting dusting all this shiny stainless steel off and admiring the finished product.  Inside the boat looks better with the trim rings around the portlights in place.  Woohoo!

The gas bottle locker in the aft deck is going to work really well I think, the lid fits and there is lots of room inside.

Come and help, Santa

I have taken a few snaps to show the process involved in attaching the headliner, as that seems to be all I've managed to do lately. The first step is to survey the deckhead and decide where the velcro needs to go. I have had to allow for lots of bumps, remember to allow for wrapping the vinyl-backed foam around the edges of the sheet, and work out how much you need to hold it all up. I use 2" masking tape to get a good visual, then mark around the edges and measure it all.

Next the hook side tape is stuck on to 2" ply strips, stapled and the staples bent over to ensure everything stays together. Then these strips are used to mark the position on the headliner ply, which is then given a sand to key up for the loop velcro.

The loop velcro then gets stuck down and stapled, staples bent over and we are nearly there.

The hook strips are then pushed on to the loop and we are ready to glue it up. I put dabs of epoxy every 20-30 mm along the hook strips and push the whole headliner up into place. Toms are used with ply offcuts to spread the loads and once the epoxy hardens, we can peel the headliner away from the hook strips and proceed to add the foam-backed vinyl. Done! It is quite a simple process, the most onerous part being bending the staples over to ensure a good, solid bond to the plywood.