Tuesday, February 23, 2010

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.