Work on the electrical system continues and Geoff is making great progress. The main areas are finished - the main distribution area under the stairs, the main engine panel and the 12-switch panel etc. I have been pretty happy as all the work we have done during the build has paid off, with regards to adding wiring access and gluing in conduit. I think I have most of the switches, lights, fans and sockets that we need so hopefully I don't need to shop around as I have been doing. It has been hard to find attractive (to my eyes) and practical light fittings, in the end we just said "whatever" and went with our first choice.
Bill has started on the forward cockpit coaming. There has been quite a lot of standing round talking about it, working out some parameters and different ideas. It is a difficult thing to build with no drawings so hopefully our discussions are worthwhile. It looks quite high so far but I think that is because I am so used to nothing there - I keep needing to put the old teak boards in place so I can remember the scale. We decided to centralise the instrument panel and leave the hatch looking offset, time will tell if that is the best look.
I have had the backstay chainplates made and polished. They are pretty chunky as it is what Sam had lying around in his workshop, but I don't think they will disintegrate! The photo shows I have drilled the holes and they are sitting in place. I was on my friend Cedric's KP44 over the weekend and I ran a line to see how much room it created on the aft deck. I believe it will be really good, with a lot more headroom and space than the existing central backstay. I might not have guessed the angle correctly but we are able to bend them around a bit if they are not close enough.
Hopefully I have now lifted the engine for the final time! I am sure I said that last time, however that was before we realised I had used the wrong coating in a few areas. Unfortunately on one of my shopping expeditions I had picked up brushable gelcoat instead of Flocoat, without realising. Bill found the problem when he went to use a bit and actually checked the tin! At least now I have a reason why some of my work was not looking as shiny as it should do - the gelcoat is not designed to be a surface coat and remains porous and soft. It is designed to be the first coating over a mould and normally would be over-coated with polyester. Live and learn!
I have been trying to get the aft cabin ready for painting, it is a very unpleasant job and one I need to keep kicking myself to achieve. However, today should be the day so with a bit of luck I should get some paint on this week and the aft cabin will be finished! The weather recently has been cold and wet, not very conducive to sanding or painting. Yesterday afternoon the sun actually appeared so I raced around and slopped a bit of Interprotect over the foredeck. It is interesting to see the difference it makes after the sanded and patchy look of the last 18 months or so.
The cockpit coaming is all done, this picture is a couple of weeks old. Bill has now sanded all the bits smooth and added some teak to the tops of the cockpit side. That will allow us to attach the dodger clips and will hopefully prevent water from running into the wet-weather watchkeeping position. I will get some photos of that at some stage. Bill has also cut the holes for the instruments, speakers and switch panel, we are happy to confirm we can get our hands in behind these to tighten fasteners!
I have been busy completing the plumbing for the head area, which is now only waiting on the fresh water line to the vanity sink and the breather for the holding tank. There isn't much to see however for a lot of contortion work...
I have been trying my best to keep everything as tidy as possible but I am not completely happy - I wish pipes bent 90 degrees more easily!
Bill was doing his own stuff for a while, but has added the plinth for the binnacle. That is foam and glass, glued to the cockpit floor. I still need to get the binnacle painted but I am considering powder coating it, I need to check that it won't blow the epoxy bog off the aluminium when they heat the powder.
Looking a little like a Star Wars fighter, the forward cockpit coaming is coming together and should be finished soon. Bill has cut out the speaker holes and added a wiring conduit so we are ready to go!
There's a movie where one of the characters just keeps saying "and then?" until chaos ensues. Just how I feel! Progress appears incredibly slow currently as we do a host of little jobs. Geoff the sparky has almost finished this phase, he will need to return once the painting is finished and we have laid the lining on the exposed parts of the hull. I am painting the aft cabin but the weather has been cold and damp lately so that has been slow. Today looks good so I'm into it in a moment!
Bill is rocking on with the forward cockpit coaming. It looks high until you put the instruments in place above the hatch, which then brings everything into perspective. Construction is quite simple but I am glad he is doing it, there are a few tricks of the trade he brings along which make it look easy.
The foam is glassed inside and out, he is doing that in the garage before the final attachment onto the boat. We will be making the hatch turtle strong enough to jump on, so there will be a bit of trial and error there. Elsewhere in the boat I have mounted the cabin lights, 12 V sockets, switches and some of the fans. Parts of the boat look finished - if you hold your head right and concentrate...
