So nearly 2 months have passed since my last update and we are also into a new year as well,
Hello 2013 !! and a Happy new year too.
December saw us finish the bulkheads under deck and making our way into the wheelhouse,
We now have nine compartments under deck including two water tight compartments one third of
the way back from the bow as requested by the Dept of Marine spec's.
The plan for January was to laminate the Nidaplas wheelhouse floor with 3 layers of 900gm matting each side and that piece consumed no less than 40 litres of resin,
Construct the wheelhouse rear wall also from 25mm thick Nidaplas and 3 layers of 900gm chopped strand
matting each side and finished off with a layer of tissue paper matting and about 30 liters of resin went in to that job also,
Seems at the moment I'm on to AS Composites in Sligo every other week to order more and more resin,
Well with the major components now completed that is coming to and end too and I won't miss it either,
Boris the boat builder did extremely well in completing the above and he also managed to construct the two bunks from Nidaplas in the shape of Procharters cushions and install the chain locker in the V in the bow,
He used up every single piece of Nidaplas without any waste at all,
I have to say he has been working hammer and tongs over the last two months and is right on track,
Fair play to ya Boris!!
Everything under deck is now flow coated and looking really great in battleship grey,
The gel coating gives everything a nice wash down and completed look,
I ordered 2 Whale manual bilge pumps and 10 meters of heavy duty 38mm bilge hose and 2
divertor valves that will allow me to pump out from 4 compartments with only 2 manual pumps, at the
flick of the lever from left to right,
I also got 2 small Rule 1100 GPH fully automatic bilge pumps and 28mm bilge hose to fit them,
They came in last week from a UK supplier and are ready to be fitted before the decks go down,
The 4 inch stainless steel exhaust arrived from the US in January and the stainless steel thru hull
skin fittings in 38mm and 28mm polished stainless arrived too,
Myself and Alan from Procharter did a deal for some cushions for the bunks up ahead in the wheelhouse and a stainless steel bathing platform for the transom which should look really nice when fitted with the inch teak boards that I had custom made by Higgins of Shantalla,
Another fine piece of engineering is the anchor roller which I sourced from Anchorlift in Norway
Its a 24 inch 316 stainless steel highly polished piece of art and should look absolutely stunning ahead of the shiney polished stainless Lewmar windlass which I bought on Ebay in January,
For the boat electrics I opted for as much Blue sea stuff as I could afford switch panel, fuse board, heavy duty battery isolator switch, bilge pump switches as well as as other Blue Sea switches should have the dash board looking excellent, All I need now are my engine gauges which are still on route( will they ever arrive)
I also got some LED navigation lights, rear spreader lights LED's of course and some small led lights for around the engine bay and in the underdeck compartments all geared up around low power consumption,
I'm now looking around for a good deal on steering set up and contemplating which system I should go with
It's a toss up between hydraulic or rotary, My Mercruiser D4.2 has power steering so I may go hydraulic to hydraulic and get real smooth steering with such a set up,
I've ordered some transparent foot friendly anti-slip covering I am going to apply to the front deck around the anchor roller area as that can get fairly slippy when wet, I looked at 3M for this but the prices were crazy and they only do 50mm wide tape,
So I went with a company called Covertape based in Cheshire in the UK and surprise surprise they were also only a fraction of the price 3M quoted me,
For my electronics I am going with ICOM 411 for my VHF and Lowerance Elite 5 DSI fish finder and chart plotter combo and looking out for a good second hand Furuno or Raymarine radar at the right price,
I got a Echopilot forward looking sonar also on ebay a few weeks back "Thank God for ebay where would I be without them" That should help at least to avoid any underwater obstacles that may otherwise be difficult to avoid out there in the bay,
I will have to fit a 50mm bronze thru hull skin fitting to take the commercial grade transducer which will remain protruding 50mm under the boat and looking forward as the name implies,
I'm nervous about cutting a two inch hole in the bottom of the boat to fit that gizmo but I have been recommended to build a box out of fiberglass inside the hull around the transducer and leave a transparent round deck hatch for inspection purposes, This way if the transducer breaks off worst case scenario the water won't get any further than that, Echopilot claim they break off flush with the hull if you snag on a rock but I don't want to take any chances,
Adam spent a good few hours compounding the gelcoat with Aqua Buff and machine polishing her with
amazing results, His bodywork experience is certainly standing to him,
I knew he was the man for the job because of his last project in restoring a Ford Capri,
Tender loving care is his motto,
He sanded down any uneven spots around the boat and finished them with 3M 500 and 1000 Hookit discs,
Soon he will be applying no less than 3 coats of marine wax to protect his hard labor and prolong the shine for the future,
Oh Forgot to mention I also ordered the windows from Rex Marine in the UK in January.
8mm toughened glass in aluminium frames in front and 6mm on the sides,
The side windows will be 570mm x 2200mm long with drop down sections each side,
Two panes either side of the door on the rear of the wheelhouse and one on the door,
They take around four weeks to manufacture so I should have them in around 2 weeks from now,
Although it may take a couple of weeks more I have been informed but it will be worth the wait as Rex's
workmanship is excellent I hear,
The dash with door to the front of the wheelhouse is fitted in the wheel house and I have posted some photos and videos on the blog,
The deck was laid for measuring purposes only but you can get a real picture of how she will look when completed,
This months its fitting all the stainless fittings, pulpit rails, pushpit rails, radar arch, grab rails, bollards, cleats, chocks, anchor roller, windlass and skin fittings,
Fitting the D-Fendering and GRP corner pieces.
Wheelhouse floor to go down, bunks to be glassed in
Also the wheelhouse fit out to get through in February
It seems still so much to do and the year is rolling on summers is on the way,
Can't wait till she is going in the water and the moment I turn that key,
Guess I will have to but it will be well worth the wait,
Check in again soon to see the progress,
