Commander 147

[Commander 147]

I have been busy working on Destiny as much as possible. I glassed in some plywood under the deck and cockpit where I will be running wires for all of my electrical. After all that was in place I started painting the remaining areas inside the boat before I start the electrical installation. That is until I ran out of paint and had to order some more. This old hull is sucking up paint like a sponge.

I also finished all of the dividers that will keep things from falling into the keel and got them painted.

When I got my new hardware in I decided I was very pleased that the folks at Rigging Only talked me into the stainless Anderson winches. There is a picture of one of them below. They appear VERY solidly built and will fit my winch risers quite well. The new hole pattern is however slightly larger than the old one so the second picture below is of the repair I'm doing to the risers. I filled the old holes with thickened epoxy and then glassed over the top and underside with a layer of 1708. I made backer blocks and covered them with cellophane tape so they would not stick to the epoxy. Then I clamped the risers to the top of my bench to let the epoxy cure. I will sand and fair out the tops before they get painted.

This morning I finished making a louver that will go in the hole where the outboard tiller handle used to extend into the cockpit from the lazarette. I plan to stow fenders, dock lines extra PFDs etc. there and I wanted ventilation to keep the mold away so I decided on a louver. I put the first coat of Cetol on it also. A picture is below.

[Commander 147]

One of the projects I have been avoiding for a long time is removing the added 500 Lb. lead pig in Destiny's keel which will be replaced with 4 - 132 Lb. batteries that will power the new electric drive. So 528 Lbs. will go back in.

I first tried Mike's (C227) method of cutting the lead down the center but I was not getting anywhere fast that way. So since I always planned on putting a new teak and holly floor in I decided I would just open up the floor and lift it out intact.

Having a 2-1/2 acre lot with literally thousands of trees on it I have gotten to know my tree removal guy pretty well. And since he was in the neighborhood cutting down trees for a neighbor I called him up and asked him if he had his tractor with him. He did and so I asked him to bring it over and help me lift the lead out.

Now I am starting to put the floor back together with white oak structural supports to help carry the load of the new batteries and tie the floor back together again.