3 weeks flash by in the blink of an eye. What I have been trying to focus on is getting some painting finished, I managed to do the head but will wait for a day or so when Bill isn't around and then knock off the rest of the stuff in the saloon. Then I need to get cracking on the walkway and the aft cabin/shower. Bill has almost finished this area, we should be able to glue in the last 4 portlight surrounds in the next few days and then it is done. This shot shows the under-deck ply finished and the Kauri trim - above the bendy-ply coachroof sides -glued on. 
The locker under the companionway continues to have stuff added. I have had some stainless brackets made to support the engine start battery off the floor, and fitted the universal voltage A/C battery charger. When connected to shore power we will run an extension cord to the battery charger and that will keep all systems topped up.
This final photo shows the bracket built to support the generator at the aft end of the engine room. This will have a plywood sheet at its aft end, to both stiffen the bracket up and to enable pumps etc to be bolted on for the generator and watermaker systems. Did I mention how much I don't love plumbing? The other day I came to the realisation that all my watermaker plumbing has been supplied in NPT - WTF? As the rest of the boat is all BSP threads I will replace what I can. I guess plumbing was the reason that bad language was invented - the first incident of a swear word was a plumber realising that his 3/4 hose barb won't screw into a 3/4 female elbow because it's not %$&^%$ tapered....
Progress has been made steadily and we have tidied up some jobs that will allow me to proceed when Bill is not here. We added the wood trim and the ply headliner in the walkway, so I can finish all the outstanding painting forward of the engine room bulkhead. We also sprayed the head counter top and the companionway shelf and that came up well.
I fitted the Chatfield Marine Blue Water Shaft Seal, the picture shows the old prop shaft sitting in place through the Vesconite cutless bearing. The Vesconite bearings were very simple to fit, I just put them in the freezer overnight and they just tapped into place.
The engine is sitting down on the modified beds again, it looks like it will line up well this time. I have now removed the rusty old RSJ from the boat and it looks a little less industrial.
The additional scuppers have been cut and I have sealed them in preparation for the PVC pipes that will be epoxied in. As we have come to expect, there were large voids in the hull/deck join, I have poured in quantities of thin epoxy glue so I hope it will all stick together. I am less surprised as time goes on, with regards to the amount of movement in the boat prior to refitting. Hopefully we will not hear any large cracking sounds when we float! The stanchion bases are all fitted now and we are ready to glue the rubbing strake on when the time is right.
The shower is getting closer to completion, we have nearly finished fairing the coachroof. We decided to simply use epoxy fairing compound as there will be no possibility of any rot in this wet area.
Well, finally got my act together and put the engine in. It was delayed a bit by the need to line bore the shaft log. I had long been suspicious that the cutless bearing at the aft end was not aligned with the shaft, judging by the various damage marks on various bits. I was also disappointed by the fact that the forward end was not round. The supplier of my new cutless bearings suggested I line bore the shaft log to ensure a proper fit and I think it was good advice. I was at school camp with my son Will when the guy turned up to do the job, but he sent me some photos - along with the bill! The aft OD for the bearing is 2", the forward one is 1.75". He also lined up the hole in the aft engine bulkhead and that will help us in aligning the engine.
Putting the engine in place was pretty straightforward, although I had to cut a hole in the roof of the shed/tent, as the hiab that I had to put the engine in was much bigger than the one we used to take the old Perkins out. I have had the exhaust riser modified to fit, however I need to cut the modified engine beds down a bit as I managed to make them too high... hem hem! We will be able to use a chain block to lift the engine out of the way, I have a 3.5m length of RSJ that will fit across the cockpit. Hopefully more soon, maybe not much this week as Will has 3 games of cricket for his school and we will be going along on Thursday to see New Zealand play Australia.
Just like waiting for a wind in the horse latitudes I have been waiting for fair breezes of chance to blow our way. My fantastic boatbuilder Bill was stricken with a melanoma before Christmas and is still recovering from the op. I have been muddling along but I am pretty disappointed with progress. Once I recovered from sanding the coachroof I have been trying to focus on getting the engine in. Fitting the through hulls was a job I kept putting off again and again, hoping that Bill would be able to supervise. In the end I just did it, time will tell if I have done a good enough job. 
This photo shows another angle of the engine room with forward to the right of the shot. The seacocks are: cockpit drains port and starboard, generator inlet, main engine inlet. The waterlift muffler is just sitting there at present, I will screw it down later.
