April 24, 2024

Calliope Girl 108

Wednesday

I brought the companionway ladder into the boat so I could set it in place in the galley and mark the countertop where it landed.  This would allow me to continue installing the adjacent fiddles later.

With that done, I continued with my routine of sanding, cleaning, and varnishing the ladder, door frames, and chainplate trim.

In the woodshop, I worked to sand smooth and as necessary the small pile of trim that I’d milled the day before, then cleaned all the assorted new pieces and applied a sealer coat of varnish to all sides.  These smaller pieces of trim were to be completely pre-finished before installation.

In the galley, I continued the fiddle installation, cutting the trim to fit around the opening I’d marked for the companionway ladder (and which still fit perfectly my construction ladder).  Around the corner at the refrigerator lid, I milled a piece of the fiddle stock to fit and milled in a handle to ease opening of the lid.  I bunged all the fastener holes securing the fiddles.

To cover the space between the refer locker and the electrical panel beyond, I patterned, then cut, a teak shelf to span the gap, supported by the remnants of the old nav station beneath the electrical panel and a fiddle at the inboard end.  I milled the shelf down to about 3/8″ thickness to allow adequate clearance for the panel to tip forward for access.  In keeping with the nature of the port side of the galley, this shelf assembly would remain removable if needed, so once the sizing and related details were set, I could remove it to secure the fiddle permanently and varnish the part before installation.

During the remainder of the day, I milled two lengths of trim to match the profile of the prefab teak handles that would anchor the galley bulkheads, with a series of milling operations required to obtain the final profile, and also milled some various small trim and support cleats I’d need elsewhere in the project.  By the end of the day, I’d worked through the milling and sanding operations and had enough time for a sealer coat of varnish on these pieces.

Total time billed on this job today: 8.25 hours

0600 Weather Observation: 39°, overcast. Forecast for the day: Chance of showers, 48°