Odds and Ends

Happy winter solstice!  It has been too cold and windy to do much work on the boat over the past few weeks, but I did manage to knock one small project off the list.  When I purchased the boat there was no sole in floor of the head.  It didn't matter for most of the refit but with the launch date getting closer (next spring/summer) it was time to put in a proper sole.  

I only needed a small 16"x21" piece of 3/4" teak and holly marine plywood, but I couldn't find anything that small and the thought of purchasing a full 4x8 sheet for $350 was just not an option.  Fortunately, a good friend of mine happens to own a boatyard and had some extra bits lying around from a recent project and gave me a nice chunk that would be perfect.  

Since there was a seacock and strainer in that section that would need quick access, I had originally planned on cutting an access hole in the panel, but I ultimately decided to have the whole panel lift out once I found some nice snap latches that would keep the panel in place until I needed access.  This ended up saving a ton of time cutting, fitting, and finishing an access panel in the sole and only required me to use a hole saw to cut out the latch mounts.  On the other side of the panel would be 2 'lips' that fit underneath the fiberglass so once I un-do the latches the whole panel hinges up.  

I cut the panel to size, installed the latches and 'lips' and brought it over the boat for fitting.  After a bit of work on the edges to round over the underside of the panel I brought it back to the house where it was warm and started varnishing.  2 coats on the bottom and edges followed up with 10 coats on the top.  On the top, I sanded between every coat with 220 grit paper.  All told it took me about a week to build up the finish to a silly level of shine (and protection).  

So that's about it for this year, but I'm already working on the next and almost the last project.  The battery power project where I tie all the systems together so I have a starter battery for the engine and a lithium battery for the house bank that will power all the circuits in the boat.  I had a system design in mind, but I decided to hire Owen Murphy from Meridian Marine to vet (and improve) my design.  He has been really great to work with and seems to be a happy medium between fully designing and installing a system (lots of money) and helping a DIYer with good design best practices so I can confidently install the system myself.  The really cool thing about Owen's business is that he is currently sailing in Fiji on his 34 foot Crealock, but he is very responsive and easy to get a hold of.  Stay tuned...