Great Leaps Forward

This weekend had elements of the Great Leap Forward, progress was made and then we would remember what we should have done. We got stuff done by less than linear routes, but I still feel like a rocket scientist compared to many of the figures in the news. The other bright side has been drop dead gorgeous weather. If you are sniffing glue and paint fumes it might as well be spring.

NIna_sands — Sanding the primer leads to a shiny first coat in the house battery box space. And sander’s hair: it’s the new beauty regime.

house_battery_box_space — Nina noticed that she missed a spot on the bottom. Still primer, but there will be another coat and the battery box will be on top of it.

So much for paint fumes how about some glue? Nina had insulated the hull below the chart table. This will be out of sight and we had old red vinyl that was supposed to recover the dinning room chairs when the boys were young…

Gypsy_colors — When you have a boat like Gypsy you just have to let her have a bit of color.

So so far Nina has been doing all the work and you may be wondering what Bill was doing? Well he found some more destruction that needed to happen. Bill had decided that one big electrical panel would be better than three small ones. Also, with Gypsy looking so good the old panels were a bit clunky so a redo was in the works. The area behind the chart table had been divided in three, hence three panels. Well, a bit of destruction showed that the dividers were not tabbed to the hull. So more unlinear progress happened.

Electrical_panel_space — We will frame in the sides and top to support a hinged panel that will allow easy access to the wiring.

Gypsy has a secret compartment behind the chart table. Bill also remembered that we wanted to add a second door to make the space more usable. It would have been better to have remembered this before we had painted, so it goes.

The original access hole in the quarter berth to the secret compartment behind the chart table. When we bought Gypsy we found a couple of fishing lures in here. We never figured out a use for the space, not being fishermen.

twin_hole — The new hole in the starboard seatback storage space.

hole_peek — This is what the space looks like. Yes that is original carpet glued to the hull. It will be the heritage piece that will remind us of all of the rest. Cool little space, now we just need to find a use for it.

Another project that has been on Nina’s project list is to find a new home for the starter battery. Bill tried and he had found a place that was close to the engine, but it was outside of the quarter berth and it was in the way. Bill has found a new spot for the battery. It is not perfect since it sort of bisects the space under the quarter berth. This has become less of an issue since we have decided that under the quarter berth is where the water maker will go. The water maker will fit around the battery and so the space will have a function. It just will not be a storage space.

starter_battery_box — The box fits in the forward corner of the opening for the quarter berth.

starter_battery_box_2 — The quarter berth has a big opening cut into it so we will need to make a door. The wasted space is usable because of the opening.

starter_battery_box_3 — The aft end of the box will be supported by a piece glassed to the hull. This will allow the battery box to be removable if future changes occur.

To wrap up this week’s report I know you are all wondering what is happening with the backrests. I mean we have only been working on them for months. Well they have started getting painted.

seatbacks_white — Don’t they look nice and white? Well we forgot one detail. The corner stops for the doors.

No problem, a couple hours making the triangles, they are beautiful hard maple. Then sand away the paint and epoxy them on. Even though this is the back side Nina lined up all of the screw heads so they align.

So with some luck we will get a coat or two of paint on after work this week. We just have to remember paint first – then the martinis.

Cheers!

4 thoughts on “Great Leaps Forward”

Loren says:

April 19, 2016 at 7:26 am

I also built a plywood/epoxy box for a starting/emergency battery, under our aft cabin berth. No room above it for ‘servicing’ any liquid, so it has to be an AGM. We use a spiral cell. Been there for years, with an engine-starting ‘test’ several times a year. I switch over and charge it off the alternator three or four times a season. Those AGM batteries have extremely low self-discharge. Not the best or only answer, but one proven solution.

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1. Bill Kramer says:
  
  April 19, 2016 at 6:58 pm
  
  I am going with the dedicated starting battery. The house bank via the charging circuit will be available for emergency jumps, but I want to avoid that.
  
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Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor says:

April 19, 2016 at 7:54 am

It almost seems like a shame to put batteries into the shiny new compartment. I like the heritage carpet – nice touch 🙂

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1. Bill Kramer says:
  
  April 19, 2016 at 7:02 pm
  
  I am a firm believer in respecting tradition, especially if changing it would be close to impossible.
  
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