I hate fiberglass. If I didn't mention it before, its probably because I was trying to forget the last time I went near the stuff. My forearms are the worst, with the back of my neck being a close second, for the itchy and scratchy show. Of course scratching only makes it hurt more. Luckily I am getting closer to being done.
I tore apart all the major parts that were left. Took out the liner from the old starboard quarter berth turned cockpit locker. Removed the rest of the galley, and took apart the old ice box.
Here you can see through the cockpit hatch. I left some of the liner in, and will epoxy it to the hull in order to keep some rigidity left over in the pieces that are there. I tried getting in and out of the hatch, and I just fit. So that is great news. Serena will fit better than me. Mind you, I need to stop hitting my head off of things down there, or I am going to be egamad. See, look, I am already spelling things backwards.
Starboard liner cut out. I left some pieces in that will get attached to the new kitchen parts. Looks relatively clean now, but I had to take pictures after I had already vacuumed up, one, because Serena might see them, and two, because I was afraid to take my camera in there.
During the survey there was a wet spot in the deck that was bad enough that it needed to be dealt with. Well, today I found it. Turns out it is one of the hull to deck bolts. Its hard to tell with the photo, especially since I ground out all the rotten wood. It wasn't that bad though, and now I can effect the repair. Some 3M 5200 sealant and some epoxy should take care of it nicely. Like they say about water though, where its wet, is not necessarily where the water is coming in. In the photo, the bolt on the right was where most of the rot was, but the bolt on the left is where the leak was.
When I pulled the liner out and the pan was cut out of the hatch, there was a little bit of fiberglass next to the engine that wasn't holding on to much, so I cut it out too. Did it ever open up access to the engine and steering mechanisms. I will be leaving that open, just covered up with a piece of plywood so that it can be removed when needed. Woohoo, score...
Removed all the pieces from the galley, and cleaned it up. Ready for a new galley, but I have to finish the fridge box which is out in the shop. I work a little on it everyday, but when you can only do one of the sides per day, its a little slower. Epoxy doesn't like it when it is anything other than laying down. Unless of coarse you thicken it, but then it is really hard to wet out the fibreglass cloth.
Picture doesn't show much, just more of what I did yesterday.
And this is where the old ice box used to be. What a pain in the buttocks getting this out. The ice box itself is made of fibreglass covered with gelcoat, just like the hull. It is mounted, and then they spray foam the whole thing in place. So I had to cut it all up into pieces and pry everything out. It took a long time. This will become storage cupboards, and I will be raising the desk height 4" the same as the galley, and setee, so I'll put a drawer underneath it.
I was really impressed how well the ice box was insulated. The port side had 2 1/2", the aft side had 2", the forward side had 1 1/2", the top had 1", and the bottom/back started with nothing down at the bottom and made it too as thick as 5" on the way up and around the back. If we were staying in Canada this would have made a fine fridge, but in the tropics it wouldn't cut quite cut it.
Tomorrow I am going to relocate the engine controls. They are down low in the cockpit in the way of my feet, and I am always afraid that I am going to knock off the key with a misplaced shoe. And then clean. The whole boat, inside and out is covered in a layer of white dust. Its nasty...
Later, Rob.
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