Week 16: Still going along

When we got to the shop on Friday the cockpit combings and propane locker opening were installed. We can now see what the finished boat will look like.

It was a weekend of continuation for us.  We put the toe rails back on so the stanchion mountings can be finalized. We continued to work on the painting. We now have shiny engine beds and the locker is ready for the new water tank.

Other stuff happened this week end: the bolt holes to mount the forward hatch were drilled and tapped. On the cockpit end of things, the angled backing plates were finished and more work was done on the cockpit locker lids. Inside the cabin, we now have the grab rail backing plates epoxied to the cabin top.

On Monday two big projects were started. Nina got to work on the mounting platform for the autopilot drive and motor and Bill started aligning and working on the Monitor windvane mounting. Both of these project are going to take awhile to finish.

We bought the windvane third hand (at least two previous owners, the last of whom has a sugar scoop on the end of their boot) so the mounting tubes need to be modified to fit Gypsy’s traditional stern. Tom rigged up a crane  out of an old boom to hang the windvane for fitting.  It was adjusted so that it we have the vane hanging in place so we can take measurements and get new tubes made.  Tom had the smaller 1 1/4 inch diameter 316 stainless pipe so the only pipes we’ll have to order from Monitor (Scanmar) are the 2″ stainless pipes to connect the Monitor to the top of the stern.

Nina got to spend most of the day in the cockpit locker measuring for the platform to mount the auto pilot on. This is what happens when you ask a  question that you hope will get you out of sanding.  The autopilot allows for more precise steering and it works when the wind is not blowing.  While that sounds exciting, what it meant was that she got to spend the day measuring and dry fitting equipment in a space not much bigger than the box below, and with much less headroom.  More measurements and more cardboard templates.

Marsden got a reprieve from polishing, sort of.  The cleats that will be mounted on the combings (remember the alligators?) needed backing blocks on the hull sides.  He got to fit fiberglass blocks and then bondo them on place.  Keeping with recent family tradition, it took more than one try to get it pink enough to kick. (The hardener catalyst is red so if you use enough the bondo is bright pink, if it is light pink that is not peachy as it won’t harden.) They are now in place and ready to do their job.