March

The weather in Portland has been cold, wet and impossible to glue, epoxy or paint anything until this past weekend. Sunday was finally lovely, but we had other plans for the afternoon, so not much boat work was done. We did get to enjoy music that Shakespeare may have heard.

So, what can be done when the weather does not cooperate? Someone was asking us how we keep track of the planning process. Bill uses yellow pads.

Bills_method_(1_of_1) — Bill’s yellow pad system. Somehow he keeps track of everything on multiple pads. This is not the full complement of pads, but it does give an idea of how it works. Each pad covers a part of the project: ideas, parts or to do list.

counter_pattern_(1_of_1) — Paper pattern for the galley counter top.

counter_plywood_(1_of_1) — The galley countertop in plywood. Bill has since marked it all up to locate supporting structure and openings. It’s in two pieces because that is the only way it will fit down our companionway.

sink_fit_(1_of_1) — Test fitting the sink to figure out where faucets, plumbing and fiddles will go.

One of the drawbacks of having the sink over the engine is that there is not very much room at all for plumbing once all the engine gear is in place. We need to fit drains and water hoses and make sure that everything stays clear of the alternator and that all was going to be a challenge. It was such a tight fit under the sink that Bill decided to move the spacer block we had installed for the circuit breaker to the alternator so we’d have room to actually run hoses without rubbing on wiring or the alternator itself. Another consequence of the lack of space below is that we will probably not add a salt water spigot for the sink. We will be adding a watermaker at some point, so we should have plenty of water and won’t need the salt water rinse faucet. We don’t plan on having pressurized water in the galley (we used to, but it was only cold). Water will be filtered, but it will still be a cold water system. Bill has run the hoses from the water tanks and we are waiting to install the foot pump for the sink.

galley_drawer_(1_of_1) — The top drawer directly under the sink. With the old sink, the box on the left was full height and the long space behind it was flat. The new sink has a different shape so the drawer needed to be reshaped. It’s amazing what one can do with a back saw, a small Japanese saw and a block plane. The back was cut down and the old box and the drawer side were cut down. The wood that was removed can be used to add another bin behind the small one on the left.

The engine cover had one drawback – in order to check the oil, the entire panel needed to be unscrewed. We found out that Beckson makes an 8″ plate and it’s big enough to get a hand and a dip stick out. On the left, the hole, on the right, the plate installed. The back of the screw off lid is now backed with lead foam so it should help cut down on engine noise.

head_vent_(1_of_1) — Last but not least, Bill’s Star Wars head air vent plumbing project.

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