Wednesday, March 20, 2013

New shelf in the port locker


I recently converted the starboard locker (formerly the head) to a hanging locker. Then I made a removable shelf to subdivide the port locker into two. The bottom section is for tool bags (the boat has three tool bags: electrics, hand tools and caulks) and shoes. The top is for things like towels, blankets, pillows, etc. I removed the foam-backed liner so the bases of the eye bolts that hold up the shrouds can be immediately inspected.

Converted the old fluorescent light fixtures to LED


I gutted the old fluorescent light fixtures of their innards, and hooked the terminals and switch up to two adhesive strips of 9 LEDs each. They work beautifully and consume 1/10th the power.

Monday, March 11, 2013

New windows

The old windows were the originals, and were finally beginning to leak.


So, inspired by Blue Moon's plastic bolt-on windows, I decided to replace them. I sourced 1/4'' plexiglass from the local glazier's discards and cut, drilled and beveled them myself.


I went a little too ambitious the first time around, and they all had to be trimmed a little smaller so as to fit the cabin sides. I'm happy with the cosmetic outcome, and time will tell if they'll be any more water tight than the last ones. At least they should be easier to maintain.


New hatch slides

Aaand now I need new hatch boards to fit the larger hatch slides. These, by the way, were one of the most unpleasant things I've ever had to fabricate, because I didn't have exactly the right tools for cutting and shaping, and had to resort to manual methods like nibbling and sanding. Ugh. And I don't love the way they fit and don't think they'll last, either, making them possibly a horrible investment in time and pain. Oh well.

Monday, March 4, 2013

Main hatch and port bunk rebuild

For the last couple of months I've been working on refurbishing the main hatch and turning the port bunk into more of a storage and cooking area.

The port bunk now has a new hatch on it, which will eventually be completely lockable, so it can't fly out in case the boat gets rolled. It also has a hard storage bin, similar to the ones on the J105, for things like the auto-tiller. That will have a canvas cover flap on it, again so things can't fly out. For now I haven't done anything about mounting the stove securely, but that's next.

The main hatch situation was pretty annoying. The original hatch slides were teak, and they were badly worn, with the caulking failing in the corners and leaking onto the bulkhead directly below the hatch. They came off with extreme prejudice! Additionally, there were about 6 useless holes in that bulkhead screaming to be properly epoxied.

So I removed the bulkhead below the hatch, which had the oval opening through which the bilge is accessed, and the bulkheads between the bunks and the bilge area. I made a replacement for the section directly below the hatch, which you can see in the photo, just to keep things looking neat, but I won't be replacing the rest. I fabricated hatch slides from an aluminum I-beam, which I'm about to install. The rest of the openings I've made are staying open.

Lately I have been really inspired by the economical interior design of the Mini Transpac 6.50 boats, which have that area all open, and, since none of those bulkheads are structural or even contributing to  the folkboat's rigidity, I'm going to work towards that more modern and open design back there.

Next up: move the batteries to the centerline, directly below the companionway. More photos coming!