8 Months!!!!

For the longest time we kept working away on this project not knowing if we had reached the halfway point. When we did reach it (January 15th which just happens to be my son Alex’s birthday) we didn’t realize it because the amount of work ahead of us still seemed so daunting. We now feel that we are rounding the clubhouse turn.

Over these last 8 months (seriously… has it been that long???) we have enjoyed working on this boat but we really…really…really want to use it now.

Since the last blog post Donald did more work on the area forward of the helm. Here he is striking a pose eerily similar to the famous photo of Burt Reynolds from way back in the 1970’s.

We temporarily installed the port side window frame so that we could figure out how we were going to finish off this area of the dash (If there is a better term for this area of the boat please feel free to let me know what it is).

I decided to concentrate on the v-berth headliner now. I figure it is better to get all of the mistakes out of the way in there because they won’t be seen by as many people.

Here is the second ceiling panel with lights.

For the angled section of the ceiling I am applying the vinyl directly to it like wallpaper. After I took this photo I sanded the Durabond 90 so that it was smooth and created a nice corner. It’s a great product because it doesn’t shrink and stands up well to moisture…if you can believe what you read on the world wide web.

I cut the pieces for the angled panels slightly large and applied the 3M adhesive in the boat.

For the middle angled section we chose to apply it to a fitted panel so that there will be a slight reveal on both vertical edges. This way we could guarantee that it will be a straight line. I used a plastic trowel to smooth it out after I glued it on the the 1/4″ substrate. I learned that the vinyl will show finger pressure spots…and definitely wear gloves. The vinyl is washable but it is amazing how anything shows up on it.

I didn’t have to worry about keeping the top and bottom edges even. They won’t be seen when we are done.

I calculated that I have about 40 to 50 hours of work to do on the rest of the headliner.

We did a bit of work on the air-conditioner in the sit down eating area and fitted a top shelf on the back of the seats. There will eventually be cabinets sitting between this shelf and the bulkhead above. There isn’t much more of the exposed fiberglass hull left now. Definitely won’t miss it.

At either end of these cabinets there will be wide filler pieces. This is where the vents will be for the air-conditioner.

Donald’s main focus was the galley. Figuring out the final placement of the fridge took a bit of work. We will still need to be able to take the fridge out to get to the access panel underneath it.

We are very happy with how this area is turning out.

We were able to pick up the stairs from the fabricator today to make sure the steps are working out. Two of them have been welded into place and the last one will be done on Monday. Donald is building a small cabinet to the right of the fridge so we wanted them in place to make sure it will fit.

Next week the final welding and grinding will be done and then we wait until the polisher is open for business again. It is possible that we won’t have these finished until the fall.

Next boat day is in two days. Donald will be continuing to work on the galley and I will be in the v-berth working on the headliner and lighting.

Check back in a few days for more updates.