What next

Focus now needs to move to completing all other welding on the deck. Until this is done, I can't do the final coats of paint on the inside, under the deck. And until that's done I can't put in the insulation. Without the insulation is in there is often a condensation problem.

A lot of what's now left to be welded on are stainless steel fittings, but there are also a number of old deck welds that need to be ground back and cleaned up, as the final finish on the deck is going to be a non-slip paint finish. There are also old stantion bases, deck fillers (for fuel & water tanks) and tank vents that have to cut out and replaced. All this cutting & grinding ideally needs to be finished before the stainless fittings go on because the iron filings (from grinding) can "contaminate" the surface of the stainless, leading to rusty pitting. Not looking forward to all that grinding, but it's now pretty much the next "must do" in the overall scheme of things.

The stainless that is to go on includes, chain plates, deck step, bollards, hand rails, bow rollers (for anchors), and a 19mm round bar to all of the top edge of the gunwale.