Kaholee Refit | August 7, 2007

I got started this morning with the holding tank.  Back in April, during Phase I, I had partially constructed a stitch and glue plywood and epoxy holding tank, custom-fit to the space available in the locker outboard of the head.  It was time to pick up where I left off, so I cut the top piece to fit and drilled holes for the inlet, pumpout, and vent.  Then I installed the fitting--Marelon through hulls for the inlet and vent, and a PVC fitting for the pumpout, since I planned to install a dip tube to the base of the tank.  With the fittings secured, I then coated the inside of the tank--and the yet-to-be-attached top--with epoxy and set the items aside to cure.



Next, I moved on to the coamings.  We need to get the canvas shop out here in the next several weeks to measure for the new dodger and frame, and the coamings need to be installed before then.  I had rough-cut the coamings to size some time ago, and now I test-fit them to the cockpit, making minor modifications as necessary.  For now, I left the coamings alone, but will soon press them into place so that I can fit and build the coaming blocks at the leading edge.



Though the interior was well on its way to completion, there were myriad odds and ends remaining, including constructing some cabinet fronts for the shelves beneath the sidedeck on each side.  I spent the remainder of the day on this task, building and fitting the port side first, and then moving on to the starboard side.  As usual, the first one took twice as long as the second, but in both cases there was a need for plenty of cutting, scribing, and fitting, with the commensurate trips up and down the ladder.  I built the front panels from 6mm Meranti plywood, to be painted and trimmed to match the rest of the interior.

By the end of the day, I had both front panels cut and fit, and the openings cut thereunto, and had further managed to install some cleats beneath the deck, to which I would later attach the new panels.  I ground the paint off the underside of the decks as needed, and secured the cleats with thickened epoxy--all temporarily held in place with hot melt glue while the epoxy cured.


         


Total Time on This Job Today:  7.25 hours

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