Well the winter is nearly over here in Blightie. It has not been particularly cold, just damp and dreary at times, just too damp and cold to use epoxy glues and paints outside. So I have concentrated on the inside of the boat in the past few months.
The photos will show better the progress. Sometimes though photos don't show the hundreds of little things one thinks is not worth a picture and so these little details, which can end up amounting to a lots of work, don't get recorded.
For example, the installation of the insulation. A block of rockwool does not photograph particularly well, it's not glamorous, is it! so I don't think I have taken any pictures of that process. Nevetheless I have insulated the whole of the inside of the cabin and hull now. I have also fitted a vapour membrane, which if I believe the blurb, will prevent water vapour from migrating from the inside of the cabin though the lining, into the rockwool insulation and end up condensating on the exterior walls of the cabin. This would be a bad thing, apparently, because it could end up rotting the structure! Hey ho, it's all done now and I'll have to live and wait and see.
The process of painting is another activity that's not terribly photogenic. Nevertheless the colour chosen can make a hell of a difference to what the habitable space feels and looks like. We decided in the end to paint the whole thing white. Yep, that's right, plain ordinary white. I am quite pleased with this choice because it made the interior so much brighter compared to the colour of the wood and ply I have used. I have ended up using acrylic paints for the inside, except for "the bilge" this generally unloved and hidden area of a boat that end up murky, dark and dank on a lot of boat, filled with "stuff", and generally cluttered with miles of wires and pipes in a lots of boat, inaccessible and difficult to access for any sort of maintenance, except in dire emergency!
So I used proper bilge paint.. White too. It says so on the tin! But it looks more cream to me than white. No matter. The whole thing is clean, bright and most of it will be easily accessible. So hopefully, I'll be able to keep an eye out for any problems and deal with them early on.
The other thing about my bilges is that there are not "systems" going in there at all. The only wires and pipes will be for the bilges pumps. I also hope to have some good ventilation in there running from one end of the boat to the other. Probably will have some sort of solar fans drawing air out. I hope it will work and keep the bilge dry.
I am planning to place the galley and the head close together so that any water systems will be small, simple, easily accessible and short. Same for the electrics. I am planning a simple solar powered system, with the wiring running inside the cabin, along the top of the wall inside a wood section, that will also hold the LED strips I am using for lighting.
Talking of solar system, I have installed a solar panel on top of my garage, connected to two leisure batteries, a small regulator and powering some led lights. Really this is for me to learn about small solar systems before I start installing things on the boat.
Here are a few photos of the interior.
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| The galley. The cupboard is about 1.80m high |
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| Pantry storage |
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| Looking forward from the stern doorway |
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| Another view, looking aft> I am particularly pleased with how the ceiling and beams look now they are painted. About 12" down from the ceiling is the channel in which the LED lights and wires will go. |
Blimey, Joel, it´s good to hear from you, and that you´ve had fun is even better!
ReplyDeleteAnd this looks very comfy and nice... and one can easily imagine it will be a cozy place to live in. Send my regards to your wife and daughter, and all the best for the progress!!!! I really, really, look forward to seeing it and the finished boat.
Hello Markus! Good to hear from you too. For a while I have been using a tablet and it was a pain to post anything on it. Now back to a laptop, I should do better....The boat is progressing on the inside, outside not so much, it's still too cold and damp for the epoxy and paints to work at their best. Soon though I'll be able to start on finishing the outside. How the knifemaking? I see you still make them and I like what I see. I haven't made one now for over a year. Perhaps I'll go back to it when that boat is finally floating!
ReplyDeleteDon´t forget to build that shop into the cellar of your boat then;-D... anyway, the boat is a great enough project. I cannot relate to it that much, but only because it is way too big for my tiny mind, meaning I would not even be able to think of it. So, you have my utmost respect and even admiration for building a dream... and what I saw on your blog has taught me a lot about building in general. Maybe a shed in the woods;-) some day or another?:-) We´ll see.
DeleteLooks good!
ReplyDeleteGlad it's moving along. I checked out a sailboat that was for sale. Some idiot thought it would be a good idea to put all the wiring junctions in the low part of the bilge. You can imagine how well that worked out.
ReplyDelete