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.
Here is a close up of a screw up that we ended up using. It was a test piece when I set up the router for making the louvered doors so many years ago. It just goes to show you, never throw anything away.
All of the plywood will be epoxy coated and covered with some lightweight fiberglass to help tie everything together and give it some more structural integrity. There will be some fairing and filling involved, and then everything (less the teak) will get primed and painted white.
The above photo shows where the cabinetry makes a 90 degree turn from the port side galley run and goes under the main companionway where the wet locker will be. Here is the first piece of the wet locker.
The plan for the starboard side of the main salon will be an extra long setee with storage below and behind. Running all the way from the main bulkhead to the aft most bulkhead under the bridge deck gives a lot of room for lounging. If it all turns out like planned, it will also pull out to make a double sleeper. Fingers crossed.
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.
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.
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...
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.
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.
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!!!
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?
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