The Gunwale Gantry

This project was to make a platform which hangs from the gunwale to allow work on the outside of the hull and the top of the gunwale. The gunwale is to be trimmed with a 16mm stainless steel rod, and there is also a rubbing strip to be trimmed with Stainless flat bar. I'm going to get a pro to do this work, so this platform will make it easier and quick, and therefore reduce my cost.
The gantry has wheels top and bottom so you can pull yourself along the length of the hull as you work. The bottom set of wheels are on scissor jacks so that you can adjust the angle of the platform to give you a level work surface as the angle of the hull changes.
I'll post some more shots when it's completed and in position.

Aft Cabin berths

The fore and aft bulkhead is in place and most of the framing finished which supports the double berth in this, the masters cabin.

You can see the cutouts in the aft bulkhead that provides access to a couple of open lockers that are accessed from the berth.

Aft Cabins

This shot shows the first sheets of plywood on the aft bulkhead of the aft cabins. This will later have a veneer of rimu (NZ Native timber).

The framing for the fore and aft bulkhead, that separates the two cabins is also in place ready for plywood.

The hose the runs down through the central bulkhead takes water from the cockpit drains out through the transom.

Aft Lockers

Two aft lockers have been set up to accommodate gas bottles (for cooking), and for mooring lines, fenders, and other stuff.

There have been several aspects to this, including :

Making of the hatches - These are made from a timber and plywood frame, that is everdured (epoxy sealant), and have a veneer of teak. The stainless steel hinges are also hand made.

A stainless steel frame has been made and welded into the cut-outs in the deck. Hopefully this means that there is less risk of knocking paint off the steel deck when moving stuff in and out of the lockers.

The lockers themselves were not part of the original hull build, so these have been framed up, plated, and painted, from the inside. Both lockers drain overboard, through the transom. This is a safety requirement for gas bottle lockers, but also good if stowing wet mooring lines so that water does not lie around in the bottom of the locker and create a potential corrosion problem.

The forward end of the lockers (inside the hull) form part of the aft bulkheads for the two aft cabins.

Engine Exhaust System

One of the many things going on in the last few months has been the setting up of the wet exhaust from the engine. Components include :
Mixer, at exhaust manifold, which mixes the exhaust gas with the salt water used to cool the engine heat exchanger, oil coolers, and refrigeration.
Water-lock/muffler, under the floor, not in the photo.
Goose neck, upper left in photo.
Exhaust through-hull, upper right of photo.
Various flexible pipe and couplings to tie it all together.

As yet not all components are connected as I want to get several more coats of paint on the through hull.

Once the exhaust is all in place, the portion above the engine bay will be enclosed in a cabinet that will form the internal helm station and it's associated steering, instruments, switches, fuses and controls.

Home at last

At home in the driveway with Kaipuke in the background. The trip meter reads 1,371 kms.

Now where do I store it ? And this mast is only 11.5 metres. The main is due any day now and is 17 metres long.

Car Ferry

Almost home. I've killed some time in Whangarei, and had a leisurely trip from there to Opua. It's still only 4:30pm, a couple of hours until high tide. But the angle looks good and I get on and off with no problems.
Being a local, and regular user of the ferry, I get charged for a "standard" trailer, even though it's almost three times longer than it used to be.