Fruits Of My Labor (A-113)

[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!

[frank durant]

That's great!!!

One step closer to "splash"

Stay at it.....it will all come together

[Tony G]

We added a shield that wraps the cook top. Taylors have a couple of wing nuts that allow you to drop, or remove, the front rail of their pot holder rail. That worked out to be a great mounting spot for this extra heat shield.

What the heck, here's the gimbal lock too.

[frank durant]

That looks awesome!!

[Tony G]

The battery box was all laid out and tabbed in, and then I read an article about battery orientation in sailboats and heeling and exposed plates... So we had to redo it in order to rotate the batteries 90 degrees. That resulted in the setee having to be taller which really isn't going to be all that bad.

So here's the run down. They are mounted in the starboard setee across from the stove. Being they are in the main cabin the top will have a gasket sealing it off from the living quarters. The cables will be fed to the monitor, charger, and panel through the PVC vent tube on it's way to the cockpit locker. The top screws down using 1/4" by 3 inch stainless screws and T-nuts. The reinforcing on the underside of the top also holds down the batteries so they can't move around. Each battery sits in its own box. I can lower the batteries into the compartment no problem, but, the boxes have to be dropped through a "key way" and then slid over to their proper resting place between wooden cleats. It's still a work in progress as we have as many plates in the air as I can manage at one time.

Now let's see how many of these pics are kitty whampus...

[Tony G]

And here's the lid photos.

[Tony G]

That's it from the Riverside Marina for now. Currently waiting on epoxy to set up enough to add a filet around the mounting plate for the galley seacock. Will be tackling the same job for the cockpit scuppers tomorrow (hopefully) and talking with the chief in the fab shop about a welded aluminum bimini top and solar panel trackers combination. We'll see what they come up with for a price. It might be better to pay for it with out of the cruising money versus trying to do it our self and burning up time.

Here's to living the dream!

[frank durant]

Less frustrating too :-)

PS....dreams DO come true!!!