nb Waiouru

Void Filled and Bunting on Display

noreply@blogger.com (Tom and Jan) — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 11:34:34 PDT

Richard and James finished and fitted the galley end panels whilst I was away getting my hair cut. They mentioned it’s the first time they have used the void in this manner having previously used it to mount a low level 240v power socket.

We like the idea of the low level power socket and there is sufficient room in the port panel to fit one, so I’ll probably do this myself at a later date. Meantime some of the light switch mounting plates have been fitted (photo below). The plate to the left is the master panel and has six switches. We will be able to control almost almost everything on the boat from it. The right plate has three switches that control the bedroom lights, cratch light and LED lights in the front step. The plates successfully cover the rough holes I’d previously cut in the partitions. I know.. I know…! One of the plates is crooked! I’ll rectify that next week. Probably when I hang the galley cupboard doors. <no rest for the wicked!>

Black mounting plates

Jan has been photographing the passing boats all flying flags and bunting. Something special must be happening this weekend?

Obliging Joiners

noreply@blogger.com (Tom and Jan) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 10:37:29 PDT

I’m very pleased with the way Richard (Pearwood Joinery) accepted my suggestion for utilising the void behind the galley end panels. He was quite enthusiastic about the concept and made several useful alterations which have added value to the design.

The alcove Richard has built into the galley end panel

The panels will not be the same. Whilst both of them will have three shelves the port (left) side has been constructed with a magazine rack in the base.

Richard poses with the completed port panel

Each shelf has a small lip in an effort to prevent the contents flying onto the floor during our sudden stops!

The smile will disappear off Richards face when he sees the rough holes I’ve been cutting in his beautiful panels on Waiouru. I decided to start fitting the light switch mounting blocks and used the electric jigsaw, plus my Leatherman, to cut the holes. All the rough edges will be concealed; but I know that wont satisfy Richard!

I also worked out the cable that was shredded when I cut the hole through the roof for the diesel stove was the feed to the port wall lights in the saloon. Part of the afternoon was spent attempting to install a replacement cable using a different route. It’s almost done. Another job for tomorrow!

Galley Units Done!

noreply@blogger.com (Tom and Jan) — Thu, 31 May 2012 23:10:20 PDT

It was rather a long day with plenty completed but not much to show for it. Richard spent a considerable portion of the day levelling and securing the galley units. I applied my management skills and stood over him offering ~~unrequested and unwanted~~ advice!

Once the oak end panels have been made and fitted the granite worktop templates can be measured. Waiouru us starting to get somewhat crowded inside with all the equipment and material that has recently arrived. To create a little more space I fitted the kickboard drawers. They have yet to be fitted with their front panels but at least they are out of the way.

One of the boat building principles we are adhering to is all the engineering services must be accessible without having to rip out or disassemble the built-in cabinets and furniture. As there is pipework behind the galley units Richard has removed the backs of the three affected units. Once the pipework has been tested for leaks he will refit the panels. However they will be secured with screws to make them access panels.

We also needed the services of Nick, the engineer, as the central heating pipework hadn’t been completed behind the galley units. He did this and also installed the first two twin finrads central heating panels. The aluminium “fins” on the panel are very sharp <voice of experience speaking>

You will be able to see the void between the end of the galley units and the oak flush panel in the following photo. In yesterday’s post I wrote about my idea of making some shelving here to utilise the void.

Richard is going to cut out a rectangular hole in each end panel and trim the edges with oak before building three shelves into the void. I’ve attempted to roughly mark out the idea on the following photo.

The galley should be ready for the granite tomorrow afternoon which will allow Richard to return to the completion of the double bed.

Pantry Constructed

noreply@blogger.com (Tom and Jan) — Wed, 30 May 2012 11:06:54 PDT

Well apart from the battens and trim, the back end of the galley is now complete!

I have run the 12v electric supply to the gas oven (ignition only) and at the end of the day gave all the bare timber one coat of protective varnish.

The gas oven is a very snug fit which has enabled Richard to construct a good size cavity above.

The pantry opposite will have a pull-out vertical drawer in the bottom half and adjustable shelves in the top half. The top half will also have a cupboard door.

I spent much of the morning assembling and fitting the drawer mechanisms under the galley cupboards. These replace the kickboards and allow Jan to use what would otherwise be a wasted void.

Richard had done his financial calculations and it was cheaper to purchase the drawers rather than him make them. They have the same soft close mechanism as the drawers in the top of the cupboards.

We then had a discussion about how the galley units will terminate at the saloon end of the boat.

The galley cupboards end at point A. Richard intended to make a false end using a quarter moulding (point B) with a ¾” oak veneer panel across the end of the cupboards that would conceal the cupboard feet and kickboard drawers. The 3” void between points A & C seemed to be a waste of space so I asked Richard of we could use this area by creating shelves in it for items such as spices, magazines and other odds & ends.

Tomorrow we will level and join all the galley cupboards before scribing and cutting their backs so the will fit against the lining but also provide room for the plumbing and heating pipes. The galley will then be ready for the granite bench top supplier to measure and create their templates.

Appliance Cabinet Complete

noreply@blogger.com (Tom and Jan) — Tue, 29 May 2012 10:39:02 PDT

Richard has finished the appliance cabinet in the galley. Initially 600mm was allowed for the width, however he has been able to “recover” almost 50mm by making the cabinet only just wide enough to fit the appliances. I was somewhat surprised to find the oven is wider than the fridge!

You might be able to see the end of the thin timber bead across the base of the lower opening in the cabinet. Its purpose is to trip up the fridge should it decide to go walkabout! The next level will hold the wall oven. The void above the wall oven is for baking trays, etc. The top void will hold the microwave oven. I gave the cabinet a final sanding and one coat of varnish after everyone had gone home.

Andy managed to find some time to work on the gas and plumbing. We now have the “T” connection and isolation valves for the oven and hotplate.

The two ¾” plastic pipes below the gas fittings are for the central heating. The rear bulkhead is now starting to look rather busy.

We have hot and cold pipes on both sides of Waiouru. There are also central heating supply and return pipes down both sides.

Tomorrow we make a start on the pantry. It will be opposite the appliance cabinet and only 300mm wide. The lower half (below the gunwale) will be “pull-out” whilst the area above will have adjustable shelving. We’ve decided to do it this way to maximise the available space.

Galley Appliance Cabinet

noreply@blogger.com (Tom and Jan) — Mon, 28 May 2012 09:52:06 PDT

The Spinflo gas oven arrived today, just as Andy had predicted! I immediately asked Richard if he would cease work on the bed locker and start on the galley appliance cabinet as the galley is on the project critical path.

The first task was to unpack the oven so it could be checked and measured. Jan had selected this particular model of Spinflo oven because she wanted the sliding door.

The oven is wider than anticipated

When opened the door will extend into the galley passageway.

But it then slides back underneath thereby eliminating the potential obstacle.

The port (left) rear cabin bulkhead partition has been removed to provide more room for the scribing and installation of the appliance cabinet.

View from the back cabin towards the galley

We struck two problems. Both of which have been overcome! The first is there was insufficient depth in the cabinet for the fridge. This is because the large sanitation pipe (lower arrow) is routed behind the fridge at floor level. We needed an additional 20mm and eventually found it by removing the pipe saddles that were securing the sanitation pipe to the wall. These saddles were holding the pipe 20mm away from the side of the hull lining. We’ll replace them with conventional saddles so the pipe is flush against the wall.

The second problem was a very slight lack of depth for one small part of the oven. To get around this we are going to cut a hole in the wall lining and create a lined rebated compartment. This won’t be very large as it’s only for the oven cold air inlet duct. There will be plenty of room above the oven for the microwave cabinet so I’ve asked Richard to construct a shelf between the top of the oven and the microwave. Jan will be able to use it for oven trays, etc. It also means that should a higher oven need to be fitted at a later date there will be sufficient room.

We will probably have all the galley bench cabinets, the pantry and the appliance cabinet completed by the end of the week. Hopefully we can get the granite bench top people in early next week to do some measuring.

There were two other deliveries today. The Beta 43 engine arrived on a pallet and later in the day a courier van delivered the 900mm pivot shower door ordered from PlumbWorld. They were the cheapest supplier I could find and I was somewhat nervous about the delivery having read some of the customer reviews. But the order had already been placed! Anyway, it arrived quite promptly.

Meanwhile Jan’s male friend turned up for yet another free meal. He’s now starting to look rather large and I’m wondering if he is “weight challenged”! I must try to find the time to watch his next take-off or landing.

Varnishing

noreply@blogger.com (Tom and Jan) — Sun, 27 May 2012 09:57:37 PDT

No photos today because I was too busy varnishing all the recent joinery. It was reasonably cool inside Waiouru, which I hope is a sign of the effectiveness of the insulation. Both side hatches were opened and I also removed the temporary covers off the houdini hatches to improve the air circulation.

The plan for the day was to lightly sand all the bare joinery with 180 grit paper and then wipe all the surfaces down with a special cloth that traps all the dust in its weave. The surfaces were then given one coat of satin varnish which had been diluted with 10% white spirits. The job took most of the day and despite the air circulation in Waiouru I perspired quite heavily.

All this fluid loss will have to be replaced with amber nectar from the cafe later this evening!

Todays actions should allow the joiners to keep going with the fitting of the galley and bathroom. We have run out of accommodation options and must move on board Waiouru at the end of June. This means the galley and bathroom must be useable. The granite worktops in the galley will take two weeks to manufacturer from measurement to installation. So Richard & James must install the galley units must before the end of the second week in June. Before they can start on the galley they require the gas oven. Therefore the delivery of the gas oven is currently the most critical item! Andy informed me on Friday the oven will arrive tomorrow (Monday). I just hope he is right. He also told me the glass swing door for the shower will be delivered.

We have accepted Waiouru will not be completed by the end of June and consequentially will be living in a half completed boat surrounded by joiners and engineers (along with all their mess!) Not the best situation, but we have no other option.

Oh! I have already checked the length of the marina pump-out hose and it’s just long enough to reach Waiouru. However we will have to collect the galley, and bathroom waste water in containers for disposal.

Why no hole?

noreply@blogger.com (Tom and Jan) — Sat, 26 May 2012 10:16:46 PDT

There is a second Wilson-Tyler boat beside Waiouru and I happened to notice neither of them have a hole in the top of the rudder.

Yet all the other boats in the yard or moored against the wharf do have a hole.

My assumption is the hole is there so a rope can be attached to the rudder. Probably to ensure it’s not accidentally lost when completing maintenance on the rudder whilst the boat is in the water???

Now for the top of the boat. A couple of photos of the mushroom vent hole which has been sanded back after the second application of filler. This is the vent that is located directly above the partition between the bedroom and bathroom. Immediately in front of it is the solar panel terminal with the two 6mm cables I installed earlier in the week.

Did you see the “oops” jigsaw cut?

A fault we would probably never have known about as it would have been covered by both the paint and the mushroom vent.

I must have glued dozens of oak plugs yesterday and am quite pleased I’ve decided not to be the volunteer to cut off the excess.

The plugs in the above photo will actually be covered by the slate cladding around the diesel fire. But the screws get covered anyway!

The “his & Her” drawer opening under the front of the bed. Meanwhile, Richard and James have made a start on the bed footlocker. The first cut of the side panels has been completed and they have gone back to the workshop for the cutting of the second cut scribing and fitting of the corner quarter round moulding. All that is left to see are the chocks and markings on the floor.

The locker will also be divided into “His & Hers” and will have a lid with two gas struts to support it.

Tomorrow’s plan is for Jan and me to lightly sand the bare timber before rubbing it down to remove and dust followed by one coat of varnish. The idea is to provide some protection to the timber whilst work continues.

Contact with home

noreply@blogger.com (Tom and Jan) — Fri, 25 May 2012 10:25:45 PDT

We’ve been using Skype to maintain voice contact back “down-under”. Sons, friends and FMIL (Favourite Mother-in-Law) are all computer literate which means the only cost is the price of the internet access. However I have noted the quality of these “free” calls can start to deteriorate as the call progresses.

Mother in Perth won’t have anything to do with computers. Moreover, she struggles with mobile phones, answer phones and set top box remote controls. Calls to her are made using Skype’s pre-paid service. One thing I have noted over the last 12 months is the pre-paid money now doesn’t last as long, yet my calls are of the same duration. I have therefore started looking at alternatives to Skype. After looking at Call61 I decided against it. The call has to be placed from a landline or mobile phone, but we only have the computer. Now I’m considering switching to oovoo or perhaps running oovoo for the pre-paid internet calls.

Meanwhile, back at the boat Richard and James spent much of the day routering ¾” plywood battens for the bed extension. I did the sanding and then applied two coats of waterproof sealer. The latter provides a ‘waxy’ finish which we hope will make the comb slide easily. The sealer will also assist in preventing the plywood absorbing moisture and expanding.

One other task for the day was to run the cables for the bow cameras. I’d previously installed some 20mm flexible conduit through the cratch to the bow thruster locker. However I discovered that whilst the conduit had sufficient clearance for the two cables it didn’t provide enough clearance for the plugs on the end. My solution was to split the length of conduit by cutting it with my ‘Leatherman’ serrated knife blade. The cables were then inserted through the split in the conduit.

Richard asked if I would plug all the screw holes in Waiouru using a bag of oak plugs. The instructions were to dip the end of the plug into some pva glue and then carefully insert the plug into the hole with the grain in the plug matching the grain in the panel. The plug was to them be hammered into the hole until it was firmly in place. Easier said than done for someone with poor vision. He even wanted the screw holes inside the wardrobes and drawers plugged. I declined the suggestion that I should cut off the protruding ends of the plugs with a chisel as I could see myself making a serious mess of the timber.

Battened & Topped!

noreply@blogger.com (Tom and Jan) — Sat, 26 May 2012 10:24:00 PDT

Richard expressed surprise at just how much 1”x1” pine was used to batten out the base of the main section of the double bed.

The two square compartments to the left are the for the drawers that open into the passage. The long section with the white pipe will have the shower pump at the far end and the remainder will be long term storage. The plan is to also have a 28mm copper pipe run in a “T” across the top of the bed and between the drawer compartments. This will provide warmth for the clothing in the drawers and some heat up the lining of the boat. It may even heat the mattress during winter!

The top to the base has been cut and fitted. Richard and James have now started on the construction of the ‘comb’ which will extend the bed across the passage.
Meanwhile, I fitted some timber panelling in the engine compartment. The idea was to install it horizontally across the bulkhead between the engine compartment and the back cabin. It will be used to secure pipes and wiring. I couldn’t find a sheet sufficiently long to fit the 1800x400 area so I made it from two 900x400 sections. The cutting of the panels wasn’t the difficult part of the task. It was the drilling and tapping (threading) of the steel bulkhead for the machine screws!

My idea is should there be unused sections of the board after the engine bay has been completed I might be able to use it as a ‘shadow board’ for some hand tools.
After lunch Darren gave me two small packages which had just been delivered to the chandlery by the courier. They contained the deck fittings for the pumpout and rinse points.

So I drilled and cut the threads for both fittings where I’d previously cut the holes on the roof. However I didn’t seal them with mastic as Darren wants to remove the fittings when he paints Waiouru.
The latest news is the engine (Beta 43) is scheduled to be delivered on Monday.

Back to Bed

noreply@blogger.com (Tom and Jan) — Wed, 23 May 2012 07:25:58 PDT

Another day mostly spent working with Richard on the construction of our cross-over double bed. The sides have now been battened out and the base cut from a sheet of ¾” plywood. Richard and I then scribed the front of the bed from a length of ply. This was then levelled and the edges routered so they will join to the quarter moulding.

The entire front edge will be made from the one piece of plywood. Richard is doing this to ensure the grain on the face of the drawers that will go under the bed actually match the grain of the timber across the face of the bed. It’s little details like this that remind me he is a craftsman rather than a tradesman.

Whilst he went back to the workshop to cut out the drawer openings and trim the holes in solid oak I carried on with another task given to me by Andy.

He wanted me to cut the hole in the ceiling and roof for the Lockgate Refleks stove. The first thing to do was move the stove to the boat and position it centrally on the hearth. Andy then marked the centre of the hole on the ceiling. The hole inside the boat was to be 6” diameter and the hole through the steel roof to be 4”. The reason for the larger hole in the ceiling is to ensure there is no combustable material (eg, timber) near the stainless steel flue.

My planned technique was to drill a small pilot hole from inside the boat and then use a circular 4” hole saw to cut a hole through the roof from the outside. This would enable me to check if there were any electrical wires between the spray foam and the ceiling lining. Unfortunately none of the 4” saw blades was sufficiently sharp to cut a hole. It would need to be cut with a jigsaw and steel blade. Consequentially I had to cut the 6” inside hole first. “Murphy’s Law”….. There was a wire behind the ceiling lining and I shredded it with the saw!!! After cleaning the 6” diameter hole of spray foam I drilled a larger hole in the roof and used a jigsaw to cut out the circular hole.

Can you see the shredded cable in the photo? I now have to somehow replace it! <grrrr>

Andy doesn’t want any self-tapping screws in the shell as he believes they work loose. The top of the flue is secured to the roof with five 8mm stainless steel machine screws.

My technique was to position the flue and mark the first hole. This was then drilled with three HSS bits to create a 7mm hole. I then threaded the hole with an 8mm Tap. Each hole was individually drilled and tapped in sequence to ensure I had all the holes in the right location.

Finally, I applied a layer of “Sticks like Sh*t” adhesive to the underside of the flue and screwed it securely to the roof. All the surplus adhesive was then removed with white spirits.

Meanwhile Andy had run the last of the gas line into the gas locker via the fitting I had drilled and fitted the previous week.

Back to bed making……. I suppose you will want a photo of my hospital corners

More work on the bed

noreply@blogger.com (Tom and Jan) — Tue, 22 May 2012 11:43:24 PDT

The bed was re-plumbed this morning as Richard had worried about it overnight. All the moving, shuffling, banging and re-levelling resulted in one side being adjusted by ONE MILLIMETRE. This joiner is a perfectionist!

After all that adjusting the sides of the bed were then removed to have the quarter moulding added, along with the solid oak top trim. After everything was cut, routered, glued, screwed, filled and sanded the two side were fixed back in the bedroom and secured with temporary chocks.

One side back in with the quarter moulding and trim

Later this afternoon we started cutting and fitting the softwood battens that will secure the bed frame from the inside. As the floor rises all the measurements from now on will be taken from the top of the bed where both sides are level.

Whilst Richard was trimming the sides of the bed I got all excited at the back of the boat with the electric hole saw.

Some fellow boaters might recognise the exterior shore-power socket. For any non-boating readers, a shore-power socket is a male 240v fitting which enable electricity from the shore to be supplied to the boat.

But this isn’t a shore-power socket. It’s one of these…….

A Whale Swim ‘N’ Rinse Shower fitting. This will be connected to the calorifier and supply hot water at the back deck. We thought it might be good for washing boots, a dirty dog or filling a bucket with hot water.

The 6mm solar cable I ordered on the Internet Sunday evening arrived today. Very prompt service! After some searching on Google we placed the order with The Electric Cable Co. I purchased 36 metres of 6mm cable. Why 6mm? The planned location for the panels is towards the bow and I wanted to minimise the voltage drop between the panels and the batteries which are at the ~~very rear~~ stern of the boat. So running the cable is yet another task awaiting attention.

However, tomorrow it will be back to bed!

More Equipment Arrived

noreply@blogger.com (Tom and Jan) — Mon, 21 May 2012 10:47:49 PDT

Much of the day was spent working on the wardrobes in the main bedroom. Richard again checked and re-plumbed the wardrobe walls before cutting, scribing and re-cutting some 7mm oak plywood which he then fixed into the base of each wardrobe. He wanted to make sure if anyone looked at the floor in the wardrobe they would see oak rather than the marine plywood flooring.

Together we then cut and fixed 20x20mm pine battens around the inside of each wardrobe. This “fixed” the panels from the inside.

Once the installation of battens was complete the pine “chocks” holding the panels in place from the exterior were removed and set to one side. We will be reusing them for fitting of the bed.

Actually the bed is also proving to be interesting as the floor is still rising towards the bow. There’s approximately 10mm difference in floor height between the two sides of the cross-over bed. Richard is employing the same technique as used for the wardrobes.

The sides of the bed have been roughly cut to size and then plumbed in using the softwood chocks from the wardrobe.

There is a 12” wide “passage” either side of the bed which terminates at a bedside lowboy (top arrow).

Richard, Jan and I discussed the height of the bed. The higher the bed is above the floor; the greater the length. This is due to the “flaring” of the steel hull (the beam increases between the baseplate and the gunwale. However, if we have the bed too high above the floor we will find there is a lack of headroom under the gunwale.

Eventually we decided the base of the bed will be 14” above the floor. The mattress will add a further 8”, which will leave us with 16” of headroom. The top of the lowboys will be 2” higher than the mattress. By specifying the lowboys to be higher than the top mattress we hope we won’t accidentally knock anything off them whilst sleeping.

Andy informed me the morse controller, shore-power fitting and external “shower-power” fitting had arrived and I was welcome to start cutting more holes in Waiouru.

During the lunch break I took the components to Waiouru and marked out where they will go. The morse controller gave me the greatest difficulty. It needed to be positioned so its movement wouldn’t be “fouled” when selecting reverse. Moreover, I wanted to ensure it was the right height. It will be positioned on the left side of the cockpit and my thought was the top of the controller handle should be within normal reach of my left hand when standing.

The red arrow points to the proposed location of the hole for the controller. As you can see I also made a start on cutting the hole for the flush mounted shore-power fitting. The blade on the 3¾” hole saw is rather blunt and after 10 minutes I only appear to have polished the steel! The cutting technique may have to be reconsidered. At least there is currently plenty to keep me busy.

Walk–Sunday 20 May

noreply@blogger.com (Tom and Jan) — Sun, 20 May 2012 08:47:39 PDT

This time the walking circuit was to the south-west near Brimpton. The route was slightly over 18km, so rather shorter than normal as I wanted to get back and complete a couple of tasks on Waiouru before everyone returns to work tomorrow.

I’ve now walked so much of the local area I’m finding the first third of my walks are over ground previously covered. Walking through the woods is always interesting. It’s the sunlight bursting through the green canopy and the smell of damp vegetation that’s a total contrast to Australia. I see less wildlife (mostly deer and pheasants), however they make a change from kangaroos, wombats and koalas.

These photo’s were taken using the camera in the Garmin gps. The battery was flat on the Penta. It was checked and (accordingly to the display) full before I departed. However when I took it out to take the first photo the camera just shut down <grrrrrr>

In an earlier post I mentioned the large number of horses in the area. Well it must rain quite heavily to the west of Tadley because the horses in this area have all shrunk.

The foal was smaller than a Labrador! But rather cute!

This area of Brimpton Common was a sea of dandelions and buttercups.

After passing across the common I reached an area signposted as a preserved water pasture. I hadn’t anticipated having to cross sodden, swampy fields. Don’t see much of them in Oz! However I paused, remembered my NZ swampy field crossing technique, and managed to get to the far side without filling my boots. It was then a matter of walking up the final ridge and through the Brimpton Church cemetery. Does this mean I’ve walked through the dead centre of Brimpton?

By now the weather was starting to get overcast, cold and windy. A burst of speed was required to get me back to my start point reasonably quickly.

After a hurried late lunch I donned my playsuit (overalls) and scurried across to Waiouru. The first task was to finish the repainting of the engine compartment. The engineers have left a mess which offends my sense of tidiness.

90% complete

Done!

The engine is due to arrive this week and I’d rather like the compartment to be in good condition before it is fitted.

The second task was to apply another coat of body filler (“bog”) to the mushroom vent hole in the roof. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the last builder cut it in the wrong place and had it positioned immediately above the bathroom-bedroom wall. I’d previously applied a first coat of filler which had hardened . It now needed to be sanded back before a second coat was applied.

Filled hole to the left and solar panel terminal box to the right.

My intention is to sand the second application back to a “dome” shape to further improve its resistance to water. Eventually a false mushroom vent will be fixed over the top.

The next task was to get some primer paint and touch up the bare metal from the sander and the weld hot spots on the exterior of the shell.

The last task was to take a photo and measure the hot plate ring on the Lockgate Reflex diesel stove. Jan wants the diameter as she intends to purchase a kettle to fit on the stove.

Back to “real work” tomorrow!

Clear as Day

noreply@blogger.com (Tom and Jan) — Sat, 19 May 2012 09:23:20 PDT

According to the writer of one letter to the editor of an Australian newspaper it’s all so logical.

When I was a kid we never had drought.
Then we started with daylight saving. We started with a little bit, but now we have six months of the year daylight saving.

It has just become too much for the environment to cope with.

It is all so logical, for six months of the year we have an extra hour each day of that hot afternoon sun.
I read somewhere that scientific studies had shown there is a lot less moisture in the atmosphere which means we get less rain.

I believe this one hour extra sun is slowly evaporating all the moisture out of everything.
Why can't the Government get the CSIRO to do studies on this, or better still, get rid of daylight saving.
They have to do something before it is too late.

CHRIS HILL
Albury

Meanwhile; as you can see from the following photo; I’ve been down in the bow water tank applying the second coat of black paint. More fumes inhaled…………

Now all I have to do is clean the paint off my hands and head!

Galley Arrived

noreply@blogger.com (Tom and Jan) — Fri, 18 May 2012 10:55:29 PDT

Richard finished the wardrobe front panels today and the last job we did together was to glue and screw them to the side panels. His next task is to make and hang the doors.

The corner quarter mouldings are very pleasing on the eye and create a wide funnel effect when looking towards the exterior door (which I made…. as you can tell from the quality!) The grain on the side panels are similar and the same has been done with the front panels
Richard carefully routed a small bevel on all the edges where the moulding joins the panels. This gives it a very nice finish. These little “extra” touches make all the difference between a good and outstanding finish!

He has also trimmed the door surrounds with 15mm of solid oak. I’ve attempted to adjust the colour in the following photo to highlight the trim (lower red arrows).

The doors will now be cut to size and the edges also trimmed with 15mm oak before being hung.
There was another delivery today. This time it was the galley carcasses and cupboard doors. The carcasses are made from light oak veneer whilst the doors & drawer faces are of solid oak.

.
I unpacked and assembled the drawers which have a ‘soft close’ mechanism. The carcasses are only roughly in place. We now require the wall oven so the location and size of the port side end cabinet can be finalised. It will contain the fridge, wall oven and microwave. Richard will also make the pantry cabinet on the opposite side of the galley. Jan has decided to have low drawers where the cabinet ‘kick-boards’ are usually located and Richard has already sourced a supplier.
Two things you may have noticed in the photo above. The first is the hull line below the gunwale isn’t perpendicular. You might also have seen in the right side of the photo part of the boat layout plans I drafted. I keep referring to them when running cables or pipes.
Tomorrow is “Paint the water tank day!”

Grey & White

noreply@blogger.com (Tom and Jan) — Thu, 17 May 2012 09:35:40 PDT

No photos today. I could have taken a few but there is actually less to see than yesterday. This is because Richard and I dismantled the work we had previously completed on the bedroom wardrobes so we could make a start on the panels facing the passageway. These panels will have the doors built into them.

Richard inspected all the sheets of ¾” ply to find one that had a very good surface. Both panels were then cut from the sheet. Doing this will ensure the timber grain in the doors matches the panels. The panels were then scribed in the boat and cut again to ensure they were a perfect fit. The floor starts to rise towards the bow which means the bottom of the panel isn’t level. To add to the complexity. the ceiling also curves in two dimensions.

Once the panels were cut, one edge was rebated for the joint with the corner moulded section. Then the rectangular shape of the door was marked on the panel and cut out using a jig saw. The final size of the opening in the panel carefully cut out with a router and chisel. Both the panel opening and edge of the wardrobe door will have a 15mm solid oak trim. Consequentially the doors were then cut down to size ready for the oak trim to be fitted.

The last joinery task for the day was to cut some oak down to size for the trim. This was then run through the thicknesser for final sizing.

Back in the engine compartment Nick has completed most of the welding. During the lunch break I cleaned the bare metal and primed it. Later in the afternoon I managed to find some time to paint the first coat of white bilge paint.

I’m a really bad painter. At least the grey primer matches my hair; but I can’t work out how I managed to get white bilge paint up my nose! My plan is to get a second coat of the bilge paint on tomorrow which will then enable me to paint the missing second coat on the interior of the main water tank sometime Saturday.

The Lockgate Refleks diesel stove for the saloon has been delivered and is now sitting in the workshop ready for installation. Before that can be done a template has to be made for the base of the fire so the slate hearth can be cut. Then we will be able to work out where the hole for the chimney has to be cut in the roof.

Richard had a telephone call just before lunch informing him the galley cupboards will be delivered tomorrow. The original delivery date was the 24th. The earlier delivery is good news as it will give us more time to organise the installation of the granite work tops.

And that’s all………… Until tomorrow

Wardrobe & Engine Compartment

noreply@blogger.com (Tom and Jan) — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:26:45 PDT

The electrical contractors have been rewiring the workshop and one of the consequences is there has been no power to the large bench saw. This has been having an impact on the type of work Richard can undertake. We had a rethink about the priority of work and decided to start on the main bedroom.

The first task is to construct the wardrobes either side of the front door. Each wardrobe has been designed so its door will open into the passageway. The corner of the wardrobe has a quarter-round moulded section of vertical plywood to take the sharp edge off the corner. Using a jigsaw, Richard and I scribed and cut the wardrobe side panels. These were then plumbed and held in place with small timber blocks.

The quarter round moulded plywood is fixed to the partition by cutting a rebate in the face of the partition. This rebate is the depth of the thickness of the moulding. The moulding is then glued and screwed to the partition. The next photo shows the reverse side of the join which is inside the wardrobe.

Both wardrobe panels have now been manufactured and installed

The top half of each wardrobe will be configured for clothes hangers and the lower half will have three adjustable shelves. At the base of the port wardrobe is an access panel to the isolation valves for the diesel stove and water tank. The forward Empirbus node will go in the base of the starboard wardrobe.

Meanwhile Nick, the engineer, has made a start on fitting out the engine compartment. Various shaped lengths of mild steel were delivered yesterday and today he started fabricating the mounting brackets for the engine bay components.

The base of the domestic battery bank has been manufactured from right-angle mild steel and welded across the swim above the propeller shaft. The timber baseplate fits snuggly inside the bracket.

A chain link has been welded either side of the frame. These will be the anchor points for the strap across the top of the battery bank. A second pair of links will be welded to the hull at the back of the bank for another horizontal strap. This will prevent the batteries from falling forwards.

Nick has also cut and welded a couple of box steel mounting for the engine silencer. Straps will pass through the mountings and around the silencer to hold it in place.

He has welded a length of horizontal steel rod on the side of the engine bay above the silencer. This will be the support bracket for the diesel fuel line to the Hurricane heater (red arrow pointing down in the photo below).

Two more lengths of steel rod have been used to make a bracket for the Hurricane muffler (right arrow). Nick has mentioned he needs to confirm he can get sufficient lagging around the muffler before confirming this layout.

The calorifier is on the starboard (right) swim. Nick is going to weld four chain links onto the swim as anchor points for the two straps that will go over the calorifier. Another steel rod will be fabricated and installed on the roof of the engine compartment. It will be used as a securing point for all the wiring. Additional brackets for small items such as filters, isolation switches, etc also need to be fabricated and welded in place.

After all this work someone is going to have to get in the engine bay and clean all this mild steel before painting it. I have this suspicion I know who this will be!!!!

A Thinking Day

noreply@blogger.com (Tom and Jan) — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:40:51 PDT

Richard (the joiner) and I spent a sizeable portion of the day “brainstorming” the layout of the back cabin and main bedroom. It was a very fruitful discussion which has resulted in a way forward that is mutually acceptable.

Three critical issues needed to be resolved in the back cabin. They were:

Would the washer/dryer fit and where.
Where to locate the freezer
How to make the single inline bed extend to a double.

We removed the packing from the washer/dryer and it looked huge! I was quite relieved when it was successfully moved onto Waiouru. Darren and Richard carried it through the cratch door and then through the other three doorways to the back cabin. At least we know large appliances can be moved on or off the boat without much difficulty! The machine was positioned in the centre of the starboard (right) side. Then we moved it as far to the stern as possible without fouling the passageway.

It’s a snug fit but the washer/dryer just clears the passageway which is the plywood join on the floor.

After measuring the Engel freezer it will fit longitudinally on top of the washer. We will mount it on heavy duty drawer slides so it can be pulled into the passageway to access the lid. By pulling it out we will have room for a storage cupboard above. The freezer is actually slightly longer than the width of the washer. Richard is going to make this void beside the washer into a narrow vertical storage area. I will probably keep the folding chair for the work station in it.

To the left of the washer will be the small work station (700mm wide). It will have a folding desktop with a cupboard above for the printer/scanner. To the right will be the wet locker for jackets, etc.

After considering a range of options for extending the bed we have agreed the extension will be made of four removable sections. Each will have a hinged side “leg” which will fold down and lock into the floor to create a right angle section. When the bed doesn’t need to be extended these sections will fold up and be stored under the bed.

Richard then completed the timber shelving in the display cabinet.

The top shelf will have a cupboard door and will contain all the electrical connections. The second shelf will have a glass door and hold the media tank. The large open area in the middle has been drilled for adjustable glass shelving and will have a glass door. The lower section will have a timber cupboard door. I was thinking of installing LED backlighting in the glass section but Jan has ruled this out stating “I don’t want to illuminate the dust!”

One of the tasks for tomorrow is to make up the templates for the fireplace slate cladding.

Richard and I then spend a good part of an hour discussing the detail for the main bedroom layout. We’ve decided to go with a ‘comb’ extension to our cross-over bed. We also discussed and measured various options for the height of the bed. Because the width of the hull increases as it rises to the gunwale (curve of the hull) the bed actually gets longer the higher it is off the floor. However if the bed was too high off the floor we might find our foreheads touching the underside of the gunwale. In the end I decided the base of the mattress would be 18” above the floor. On this will be 8” of mattress; which gives us approximately 14” of headroom.

The other completed task was to cut the hole in the shower floor for the waste trap. Then we cut a “trench” through the plywood floor to route the waste pipe to the pump. I must remember to take a photo of it tomorrow.

Blue Spaghetti

noreply@blogger.com (Tom and Jan) — Mon, 14 May 2012 10:39:09 PDT

Three different jobs today. The first task was to drill a hole through the side of the hull for the blackwater tank breather pipe. It involved some careful measuring to ensure the outlet hole was located as high as possible under the gunwale. The breather pipe will have an active charcoal filter and I want to minimise the possibility of water entering the pipe from outside the boat (eg, river wave action). On the inside there will be a “gooseneck” in the hose to further reduce the chances of water reaching the filter. It’s a big hose. The same diameter as the engine exhaust. This is essential as I want the tank to “breath” and allow plenty of oxygen to react with the bacteria in an attempt to break down the effluent before it gets smelly.

My hole drilling technique is to locate the position of the hole on the exterior of the hull and then drill a small pilot hole. The bit is then replaced with a longer shank and the depth of the hole is extended to the point where it penetrates the inner lining of the boat. The hole is then widened to the same diameter as the pilot bit on the hole saw. Then I cut from the inside using a hole blade with a diameter significantly wider than the hole that will be cutting the steel. By doing this the timber lining and spray foam is removed from around the final hole. This will provide room for the flange nut on the inside of the steel shell. Then I replace the hole blade for the size that will make the exterior hole.

Some waste paper has been used to fill the hole in an effort to prevent rain entering the shell. You can see the inner hole is greater than the outer.

The second task was to run the 240v AC power cables. These will eventually run in the PVC box ducting under the gunwales. There are four circuits that will terminate at the consumer unit.

Port side (left) power points
Starboard side (right) powerpoints
Washing machine
Calorifier 1kw electric heating element.

The boatyard usually mounts the power sockets on the gunwale; however I want the sockets in the galley and saloon 20cm above the gunwale. I’ve achieved this by drilling a hole up through the base of the pvc box ducting and a second hole through the face of the wall ply. The two holes were joined by forcing a piece of welding rod up the gunwale hole and through the spray foam. It was the “jiggled” around to widen the hole sufficiently for the blue artic flex (my blue spaghetti) to be pulled up though the foam using a draw wire.

Saloon and galley power points are above the gunwale line. They will all be double sockets and flush mounted.

Unfortunately the pvc ducting on the starboard side had been incorrectly screwed adjacent to the outer side of the gunwale. I had to unscrew and resecure it next to the inside edge. That way the holes in the base of the pvc ducting aligned with the spray foam rather than the underside of the steel gunwale.

The back cabin has a power point at the gunwale for the washer/dryer with four power points above for the printer, mobile phone, wifi router, etc. At the end of the cabin there will be a further “utility” power point above the wet locker cupboard. All the wiring will be concealed inside the cupboards.

The 240v cable to the shoreline input plug in the cratch was also run. It will connect to the rear shoreline plug via a two way switch. From there it will go to the Victron inverter charger. The two-way switch is required to ensure plugging in shore power at one end of the boat doesn’t liven the pins on the shore power inlet at the other end.

The last task was to mix some two pack epoxy filler. I’ve used it to fill in one of the roof mushroom vent holes. The first builder (name not mentioned) cut the hole in the wrong place (it’s directly above the junction between a partition and door). The filler will get sanded back tomorrow and then be given a second application. After a final sanding back a “dummy mushroom vent” will be fixed over the filled hole. I don’t want to leave area unprotected as it’s always possible I’ll stand on that portion of the roof at some future date and crack the filler.

Rape in the countryside

noreply@blogger.com (Tom and Jan) — Sun, 13 May 2012 09:39:14 PDT

Jan was awake at 5:00AM and kindly let me sleep on until 7:00 before gently tweaking my nose. The sky was blue and the birds were singing. There was a slight breeze but it looked like we were going to have a great day. I donned my walking boots and grabbed a banana and apple before heading out for a walk to the north-west. Another circuit, and this one was over familiar terrain for the first quarter.

It was an anticlockwise circuit passing around Beenham, Woohampton and then Midgham. By the time I reached Midgham it was new ground. The rape is in flower marking the countryside with fields of bright yellow. Back in Australia it would more likely be canola in flower. But still bright yellow!

The high ground behind Thatcham provides some good views across the valley.

The route took me to the left edge of the distant field of rape and then down into Thatcham. From there I turned east and headed back to Aldermaston Wharf along the canal towpath.
Part of the way towards Woolhampton I came upon this DD (double-double) standard Bailey Bridge across the canal.

It’s more than 40 years since my basic military engineering course; however I can still remember the bridging phase and the construction of a DD Bailey Bridge across the dry gap at the SME (School of Military Engineering). This bridge looks like it provides access to a local quarry.
The circuit was just under 21km and took slightly less than 3½ hours. A casual Sunday stroll!
After a cheese sandwich made from Jan’s delicious home baked bread I headed off to Waiouru to mark out on the roof the holes for the pump out and rinse connections. These were then cut out from the inside and outside of the roof to give a clean hole. The last of the box plastic cable ducting has been fixed in place under the gunwale.
The plan for tomorrow is to cut the blackwater tank breather hole through the hull and then make a start on running the 230v power cables.

How many more holes

noreply@blogger.com (Tom and Jan) — Sat, 12 May 2012 08:54:23 PDT

Just how many more holes need to be drill in the shell? Today holes for the forward shore power connection; bow thruster controls; and camera cables in the cratch were either drilled or cut. Lately I’ve been waking in the morning to numb fingers in my left hand. Probably from the vibration of the electric drill.

To answer my own opening question; the following additional holes are required.

Hand basin outlet
Galley sink outlet
Washing machine outlet
Stern shore power socket
Engine controller
Camera monitor socket
Pump out socket
Rinse socket
Blackwater tank breather outlet
Headlamp & horn cable holes in cratch
Additional roof vent
Screw down holes for water tank hatch

If I drill many more hole in Waiouru I’m concerned she may sink! <sigh>

In the afternoon I used some timber off-cuts to make a <very> temporary mounting bracket for the TV antenna pole which we purchased from B&Q last Thursday. Unfortunately the antenna cable is only long enough to reach the first section of the pole. Consequentially I’ll have to extend the cable if we want to double the height of the antenna. The mounting is very “Heath Robinson”; but no duck tape, baling twine, or No8 fencing wire was used during the manufacture.

It only has to last a couple of months and at least we now have a signal.

Not made by a competent joiner.

But there is now a reasonable signal.

Tomorrow I must find out from Nick, the engineer, the hole sizes for the pump out and rinse connections on the roof. I might even get them cut!

A small bow thruster problem

noreply@blogger.com (Tom and Jan) — Fri, 11 May 2012 10:58:55 PDT

The correct size 12v bow thruster had arrived (6kw/8hp) so Andy “invited” me to drill the holes in the tube. There are three main parts to the unit. A baseplate contoured to fit the 185mm tube; the electric motor; and the propeller shaft and gearbox. He also showed me the installation instructions which included a paper cutting template for the three holes required to mount the bow thruster on the tube.

I carefully selected the correct drill bits and then drew a horizontal line on top of the tube. Next I place the mounting block and electric motor on the tube and adjusted them, ensuring there was adequate clearance all around the unit. The mounting block and motor were removed and I marked the location of the three holes using the supplied paper cutting template.

The two 9mm holes for the mounting bolts were drilled first. Then I started on the 30mm hole for the gearbox shaft using a cone drill (this bit gradually increases the diameter of the hole). Halfway through drilling the 30mm hole I realised the final hole would almost overlap the 9mm mounting holes. This wasn’t shown on the cutting template so I stopped drilling. The holes I’d drilled did match the cutting template so I them placed the mounting block back on top of the tube AND THE HOLES DIDN’T MATCH. After physically measuring the supplied paper cutting template it’s NOT TO SCALE. Why the hell would you supply a cutting template that wasn’t to scale??????

We now have a problem because the existing two smaller 9mm hole overlap with the location of the required mounting holes. Consequentially it’s going to be a difficult task re-drilling the new holes. However I already have a solution. Andy can do it!!!

Richard and James have been working on the stove hearth and display cabinet. The drawer underneath the stove is now complete. We will probably use it to store bit & pieces for the stove maintenance.

They have now moved onto the display cabinet and have fitted both vertical sides.

Richard has already made the fixed three timber shelves. There will be two at the top and one approximately 16” above the floor. These will have timber cupboard doors. The remainder of the unit will consist of adjustable glass shelving and a hinged glass door.

Meanwhile I had completed the plumbing connections on the rear bulkhead.

The gas hole goes directly from the cabin to the gas locker avoiding the engine compartment. I will install the brass bulkhead fitting in the hole tomorrow. The gas pipe will pass through the fitting to the regulator. This will mean the gas pipe will run inside the hose and have no joints between the regulator and the oven/hob.

The final job for the day was to drill the ¾” hole for the shower waste fitting. All the steel burrs were filed off the edges of the hole and construction adhesive smeared on the brass fitting before Jan and I worked as a team (me inside & her outside) tightening it all up.

White spirits cleaned off the excess adhesive. It should be well clear of the waterline (I hope!).

Tomorrows tasks include marking out the location of the bow thruster batteries. I’d like to fit them above the bow thruster motor thereby freeing up the remaining room in the locker. The other task is to cut out some holes for the various controls.

Time permitting, the pump out and rinse holes for the blackwater tank might also be cut out.

The unfortunate news is the boatyard’s new inflatable paint shelter will not stay erect. All the air keeps going to the bottom! Apparently it will be going back to the manufacture to have the defects rectified.

Bill doesn’t eat lunch

noreply@blogger.com (Tom and Jan) — Thu, 10 May 2012 07:31:47 PDT

Oh yes he does……..! Jan caught him at the Canal Cafe and has the evidence to prove it.

He’s attempted to “move the goalposts” by suggesting he doesn’t eat lunch on work days! Oh, and this wasn’t lunch……. Just a cake!

Meanwhile, someone else tapped on the boat at lunch time. It was Jan’s friend “Oliver”!

It appeared Ollie didn’t want to talk…….

“Just give me the bread woman……!”

What’s Oliver’s family name…..”Twist” of course!

It appears I have a competitor for the home baked bread!

Mind you…… If Ollie doesn’t get the bread I normally discover Jan has given it to “The Bachelors”. Oh…. you haven’t been introduced to the bachelors? They are the three young male ducks who have also developed a habit of appearing at the galley window! tap tap tap……

What a Gas

noreply@blogger.com (Tom and Jan) — Wed, 09 May 2012 10:28:07 PDT

The gas line was run through the cabin today. First Andy threaded it through plastic hose and then it was clipped under the gunwale and across the rear bulkhead at floor level.

Galley end for the oven and hob

Secured under the gunwale

The gas line is routed from under the port gunwale to the floor and across the rear bulkhead before rising up the starboard side.

Andy and I discussed, and then rejected, the idea of routing the gas line through the engine compartment. Instead, it will go through the rear bulkhead in the vicinity of the left arrow. This will take it directly into the gas locker.

Richard, the engineer, was manufacturing two steel mountings for the Hurricane heater. Whilst he went to get the heater I used a wire brush on the angle grinder to clean off all the surface rust. He then welded the mounts onto the swim before giving them a coat of primer.

Yesterday Andy and I had a brief discussion regarding the positioning of the Hurricane header tank. The tank has to be higher than the heater and there’s no room inside the engine compartment. Andy thought it would have to go in the back cabin. Both Jan and I were reluctant to have it there as we’d previously had a bad experience with a header tank on a hire boat that had been located inside the cabin. It had overflowed and we didn’t realise there was a problem until we noticed wet carpet in the back cabin (the bilge was full of water).

This morning I came up with an alternative. The port locker in the cockpit has a scalloped shape at the front to allow the rear cabin exterior door to fully open. The area isn’t much use but would be ideal for the header tank. So that is where I’ve mounted it.

The filler cap on the top of the tank is accessible and I’ve cut a hole through the base of the locker for the outlet connection.

The outlet is almost directly above the Hurricane heater so that worked out rather well. Wilson-Tyler had also made the sides of the semi-trad area with a double skin of steel plate. This enabled me to drill and tap the wall of the locker before securing the header tank with 4mm stainless steel machine screws.

Meanwhile the joiners (Richard & James) made a start on manufacturing the surrounds for the Lockgate diesel stove and display cabinet.

The stove has to be mounted off the floor on a plinth to clear the sanitation hose and other plumbing running down the side of the hull at floor level.

Rather than waste the space underneath the stove, they are going to manufacture a pull-out storage drawer. They have also installed the left wall of the display cabinet. We have decided the cabinet will have an 8” hinged door at the top. This will conceal all the power sockets and cables. The bottom 16” of the cabinet will also have an oak hinged door. The remained of the cabinet will have a glass hinged door and adjustable glass shelves.

Oh, and this is the hospital silencer.

Part of me still thinks it’s large. But another portion of my brain tells me it has compressed the full length of a car exhaust system into 30 inches.

Richard the engineer now needs to start manufacturing mountings for the silencer, batteries and calorifier. We also need some lengths of flat steel welded into the engine compartment to support the cables.