Spring Forward

Yes, we did that and it has been a couple of weeks and I am still grumpy about losing an hour of sleep. I mean who would volunteer for jet lag and not get a vacation out of it? Despite my sleep deprivation things are moving again on Gypsy. The big news is it has finally warmed up a bit. We can use epoxy again. All the waiting projects are possible again. Of course before you can do you must plan and this is one way I do that.

The cutouts represent equipment that needs to get mounted on the port side bulkhead between the cockpit locker and the galley. The shapes represent the auto pilot computer, the refrigeration compressor and the drinking water filter. They not only need space, they also have to be accessible and serviceable and not interfere with other equipment.

Talking about interference, we had to relocate the circuit breaker that the alternator power feeds through. When we were fitting the galley sink we realized that the sink drain hose would not clear the circuit breaker and they would rub on each other. So we moved the circuit breaker up a bit.

The big project is the refrigerator box. We are building a refrigerator from scratch to fit the space we have and to be energy efficient. This needs to be done before the galley counter top can get installed.

You have seen earlier pictures of the foam getting installed. This is the Formica covered plywood panels being test fit. That is how big our fridge will be – about 3 cubic feet.

The panels are glued in with 3M 5200. It is adhesive caulk, once it sets it will never come apart. After putting the beads down we used a notched trowel to get a uniform coating.

The panels are all in. The foam is acting as clamps, cut a bit oversized and forced into place it will hold the panels tight until the 5200 cures. The blue tape is to help to contain the extra caulk. Nina got the job of trying to smooth the caulk beads along the edges.  She was mostly successful, but in hind sight, it would have been easier without all the foam chocks in place.

All of the above happened while it was still cold out. Once it warmed up we coated a sheet of 6mm plywood with fiberglass cloth and epoxy. Once it set Bill, sanded it and cut out the parts to make the lid flange and lid.

Here I am fitting the parts to make the flange that the lid will set into. The plans are from a twenty year old book. New books don’t have this information. They just figure you will buy a boat with a refrigerator already in place.

Here is the flange glued together. The flying buttresses keep the sides lined up at the right angle. They also support the top and bottom parts that will be added. Once this cures it will become the mold for the lid. This is actually looking like it will work.

This is the shelf that will hold the refrigeration compressor. It was represented by one of the manila folder cutouts in the first photo. (it is also upside down, oops)

Our galley sink is over the engine so we sprayed it with undercoating to try to help stop engine noise from passing through it. This was another project that has finally gotten out of limbo.  One can down.  We still need another.

The other big news is Bill passed his HAM license test. He now has a General license. So we just need to get a SSB radio and Bill, at least, is all set for communications while cruising.

This was very much a Bill projects week.  Nina spent her time and energy moving a small shed sized pile of mulch into the yard.  Not the boat.