Progress

Galley extension dry fit complete

dave42w1 Comment

We now have both the worktop extension and the forward bulkhead dry fitted.

Absolutely delighted with the extra space in the galley. Makes it much more practical for living aboard.

For us the compromise in reduced seating is well worth it. The whole starboard seating might change now. The probably can be more comfortable with just a straight settee that is wider with a sloping back. Plus it would make a more comfortable sea berth. We will just have to sort out how to turn it into a guest double bed.

Top plywood sizing tip

dave42wLeave a comment

If you can’t fit it in a Nissan Leaf you won’t be able to fit it through the main hatch 😢

We cut the new galley bulkhead roughly to size thinking that it would just fit in the car. It didn’t. So we put it on the roof rack. That meant a maximum speed of 50mph and about a 15% reduction in range. So we made it to the half way charge point with only 8 miles left (only 85% charge when we left home). Then when we got to the boat we couldn’t fit the bulkhead through the main companionway. So the hassle of the roof rack was a total waste of time.

Therefore the top tip is to only bring timber to the boat if it fits in the car (although it still might not fit through the hatch).

Timber preparation

dave42wLeave a comment

I’ve got the extra galley worktop and the extra galley bulkhead cut from a full sheet of 18mm ply. Hopefully small enough to fit in the car.

Also started sanding the companion way steps and preparing the French cleats.

These are pretty much the only solid timber on board. So hoping to keep these fairly natural colour. Will use penetrating epoxy with a stain and then varnish. Should give good protection for this very high wear part. All other timber is going to be painted apart from small trim.

First boat stay in 2022

dave42w3 Comments

We arrived yesterday evening and are here for a couple of nights. It is very cold! Snow in Manchester before we came, snow visible on the Snowdonia range. So, too cold to do any epoxy work. Fortunately, the two panel heaters and two fan heaters can keep the cabin nice and warm.

Instead of working on the starboard backing plates for our main mast dyneema chainplates , we have recorded video footage describing our latest idea for external dyneema chainplates. Could be a great option for lots of older boats who are switching to dyneema rigging and want to avoid expensive fittings or who are concerned about their metal chainplates.

We also recorded progress on redesigning the bilge under our saloon for battery storage, water tank and for the first time some thinking about lightening protection. That involved taking the main companionway steps down, wasn’t as bad as I feared. We now have our batteries stored much better in approximately the right place.

We have also done some more detailed planning for the galley stowage and space for the fridge.

The weather is expected to be wet, windy and cold in the morning so we have some jobs planning work on everything in the motor room.

Coming up next week will be big news about our transport for getting to and from the boatyard.

All very exhausting 🙂 so an early night is next!

90 days of YouTube progress

dave42wLeave a comment

In September we decided to put some effort into YouTube, the first video we put up was on September 25th and announced here: Bow roller progress and it’s on YouTube!

We have published 18 videos since then. We have grown from 10 to 47 subscribers, and had 100 hours of viewing spread over 1230 views.

It is especially encouraging to see significant growth month on month. For example when we look at the last 30 days compared to the previous 30 days we have seen Views increase by 155%, Subscribers increase by 183% and Watch Time by 193%. Our most watched video is the Dyneema Rigging Q&A with 278 views:

As well as subscribers we would love to get more interaction in terms of comments. Come and join in as we build a community interested in Sustainable Sailing 🙂