June 2022

 June, 10

My next two goals are:

One, finish up the chain locker.  Two, finish up the black water (holding tanks) and fresh water tanks with rough plumbing. 

So I've been buying through hulls, seacocks, elbows, vented loops and deck hardware. I also have a pump to empty the black water tanks at sea.  I went with Groco for everything below the waterline. Bronze with flanges.  With quite a bit of searching I found some good deals.  For the vented loops, I went with Marelon from Forespar.  Failure in a vented loop is unlikely to sink my boat and will be noticed fairly quickly since they are above the waterline.  I've also decided that the 'ceilings' need to be installed first with cutaways for the seacocks.  This will present a nice clean surface to mount all the plumbing behind and above the cabinetry.   The ceilings are just the inner walls of the hull and I've chosen southern yellow pine tongue and groove with a nice bead.  I've found some very nice clear stuff from Home Depot of all places.  Actually, it's the nicest stuff I've found and you'll never hear me promoting Home Depot for anything else.

Other considerations:  I've purchased some sending units and gages for the potable water tanks but I do not have a solution for the black water tanks.  I'm thinking visual inspection might be the best approach. The combination of what is in the tank (salt water and poo) does not bode well for and device in situ and the remote sensing devices are terribly expensive.  I'm still thinking on that. 

Further considerations:  Wire runs for the pump out pump, fresh water pump, and sump pump will have to be made as well. 

Most of the pieces for the chain locker have been fabricated and fitted with the exception of the bottom floor which is actually rather small.  One complication is that I have to have a drain for this part.  I found an extra long 3/4" Groco through hull fitting that should make it from the hull right up into the bottom of the chain locker without any additional fittings.  This is important because once it is installed there will be no access for maintenance.  When I glass the chain locker, I'll glass in the drain at the same time. I should end up with a large, sealed chain locker above the water line with a nice drain.  When in port, I'll be able to wash the chain down with fresh water.

June 11, 

I've been able to put some more time in on the chain locker.  This space is proving to be very difficult to make. I'm almost there though. The floor is 3/4" (19mm) plywood and must be curved around the stem.  The sides are 1/4" (7mm) plywood. I will fiberglass the entire area to make it water tight and strong enough to take the abuse of the chain. 

I finally got that piece over the stem to fit.  I just have to put in the little trapezoid in the back.

First attempt at the trapezoid failed.  I've been so pleased with the symmetry of the boat.  Most pieces I make for one side fit pretty well on the other.  I usually have to do some detail trimming but I've been impressed with how symmetric the hull is. I did work hard at it. This is an example where I'm off. And not off in a bad way. This piece requires precision.  It must be level and fit all the beveled surfaces it comes in contact with.

Using the first piece that didn't quite fit correctly, I was able to make one that fit very tight and was very level.

An overall view of the chain locker.  The back panels and bollards made earlier will fit through the trapezoid floor so I'm not quite done yet.  

June 18,

Everything is cut out and fit into place.

Now for the drain.  There will be no access to the  drain when this is complete so I wanted a through-hull fitting that was long enough to go all the way to the chain locker.  This bronze one from Groco is 5 1/4" long.  Just long enough.  I used the block of wood at the top of the photo as a jig to drill the hole.  Even then, I was unable to have the through-hull fitting perfectly flush to the hull. I'll have to build out a little with epoxy to have it seat properly.  I think this is a fair compromise for a permanent solution.  The end of the through-hull will be ground level to the bottom of the chain locker prior to glassing everything in. 

The bottom of the bollards are attached to the stem by a 3/4" 316 stainless threaded rod. The bollards also act as a structural member creating a triangle between the stem and the bow sprit. In order to get the threaded rod installed, I had to drill a 1" hole through the hull. It was impossible to fasten a backing plate on the inside of that hole, so instead, I epoxied the backing plate and held it in place with a bolt and wedge.  The bolt and wedge will be removed when the epoxy is cured.

The chain locker epoxied and screwed in place.  I have to fill all those screw holes now.

The chain locker drain on top and the filled access hole to install the 3/4" stainless steel threaded rod is below.  I used un-thickened epoxy to coat the inside of the hole so I'd get an optimized bond.  Before that epoxy was cured, I used very thickened epoxy to fill the hole making sure that all the air bubbles were squeezed out.  The thickens epoxy will chemical bond to the thinner epoxy and make an optimum bond to the hull.  Later I'll grind away the top layer of glass around the hole and replace with new glass. 

June 24

Taking a break from the chain locker (It's almost ready to glass) and fitting some more ceiling in the main salon.  Once fitted, I'll take it all down to be primed and have a first coat of paint.  All the ceilings really need to go in before I make much more progress.  I'll need to do a little rough wiring for the pumps but all of the plumbing needs to go on top of the ceiling and under the cabinetry. 

A little tough making those curves.  I experimented below the cabinet level on two different approaches.  One is do away with the tongue and cut the curve so it fits flat.  The other is putting a break in the middle of the run.  Since the curvature gets worse below the cabinet level I've decided to go with the break for two reasons.  1) It actually looks nicer (not that that matters since it is unseen but that's how I role) and 2) I can take advantage of shorter pieces and save money.  These boards are $20/each. 

I need to get those ceilings down to below the floor boards (not yet installed), run wiring to the major pumps (shower, waste, fresh water), and lay in the rough plumbing with the waste through hull.  Then the under cabinet sole can go in.  I've decided to use the 3/4" plywood as the sole under the cabinetry and I'm hoping to use quarter-sawn southern yellow pine for the companion ways.  

June 30,

The port side ceiling fitted and temporarily installed.