Thursday, February 26, 2009



Down below the cabin sole takes shape with teak next to the mahog seat sides, interested to see what ahappens when it get varnished/oiled and the color comes out. EEK!


Another bright idea of Bill's was to place a small hand held shower in the locker in the cockpit, right next to the water heater. Control by push button, dirty water down the scuppers, couple of lee cloths for vanity, hey one could even plug the scuppers and have a bath! It might even be handy to water the plants.


Its really taking shape now and I can almost smell the bread...

Wednesday, February 25, 2009


The cabinetry is starting to be assembled for the main salon, the craftmnaship is quite evident and the finish of the varnish work quite exquisite.
Door frames are cleverly fabricated to allow the grain to flow continuously. Doors are without hinges utilising dogs instead, with polished brass finger holes.















two grates for the cockpit, sadly I was too cheap to build out of teak so cedar seemed like a reasonable substitute. the plan is to be able to lift up and support flush with the cockpit seating level so as to be able to sleep outside.

with a bit of luck this should drop right into the space inset of the sink. Maple, padouk and mahogany, oiled with walnut oil.

Monday, February 16, 2009

IT JUST HAD TO BE VARNISH

water tankage is plastic and well set in place. they say they don't last as long as metal, guess we shall have to wait and see. The price was right!
More doors



I picked up this detail from the forum and liked it. Its the steps for the companionway,


water heater ready for its connection
the galley takes shape, dish racks out of mahog
One of the shipwrights clever designs to separate the sail locker but lets lots of air thru, very simple but effective.



THAT LOOKS SOME SWEET AND IT BELONGS JUST RIGHT THERE, ITS A PEACH. YOU CAN'T ARGUE WITH GOOD DESIGN.
THIS SEEMS TO BE WHERE MY RETIREMENT IS GOING ALONG WITH THE CANADIAN DOLLAR
Cover for the engine room, fully insulated and cleverly locates into a groove in the base. The classic garbage bucket built in ready to go.

Cockpit scupper pipe was a source of a few skinned knuckles. a bit of bad language more than likely but also the satisfaction of a job well. I am finishing a cockpit grate at the moment, couldn't afford to make it out of teak, so opted for cedar. We shall see how it wears and of course the added bonus is to have it movable. It will fill in the cockpit space and provide the choice level spot for a bit of kip either under the stars or an awning. thanks for the tip Roger.
a small piece of mahog details the salon



the oven sits on the sidelines impatiently! I opted for an oil/kerosene fired system. I built an extra spigot into the fuel tank to supply. This item and the cooktop are made by Wallas, I had to sell my first born to pay for it, and trust that my wife never finds out the cost! Bill has been sworn to secrecy. It also will provide heat for the cabin. This fuel supply issue was a difficult one, I was reluctant to put LPG on board having seen first hand the kind of problems a small bit of carelessness can cause. I guess the final testing ground is when we use it, but coming from this neck of the woods where warm days are scarce.................again keep posted and see what happens. Certainly I have heard a lot of good things.
getting ready to move outside Dorades are prepped, beautiful dove tails joints

The galley is taking shape. Much of the plumbing is coming together.




A bit of Corian with the sink set under, there are so many details to consider.


The final bulkhead goes in, note the flexible padding where it connects to the hull side. Nice little spot under the tape for hiding your glasses, now the galley will start to move.

the pilot berth on the stbd side is coming along, I really like the colors of the materials. Lockers are under with batteries to go in later.


Whist I have been busy keeping up with mast etc Bill is busy in the head and the lockers, one will be hanging the other shelving
a nice touch is a LED red light fitted into the base of the boom so as night vision is protected







The mast was fabricated by Forespar and they were the original suppliers to BCC. Bill Hanna was the man in charge and proved to be most knowledgable. It took a bit of time to get it all in order. The halyards are internal and there are two mast steps placed at the top for work aloft. I didn't think a full set of mast steps was necessary considering the windage and so on.

There is a separate track for the storm sail lateral to the main track and a radar mount on the forward aspect, conduit is in place for the wires. All the standing and running rigging is in place. Should be a turnkey operation I'll let you know on the big day when it comes out of the box. Stay focussed.

The jib and staysail are both on furlers and will be led back to the cockpit, so should save on deck time, lets hope that Schafer furlers are as good as they say they are.

The mast step is thru bolted to the keel, and ready to accept the base of the mast.




Finished inside and out EEK!

What a great job.








Here we go, something else which is new to me, get the books out and get reading. All kinds of different advice and opinions, each more expensive than the last. Of course the critical items are the insulation values and the amp hours needed to keep it cold.
It seemed important to ensure a good seal on the lid and I located a lid in California which is rated at R50. It achieves this by being vaccuum sealed and having a magnetic catch as an air lock.
The condenser they say uses 21 Ah a day and we shall keep you posted about that............ hopefully they are as good as their word. The insulation was a mix of solid and foam. the box itself came from CGMW's and was the original design for the boat.




Nothing is easy when boats are involved, square edges are unusual. I had decided that I would use a fg panel supplied from CGMW's. It has many advantages in that it it easy to keep clean and quite bright, which I feel is necessary for the small spaces associated with boats. My personal feeling is that oftentimes too much wood is a bit overpowering. However this is a question of taste................ I think the balance will work, and as the boat progresses I am becoming even more sure of this decision.
That is fine for me to say, however putting the stuff in place is a different issue. Clamps are critical and bracing off whatever can be found or conjured up. I am suspicious that Bill has done this before. At the builder much of this would have been simpler as the deck is placed after a lot of the construction, hull 126 came completely bonded, deck to hull.
A simple job of creating a coaming for the head door turns into a mammoth wood bending and gluing operation, I managed to persuade Bill to let me fabricate the door. Presently it lies on my work bench whilst I try and get some time to complete it. I gotta say the hours involved are quite incredible and I have a new appreciation of boat building. The best thing is that if I tried to complete the fabrication myself it would either have stalled or cost me my marriage................... I still haven't managed to find a job that Bill can't do. I am not going to give trying!

anti syphon loop and thru hull
pump out for holding tank

holding tank


this is the throne on which the head rests


Meanwhile back in Maine, Bill has been hard at it, the head is moving right along. It almost seems that he works away at stuff with little progress then wow a job comes together. I get images about once a week and it's a highlight.

The head is a particuarly gnarly as there are so many things that impact on each other. eg the holding tank, thru hulls, pump out for the tank, anti siphon loops, base of the John, he has the patience of Job and I just love the way he finishes stuff. Gel coating the inside of lockers and the like. Its easy at this time, but its great to see it being done without any request.