Great to have these shots of Geoff's Ariel rebuild way on the other side of the world!
In the first photo,
Can we see the slump of the stern on the starboard side? The toe and cove stripe seem to dip. Couldn't have come from the factory that way...naw! must have been a previous owner's contribution and a goofed fix. Great that Capt. Geoff put the pizazz back.
#9 Moving the head aft to the main blkhd and lifting the deck it sits on to create space for a holding tank is a great idea.
#13 Looks like G. gained some height off the waterline by mounting the shallow sink amidships. Raises that pesky drain. For offshore that seacock is right there. Smart.
#14 & 16 Much important hull stiffening is created with the seatback shelf/lockers. (The blkhd in 338 is pretty much a joke the way it was put in. Nowadays when they put the lid on a boat all the finished bulkheads are in place. But I swear at the P's factory only the back laz blkhd was in befor they closed it up - then they sweated the rest down the companionway in pieces and crudely bent and pissedoff them in place - sort of. The bridgedeck in 338 is really unsupported. We'll take care of that as G. has. The plywood IS tabbed to the hull providing stiffness and anti-twist.) Geoff's refit here is righton. I'm inspired.
#17 Very interesting use of this space. The baffles in the tank and the tank ends create the 'transitional' stiffening (I think is important) between the abrupt termination of the ballast and the longitudenal plywood berth tabbing. Excellent upgrade for a cruiser. Wonder how many gallons he got? Seems like the perfect place for the tank of a diesel. Glad 338 is an OB, tho.
#19 Looks like the original NOseacock well drains. Can't tell if they're hose under the wrap. However, I'd glass them bigtime right to the engine room walls there.
#21 Geoff's aft cockpit straight thru drains get my vote. Treat them just like the rudder-shaft tube. If anybody else is looking back here in the Ariels, I can guess the stalagmite part is in pretty good shape. But take a look at the upper end where goes thru the well deck - 338 needs reinforcement here. Again, I would throw a lot of Xmat and epoxy at these straight-thru drains so that nothing flying around loose is going to open them up! After the motor is in only a ferret will get access back there. Maybe a small hatch in the c'pit deck in front of the rudder tube is called for. Like Tim has in his T-381.
Ariel is so small, it's like putting on an overcoat - that has some extra pockets. It's a treat looking into Geoff's rebuild. It's a real personal striving/somewhat frustrating relationship you have when you get into this sort of thing. And all what you want is the tiller under your arm and all what you need is warm sand between yer toes. It's an absolute. All the best to Uhuru voyager and her crew.
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