Well, sorry for the lack of updates. I had been working hard on trying to launch the boat in July, but work called and wanted me to come back early, so I changed the plans and left it inside the building until I get back in October. Turns out I didn't have to be back at work until August 1st but thats another story...
The boat is looking great. The exterior is just about finished and only needs a few touch up jobs here and there. I completed putting the life lines on, most all woodwork is finished, and the cockpit is all redone. The main hatch is redone with new teak on most of it. It looks amazing.
Other exterior work completed is that the name was put on and the new dodger has been finished. I also installed new hatches on the stern and the dorade boxes were painted and installed, while the cowls are off being powder coated.
The interior is still kind of a mess, but all it needs is a quick cleaning to be ready to sail, but there are still a lot of cosmetic issues that I would like to take care of. The galley is all put together. The shelves have been painted and new cabinet doors were made for where the microwave used to be. All the galley ware that I bought last time at work is all stored with plenty of space for provisioning. I am happy with how it all came together.
The aft cabin is coming together. I ended up replacing all the wood that was weak and rotten on the top half of the cabin. It was a lot of work. I had to pull out the porthole and rip out all the old wood carefully so I could use them a templates for the new stuff. I took it all out and cut new from marine plywood or Okume to try and make it match the rest of the boat. I reinstalled all the new wood, rebedded the porthole, and trimmed out the entire space. Still need to install the overhead light and some kind of reading light and fan for creature comforts. The carpenter redid the outboard bulkhead with plywood and mahogany slats. Looks great! Still need to figure something out for the base where the veneer peeled up?
The bottom is getting ferro-blasted while I am away and I will barrier coat it and bottom paint it when I get back. The mast is going up after a little wiring of the new mast head light and radar dome. Then she gets splashed and we christen her with a bottle of something nice! Can't wait!
The boat is looking great. The exterior is just about finished and only needs a few touch up jobs here and there. I completed putting the life lines on, most all woodwork is finished, and the cockpit is all redone. The main hatch is redone with new teak on most of it. It looks amazing.
To redo the cockpit, I ran a router down all of the seams to get rid of the old caulking and deepen the grooves to allow for a better seal. I then took Maritime Teak Deck Caulk and re-caulked all the seams. I then sanded the entire deck flush to refinish the wood and make the seams flush. I have a lot of extra wood in the cockpit so I was not worried about removing a little when sanding. The other way to do this job is to tape off all the seams and remove the tape while the caulk sets. Once complete I used Semco Teak sealer to finish it. It is more like a teak oil with a lot of UV inhibitors but retains the teaks natural non-skid attributes.
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| Caulking the seams |
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| After sanding |
Other exterior work completed is that the name was put on and the new dodger has been finished. I also installed new hatches on the stern and the dorade boxes were painted and installed, while the cowls are off being powder coated.
The interior is still kind of a mess, but all it needs is a quick cleaning to be ready to sail, but there are still a lot of cosmetic issues that I would like to take care of. The galley is all put together. The shelves have been painted and new cabinet doors were made for where the microwave used to be. All the galley ware that I bought last time at work is all stored with plenty of space for provisioning. I am happy with how it all came together.
The aft cabin is coming together. I ended up replacing all the wood that was weak and rotten on the top half of the cabin. It was a lot of work. I had to pull out the porthole and rip out all the old wood carefully so I could use them a templates for the new stuff. I took it all out and cut new from marine plywood or Okume to try and make it match the rest of the boat. I reinstalled all the new wood, rebedded the porthole, and trimmed out the entire space. Still need to install the overhead light and some kind of reading light and fan for creature comforts. The carpenter redid the outboard bulkhead with plywood and mahogany slats. Looks great! Still need to figure something out for the base where the veneer peeled up?
This time back I also bought and installed a new battery bank. I decided to go with 6v deep cycle golf cart batteries wired in series to give me a 840AH 12v bank. This should provide ample power and be sustainable with the 2 solar panels and wind generator that I have. It is all wired up and I made a new battery box for it. I also bought a new AGM engine start battery and still need to wire it up. I also hooked up all the electronics and made sure that they all work. Everything except the SSB is working great. I need to do a little more research on the SSB radio to get it going, but it turns on which is a good sign.
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| New Battery Bank |
"Believe you can and you're halfway there."
Theodore Roosevelt
