110 Cookson Lane | Whitefield, ME 04353 | 207-232-7600 | tim@lackeysailing.com
Blue Teal | Sunday, June 30, 2013
The owner built a battery box for the house battery bank (3 x AGM group 31) that would double as the lower step for the companionway. With this box now on hand, but needing a top/step, and with the final companionway and engine box configuration dependent upon it, I wasted no time bolting it into position.
From marine plywood, I fashioned a top for the box, letting it extend aft to the existing framework of the angled portion of the engine room/companionway and notching it around the cleats as required. This way, the top section could rest upon the base for support.
Next, I cut a section for the front of the engine room, which would later incorporate a step on its angled surface.
I didn't have enough of the correct plywood on hand to complete the top, so that would have to wait for now. Meanwhile, satisfied with the initial fitting of the other two sections, I sanded the pieces smooth and, over the course of the day, applied a few coats of epoxy to all sides, in keeping with the owner's general practice elsewhere.
I removed the damaged piece of engine hose that had been leaking during the earlier engine test. The damage to the hose was clearly visible, and cut right down to and perhaps beyond the wire reinforcement, and had clearly been cut sometime, whether during an earlier session (the hose was the remains of existing stock on hand) or even before delivery. In any event, I ordered a new supply to replace the problem section.
The remainder of the day's work was rather free-form and scattered, but helped to point me in the right direction on several projects. I played around with a piece of the cork slated for the interior to determine its flexibility and how well it might conform to some of the curves and corners, and for a while debated a sample installation on one bulkhead, but eventually decided against it for the moment.
I reviewed manuals for some of the various installations of the electrical system, gearing up for a shift to wiring mode in the coming days, and worked out what materials I didn't have on hand so I could order them. As a corollary, I started determining locations for some of the various components, including beginning to work out the logistical issues that inevitably arose, such as how to install something as outwardly straightforward as a windlass switch with the situational complications that came to light. It's determining these issues in advance that can often streamline the final installation.
Meanwhile, I installed the solar panel controller and Balmar Duo-Charge on the aft bulkhead above the engine room, where they awaited their final wiring during the days ahead.
Total Time on This Job Today: 4.5 hours
