Fruits Of My Labor (A-113)

[Tony G]

I've been giving a lot of thought about how to secure the Engel in its spot. It has ranged from wooden cleats to barrel bolts to some incredibly complex metal banding that hugged the refer and gave us the ability to use several over center latches to draw it tight. Wow! Keep it simple! If simple lashings would hold a Wharram cat together, they certainly should hold a 50 lb. refer in place. We will replace the handles on the Engel with a couple of folding pad eyes that will allow us to run some 1/4" line through the lashing blocks and D rings.


This shot shows just how big the foot print of the MT35 is. You can also see the holes in the main bulkhead that will help the refer "breath". As much space as it eats up, there is still plenty of room behind it for galley storage.

[Tony G]

No pictures tonight. We have been hammering away at the projects, but man, it's takes a long time to make any visible progress. The race is on to finish as much work as possible before the weather gets too cold. It looks like we're on track to get everything but the exterior paint and the standing rigging done before we head south. Looks like we'll have to find a yard in Florida we can work on her before we launch. Any suggestions?

On a different note, I picked up a sheet of 1/2" MDO the other day and was amazed at how much better the quality was compared to the "marine" plywood we have been buying lately. Locally it sells for the same price but is a much superior product. Now if it would only make the quality of my work better.

[mbd]

Tony, thanks for the updates. It's great to see you back at it AND talking of heading South! (About to be really really jealous very soon!)

You should look up the yard where Frank finished off Revival. Maybe some of his mojo is still down there waiting to help send another Ariel out cruising...

[Tony G]

I've tried to post updates but post submissions keep giving me the "you are not logged in" message even though I'm showing up on the top of the page. Let's see if four's a charm..

We have been working on the project list at nights slowly but relatively steady. Life has been getting in the way - I'm not entirely comfortable with the statement for some reason.. One week ago today we put in our notice of resignation and agreed to stay on for four weeks to help them transition our positions. That is a turning point! I've never been without a job in my adult life. We dropped the sails off at Sail Crafters to get a second reef point added to the main and a UV cover put on the headsail. We added four partitions to the bilge to section it off into 3 storage areas and to isolate the electric bilge pumps and the strum box for the manual pump. That allowed us to get the new cabin sole glued down. I really wanted a masterpiece like Aussie Geoff's but will settle for paint and non-skid. Maybe I'll get the Oriental rug I've always wanted. I started working on the starboard settee with its integrated battery box and then later read an article about battery orientation on a boat and how it affects battery health and life.* So I spent the next night cutting out my handiwork and trying to come up with plan B. On the up side, we did get a heck of a deal from a coworker on a small portable generator. That allowed us to drop our battery bank from four T-105s down to just two. We can carry the generator and 75 pounds of gas for the same weight as the two additional batteries. I'm ok with that being out only source of power is two 55 watt solar panels. If this post works I'll be motivated to try posting again.. fingers crossed.

* http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/f...ry_orientation

[Commander227]

Wow Tony! You're jumping in with both feet. Love to see updated pics and hear the plan. If you come to the cities to pick up your sails or anything I'd love to buy you dinner, or at least a beer. The Princess's winter home is just a block or two from SailCrafters.

[ebb]

About this not getting in business... from a computer challenged stooge. There was a time
when it happened to me fairly regularly, like maybe 2 - 3 times a year. I would each time
get a holt of Bill, and he would generate a new passcode for me, one of those up/down
case number jobs. Can't post if not a member.

I now have to name and passcode every time I open this site. I do it with the last crazy
code Bill emailed years ago, and because I must sign in every day, I've memorized it.
It seems to be part of every day's start up of the computer. I understand the ritual is
necessary to discourage hackers. So I do it.
I'm locked out until I go up to the little window on this page, type in my 'name'...move the
cursor over to the code bar and type in the scramble code.
Do get a welcome each time so it's worth it!


Tony, I spent. off and on, a huge amount of time trying to figure out how to incorporate
the hull slanted sides into the cabin sole. If we try to put in "even" strips of teak and holly,
like we see in Geoff's cabin, it's not possible, is it? Not possible without some crazy build-up
on top of the original sole to bring it up even. The Aussies grow some strange wood down
there, so we don't even know what a carpenter is capable of doing! I don't like to see bilge
paint there, next to the wood -- see it in nearly every photo of a small sailboat. Even the
dolled up ones. Did try full sized doorskin models... couldn't find how they did it without
extensive filling or creating areas for rot to happen.

BUT EBB FOUND THE ANSWER ! ....Might be too bassboat for you...
Teak and holly carpet.
No longer have a symmetrical floor plan. The carpet people require full size patterns.*
Expensive, as usual, but not crazy. So, have a complete rug for the sole and it's bloody
wings. Had another piece made for under the 'new' cabin table (covers the hull insulation).
And a piece for what's left of the V-berth area, in front of the 'disguised' head, on the step
up. *They supplied a common plastic pattern-making material. But I opted for stiff white
cardboard, to mime the thickness and lay of the carpet, because it wanted it to fit tight.
Press fit. Help keep it in place on dark and stormy nights.

In place, the carpet softens the bilge/sole transition, it disappears. The very obvious stripes
stay all lined up and it looks SO-O good! Looking from the c'way forward, the stripes
diminish in perspective, very satisfactory!!** Many plusses... and soft under barefoot to boot.
Can't remember the carpet material, but it must have passed some stringent rules I have.
EG: Sand and water HAS to fall out of the material. **Showing how crazy I really am, the
carpet maker and I had to exchange pattern tubes, to make sure the cabin teak pattern
lined up perfectly with the piece in the V-berth. And it does.

The carpets obviously can be removed when necessary. And obviously can be stored away
when not appropriate. They are heavily backed with a non-skid plastic/rubber. Haven't put
them in yet. But they definitely are uber marine. Sewn bound on all edges (had my choice
of sunbrella-type fabric.). They follow every in and out of my patterns. Also had a 'leftover'
made up as a topper at the ladder bottom to take the brunt of constant wear.

It's also a very pleasant dark beige/tan imitation of teak color, with narrow white stripes.
The 'teak' has a 'grain' if you look for it. I think I fell for the clever humor, and got excellent
craftsmanship as a bonus. Really beautifully made. Probably too much dollar.... but I have
them now, and the $$$ pain has almost drifted away. My kind of imitation teak!!!

[mbd]

So many words, yet soooo few pictures...

You haven't changed your password or anything lately have you Tony? Perhaps your browser is rembering the wrong password when you open up the Ariel forum?

[Tony G]

So many words, yet soooo few pictures...

You haven't changed your password or anything lately have you Tony? Perhaps your browser is rembering the wrong password when you open up the Ariel forum?

Yeah, more pictures is always the answer.
No changes here. I always have to log in, and then it thanks me and prepares me for a redirect. Then I start blathering about some idea or something else, hit the post button and then I get BLOCKED! After a couple of re-tries I just give up..

[Tony G]

Just an update, we pulled her down to Fort Pierce, FL and set up shop in the Riverside Marina. Quite a bit different working in a boatyard with sketchy power and the direct input from Mother Nature. Meeting some great people here and making some progress every day. The big thing is we're here. Hope to post updated pictures soon.

[mbd]

That is fantastic news Tony!!! I'm so happy for you guys. Soon you'll be sharing cocktail hour with the likes of Frank and Craig...

[ebb]

Soon to be picked...

or is it

PLUNKED ! ! !

[Commander227]

So exited for you Tony! We just dedicated our sunset toast to you here.
please keep us posted!

[Tony G]

I told Frank two weeks ago that I would make this my goal for the week... Well, I've been told that everything takes longer than expected once you're in a boatyard.

We finally glassed the sole where the head will sit and after a couple of days of curing epoxy the area got sanded smooth and several coats of enamel were applied.

[Tony G]

Hmm. Not sure why that pic rotated itself somewhere between the documents and posted message. Anyway, Nature's Head supplies a flexible hose for venting the unit out of the cabin. It wasn't long enough for our plans so we ran the flexi hose through the space above our forward water tank where it then connects to a 1 1/4" rigid PVC pipe that travels through the port chain locker, and then, goes into the OEM chain locker where it follows the hull up a ways before it hooks back down. That is where we put the bug screen to keep the critters from crawling backwards toward the head and finding their way into the cabin. The OEM chain locker has a hatch that locks in place and has a thick foam gasket to seal it off. We're waiting for the clear Douglas Fir to get re-sawn to finish off the hatch and v-berth ceiling.

[Tony G]

Maybe someone with more know how can fix these posts for me...

The galley is tight on room. One thing I was worried about was the heat radiating off the stove and peeling the varnish off the fiddle rails. I just couldn't squeeze anymore room out of the layout so we cobbled together some shielding. There is a machine shop in town here that had some pieces of stainless in their "drop" bin that worked out great. It was a challenge to cut, bend, drill, and file, but it worked fantastic. We had been previously cooking in the cockpit and I was always checking the temp of the stove's side walls and gimbal posts and they were HOT! So when got everything in place and fired up we were tickled pink to feel virtually no heat on the fiddle rails. Whew!