The album of Ariel #422

[c_amos]

.....so I chose the more traditional route and will redo all of the brightwork with varnish, as it can be maintained on-the-fly whenever needed.

Bless you man....






Just for the record, the bright work on Katie Marie looked pretty darn good to begin with, Kurt.

[CapnK]

First off, the cabin liner in Katie Marie is very dull - I don't think it's been polished in *years*. I'm using 3M's Marine Fiberglass Restorer and Cleaner and doing a section of the overhead every day. This pic shows the difference the stuff makes, and it is quite easy to use (except for the "overhead" part - which is a great shoulder and neck workout... ). Obviously, the left side is not yet done, while the area to the right has been. Big difference, eh? I'm glad to see it shining up so well.

[CapnK]

Here is the genius bit of craftmanship you have been wondering about. I hate to put these photos up, and make Ebb's work look so, well, unfinished, but here we go...

"Technical discussion" follows the photos...

Here's the new box -



and here's a slightly different perspective which shows its size better, and how it sits in relation to the rest of the interior -



here with the lid open -



and last, looking down inside -



I made the box simply and easily, because I knew I'd probably be remaking the box. I will be remaking it (a bit smaller), but I also made it functional since, as a liveaboard, I need to be able to keep the bee... um, soda (yeah, that's it, "soda") cold, along with cold cuts and bread, etc..., so it is a "working" prototype.

I used 1" thick sheet foam from a hardware store, and a radiant heat barrier material sandwiched between the outermost layer of foam and the 2nd layer. The 3rd, innermost layer of foam I added a week after the rest, after testing out to see how well just 2" of foam did. 3" works *much* better, so I may even go to 4" in the final version. The construction is simple - I cut the foam with a blade, and staggered the corner joints, sealing them with good old duct tape at every layer. I did not get too involved in the lid; the final version will have more than 1" of foam. For now, I am using a "floating inner lid" of 1" foam and some of the radiant barrier, placing it directly on top of the foodstuffs inside. I'm using the large (approx. 9" square, 1.5" thick) refreezable blue ice substitute thingamajingers, and am getting 4 days of cold from 2 of them inside the box. This is much less volume than a bag of ice, I'd probably get more time using an 8# bag of ice, but thats expensive sorta (although less so than it was, since the extra foam gives the box longer legs...).

I will do a drawing with the dimensions on it, and post that later (in a few days).

[CapnK]

I also mounted one of my Caframo fans - yippee! The skeeters and no-see-ums were starting to get viscious. Am working on a screened companionway insert.



I've found a great place for one of my cockpit seats - as a cabin seat. This is a great spot to sit and read or eat (or all three). All of this area will eventually be built in with approximately this arrangement, I like it so well.



I knocked together some curtains out of spinnaker cloth -



here they are "furled" -

[CapnK]

...and here are the CrewDogs, Molly and Buffett, reclining in their V-berth while they watch me work. Eventually, all those duffels down the strbd side will be replaced with a storage unit most likely constructed of Azek...

[CapnK]

Oh! And a question...

Based on her Hull # of 422, can anyone give me an idea of what year Katie would have been commissioned? IIRC, there were 440 Ariels made, so she's near the end of the run, but I'm not sure of her exact age. I've been thinking she was a 1966 model, like #370, but am convinced she's of a younger vintage...

Thanks!

[commanderpete]

Don't know, but she seems to be getting younger everyday.

Say Kurt, how do you "embed" multiple photos in one post?