Not a lot of action on this end lately. We are waiting for me to remove the old-new backstay backing block that I put in, oh, about a decade ago. Once that is done we will add a new-new backing block. Being the outboard slot takes up a majority of the center of the transom, we'll move the backstay chain plate off to port a little bit.
Here is a shot of the gas tank shelf with the necessary cleats. The starboard shelf hasn't been dedicated to anything specific as of yet. The bilge pump outputs will pass through the area, but so far, that's it.
We finally got around to adding the drains for the cubbies in the cockpit coamings. There is one for the winch cubby and one for the turning block cubby. Each braided hose has a supporting structure that was wrapped, along with the hose, in a layer of fiber glass and a layer of matting to protect from being snagged by any of the cockpit locker contents. It was a relatively straight shot from the drains to the locker lid scuppers. I had to really work to get the hose to pass through the hole in the gutter, but we'll add some poly "goop" to add some leak proofing...YEAH RIGHT! I'm sure they'll leak anyway
In an effort to secure a little more storage in the main cabin, we added a couple of small bulkheads to the starboard cockpit locker. We got a space that is 14" x 18" by nearly 30 inches tall. There is still plenty of storage left in that cockpit locker, but now we have a small locker that will give us more "interior" locker space to move stuff around as necessary, if necessary. The upper corner of the interior locker will also house the manual bilge pump.
Who ever would have thought that water tank paint had an expiration? Who would have thought it had been 5 years since I ordered a small kit to coat out the forward tank? Needless to say, I had to swallow hard and order another, new and improved, paint for the water tank. The stuff is amazingly thick! And dries amazingly fast and cures amazingly hard. Which is what one should expect for the price... It was a lot cheaper the first time we ordered it (circa 2010).
So with the painting out of the way we finally got the lid epoxied in place and were able to move on with other jobs in the v-berth. The last tasks to perform on the water tank will be to run the vent and the pick up tube into tank once we get a few other things wrapped up. At least the inspection port and the filler are in place.
If you have priced teak lately, you know that it is dang near worth its weight in gold. Around here, it's about as hard to find as a gold nugget. So to that extent, I have been re-purposing (?) some of the original furnishings when ever possible. For me it's not the money saved as much as it is bringing as much of her back to the water as possible. So the former hanging locker is now part of a drawer face and a drop-front locker, and there is still plenty left to use. One snag was a finger hole that had to be filled.
I thought I had a pretty good match with the grain initially. However, once I chiseled off the 3/16" that was standing proud of the face, the grain "moved" on me and the match was no where near what I was so proud of at first. But, in the end, the extra finger hole was filled and that was the real job at hand.
Here you can see the galley coming together. Everything is a compromise. As many times as I tried in the past, and as many different ways I tried, I just could not fit everything I wanted in this hull. So over time, Carol and I hashed out what we thought we'd really need and/or want in the main cabin. We each referenced Calder, Baldwin, Vigor, Shearlock, and the Pardeys to bolster our persuasion over each other. I have to admit, I clung to certain layout concepts and didn't have much of an argument as to why I was "right" other than, "that's the way (so and so) did it." Because indecision was leading to inaction, I let go of some preconceived notions and just "went with it" knowing that any one choice we made would mean there were several others that were removed from the possibilities.
I'm not going to try to argue that the choices we made represent the most logical, or, the safest, or really, anything other than what we decided we wanted. They do, however, represent a starting point for deciding which choices were good, which need tweaking, and which ones were bad choices for us.
We have a port side galley arrangement so hove to on a starboard tack the burner will be down hill from us (mostly). The sink will be farthest aft with a sliding cabinet door for access below it. Then we have three drawers for fun stuff. Next, and roughly centered is the cooker. We have a Taylors 029 that will fit in the gap. Moving forward will be the refer/freezer. The louvered doors provide air circulation more than access to additional storage. I know, it seems silly in some ways, but, I made those $#@! things and I'm going to use them.
There will be some additional storage built into these "lowers" and some additional storage above as well.
Completely out of step with symmetry and balance, the louvered doors and drop front lockers below them don't flow very well, but, the supporting structure largely determined where the hatches would go. Eh, I'll live with it..
Here is a look at the sliding louvered cabinet below the sink.
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