And on the eighth day, man got sick of his current power-hungry galley arrangements and (other than a minor drip - to be fixed this coming weekend) plumbed in a Dickinson diesel cooker. Yes, that small yellow flickering in the picture below is the new cooker winding up and pumping out a very decent amount of heat. I had it running on the lowest setting (1 of 5) and according to the resident galley slave, it was more than enough to fry an egg.... (and warm up the salon).

The last of the heavy construction finishes this week with just sliding windows to fit and external deck / wheelhouse painting to go (when the weather co-operates).

Huge clean up and a photo heavy update to follow next week.....

n

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Another weekend of progress.

First up was replacing some bilge hosing and installing another forward bilge pump. Can never have too many of them. I also had some leftover hoses up forward that were intended for a forward head, but never installed. Out they came at the same time. Needless to say, none of this work made for interesting photos.

I also knocked up some aluminium winch boxes in the wheelhouse that I'll get some photos of once they're sheathed in heavy duty ply.

The engine chap also came out on Friday to test the engines again - they seemed to be running quite cool (about 62C) which we'd put down to under-reading gauges, but couldn't test due to the tide being out. Anyway, out he came again with the tide in and about a 2500rpm run, it turns out the engines are indeed just running a bit cool, and the gauges are reading ok. Perfect.

So I know this all sounds a bit dull so far, but it gets better. The Dickinson Adriatic diesel cooker arrived late on Friday eve and we carted it down to the boat on Saturday morning. Of course it was a smidge too big to fit in the companionway, so out came a halyard and we lowered it in sideways.

The lowering process was one of those "it'll either work or be a spectacular disaster" type moments.

 

 

I then set about destroying the existing galley and getting the new stove installed.

This is where we're at as of today:

- Day tank and gauge installed and plumbed - awaiting breather outlet, 12V wiring and a general tidy up.

- Plumbing from main to day tank installed, plumbing from day tank to cooker and from cooker back to tank installed (this is what it looked like test laying it out, before the final fit up).

- Shelf made up for cooker, now to paint with high temp paint, bolt it down and secure facing panel.

- Flue hashed in - hardwood trim ring wood has been ordered and will be built this coming week.

I'm thinking another two weekends and it'll be done. In the interim, the sliding windows are *still* outstanding and if we get some decent weather this week, we'll rebuild the aft hatch and also fit the remaining davit.

Oh yes, and I bought a used 8hp two-stroke last week. We spent a good couple of hours arsing around in that over the weekend during a rare sunny spell - it's going to be a good summer :)

n

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So progress report for this week. My mate's been working away in the aft cabin and here is how things look so far. One of the big problems with the aft cabin was how dark it got during the winter months - cue brightening things up a bit. There's still more coats of paint and trim to be fitted, but it's definitely an improvement.

The wheelhouse was also due for a lift in tone, so it's now white from the waist up. I'll be looking forward to all the work finishing and the crap being put away.

Next on the list has been fitting the autopilot. Plumbing up the compass part was done last weekend and ended up with wiring everywhere, but this weekend required fitting the rudder sensor (the black "arm" in the photos). That connects to the steel rudder steering arm and effectively tells the autopilot where the rudder is at. Doesn't sound very complicated, but boy howdy, did it take some time to get it all connected up. The bilge is also showing some signs of grease and a bit of surface rust, but once all the work's finished and before setting sail, I'll do a full clean and repaint of the lower regions.

We've also made the decision to ditch the power-hungry electric galley and go for a Dickinson diesel cooker. One came up on the ol' Ebay that had barely been used, so it's being delivered next Friday and I set about sorting out all the plumbing parts today. Now, I'm including these next two images to put into perspective just how much work a simple thing like fitting a cooker is. Not only was there the time taken to make the money to buy the cooker, but the 6 day bidding war that ensued. Here's how Dickinson say the installation should be done:

And after spending yesterday finding the right diesel day tank (and then subsequently find it for half-price at a boat jumble today - I bought it today btw), here's the design I worked through today and had to order part-by-part in order for it all to work.

That doesn't include the two days it'll take to fit and test it next weekend either. Anyway, I'm not complaining - it's just remarkable how much unseen work is required to get a simple thing done on a boat project.


So that's it for this week. 36 of the last remaining 72 items done, 18 due to be done this next weekend (1/2 Feb) then the last few items the weekend after. That is IF the new sliding windows arrive. Apparently the window manufacturer have changed their glass supplier, so it's now a waiting game for the new parts......

Sail testing is also scheduled for w/c 15th Feb - it's half term here so if the weather plays ball, it's off to get some sailing in. Fingers crossed.

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Another weekend, another project. This week required the salon hatches to be removed and the wooden supporting ring replaced. With two very damp winters and what is now looking to be a dodgy batch of Sikaflex allowing drips to filter through, the wood had rotted sufficiently that it required full replacement.

Off to the local lumber yard we picked up some Iroko & Mahogany hardwood for a very good deal (about £40 for 9m of 50 x 40) then set about removing the old hatches, cleaning up the deck & surrounds, then trimming and fitting the new hatches. What an effort. This photo was mid-way through removal of the old hatch surrounds.

Anyways, fitted the new hatch surrounds and have had reports from the guy working for me that there's been no leaks. We used 3M's 5200 this time to attach the wood surround with Sika 292 holding down the hatch itself, along with 52 stainless screws. That should just about do it.

What else. The guy working for me has almost finished sanding back the toe rail, so next on the list when the weather clears up will be to get a few coats of white paint on it. The deck also needs a re-paint in a slightly darker shade of buff.... or maybe we'll just go for a layer of Flexi-Teek. Watch this space.

Our autopilot also arrives in the next week or so and I'm working on acquiring a diesel cooker to replace the existing electric galley. Another 3.5 day boat weekend is coming up (the joys of consulting) so I'm sure there'll be more solid progress to report soon.

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