I unclamped the sole planks from last time, and cleaned up a bit and reorganized so I could focus on the final planks remaining on the starboard side.

There were 4 pieces required:  three longer sections (full-length to the galley bulkhead), and one shorter piece at the forward end to accommodate the curvature of the hull.  I laid out, measured, and cut the various pieces required, including a thin strip along the starboard settee, and checked everything with a dry-fit.

Next, I prepared a large batch of thickened epoxy adhesive, and secured the planks with various braces as needed to press everything tightly into the adhesive.

After a while I tempted fate by removing a couple glue blocks on the outer edge of the planks where they ran by the galley, so hopefully I could finish up the final short planks to fill the small area.  Removing the glue blocks (which I’d installed to hold the planks tightly together originally) had no ill effects, so I could proceed and install the four final, short planks to fill the starboard galley space.  These required a seemingly inordinate number of vertical braces to press tightly into position.

With the sole complete for now–at least all the planks laid–I turned to the cabin side trim and milled and sanded the three pieces according to the second prototype I’d made earlier.  The piece destined for the aft end of the cabin was similar, but featured a different angle (7 degrees) since that was what I had measured at the aft bulkhead.  Once these were completely milled and sanded, I cleaned them and applied a sealer coat of varnish to all sides.

While I was at it, I sanded and varnished the bilge access grate from the head–original to the boat  (or at least to her iteration upon arrival here).  I planned just to spruce up the part and eventually varnish it to match the cabin sole.

Next, I started some prep work for the cabinet doors, which were to receive a caning insert.  To accept the caning and spline, I had to mill groves on all four sides of the backs of the frames, so after working on a sample piece to get the spacing and depth where I wanted it, I milled slots in all the doors, taking three passes on the table saw for each slot to achieve the final width.  In the past, two passes had done the trick, but the spline I had was a bit thicker, and I was using a thin blade in the saw.

I was looking forward to completing the caning, the final step before I could install the hardware and then install the doors in the boat, but that would be for another time soon as the day was done.

Happy with the state of the varnish on the interior trim and bulkheads, I removed all the masking tape to complete the job.

I test-fit the new piece of trim profile that I’d milled late last time, and it seemed to do the trick and accomplished what I had hoped.

With that, I turned my attention to the cabin sole for the rest of the day, continuing where I’d left off with a difficult piece at the starboard end of the forward cabin, extending forward along the slope and curve of the hull. This piece required quite a bit of pressure in the form of long braces running to the overhead in order to hold it securely while the epoxy cured.  Similarly, I filled in a small piece of the same plank at the aft end, though this was easier to hold in place with some weights and one clamp at the aft end.

Leaving the starboard side for now, I continued work on the port side, where the shape of the hull allowed full-length planks, as long as I could reasonably torture them into position along the curve of the hull at the aft end.  I installed two planks in turn, using glue and brads where I could on the plywood substrate, and bracing them accordingly against the overhead and with clamped-on boards at the aft bulkhead.

The final two planks to complete the port side of the sole required less bending to fit, but were entirely located on the fiberglass hull, so I had to come up with more creative clamping means to hold them securely in the epoxy while it cured.

Using some offcuts from the longer planks I’d installed, I installed more pieces of the teak sole to finish up around the hatch in the head sole, and cut and installed the final longer pieces against the port side and up on the curves of the port hull, using additional plywood-strip bracing from the overhead as needed.

By now, I’d mainly run out of pre-milled stock for the sole, other than several shorter pieces that would come in handy later.  I’d estimated the requirements roughly when I milled the original batch, but didn’t want to mill more than needed and risk wasting the material.  So from a long teak board (from which I first cut the blanks needed for the cabin side trim), I milled four more 2″ wide by 1/4″ thick strips of teak, and sanded the v-match profile on the corners.  This would give me enough stock to finish the starboard side of the sole.

The pieces on the starboard side that I’d installed earlier in the day had cured enough that I felt OK removing some or all of the bracing so I could continue with the next row of planking.  This one included a long section on the flat plywood substrate, plus a shorter angled piece at the aft end, and a longer one at the forward end, which, like its immediate predecessor, would require quite a bit of clamping pressure to hold it in place on the hull.  Measuring, cutting, installing, and clamping these three pieces consumed most of the remainder of the day, and the various clamping means required blocked access for additional work regardless.

As a final step for the day, I used a small router to trim the planks around the mast step opening, and the bilge access in the head, where I’d let the planking run slightly long for this purpose.  I couldn’t reach my vacuum through the forest of braces, so left cleaning up for next time, when I planned to finish the final pieces on the starboard side.

 

I began the day in the cabin, lightly sanding the head bulkheads and trim to prepare for the final coat of satin varnish later in the day.   Since I’d spent time over the weekend, the remaining bits of brightwork I’d been working on most recently were now complete and resplendent in their satin glow.

Once I’d finished that work, I took a few minutes to glue hardwood cleats along one side of each  galley locker door opening, where it would remain to help locate door catch hardware later.

I spent most of the day working on the cabin sole to install the 1/4″ x 2″ teak planks to create the final surface.  Working on the bench, I started with the two bilge access hatches, which ran down the centerline of the boat and would form the layout basis for the remainder of the sole.  The hatches were six planks wide by design.  Once these planks were installed, I used the hatches to finish up some basic layout in the boat, particularly just forward of the hatches where I laid out the planks to determine where they’d fall on the mast step recess so I could then cut some water drains on each side where the slot would be covered by a plank later.

I didn’t take any incremental photos of the planking, but worked throughout the day to install all the long, straight planks on either side of the bilge hatches, and then began installing some of the shorter planks where the sole met the curvature of the hull at the corners.  The layout from the hatches continued nicely and neatly past the battery box with a full plank, and then beyond on either side. I installed all the planks with glue and brads, and a thickened epoxy mixture on the exposed hull as needed.

I might have liked to continue a bit more, but it was growing late in the day and I needed to stop in order to clean up and get ready to apply the final coat of satin varnish to the interior trim and head bulkhead, along with the port side galley shelf.  Finishing the varnish now was important to keep other aspects of the interior moving forward as well.

With about 30 minutes left at the end of the day, I prepared a second prototype of the trim for the lower edge of the cabin sides.  The first attempt was good in concept, but the way I cut the angles made it visually clunky.   Now, I more or less replicated the cuts, except I started with a slightly narrower blank (1-1/4″ vs 1-1/2″) to better clear the ports forward, and cut the 14° angle on the short bottom leg, with the taller leg cut at a vertical, so that when installed, the  trim would visually follow the angle of the cabin trunk.  I didn’t test-fit the piece in the boat now as I didn’t want to introduce dust to the curing fresh varnish, but all in the fullness of time.

 

Next verse, same as the first.  This time, however, I switched to satin varnish for the final coat on all the loose small trim pieces and chainplate trim covers (coat 5), while sticking with the usual gloss varnish for the 4th build coat on the interior trim.

In a brief weekend workday, I prepared for and applied another coat of gloss varnish to the interior trim (third coat) and small loose trim pieces (mostly 4th coat).

With the satin varnish now cured overnight, the cabinet door frames and companionway ladder were looking pretty good.

Continuing the varnish base coat buildup was next on my task list, with the usual round of light sanding and cleaning followed by another coat of gloss varnish on all ongoing parts–head bulkheads, interior trim, and the various loose trim pieces.

Over the past week or two, since completing the cabin sole, I’d noticed a bit of flex at the seams where the large bilge access panels met the sole, and while I expected that the 1/4″ teak planks would eventually help stiffen these areas, I thought it best to add some support cleats now and ensure that the sole always felt solid underfoot.  So with eight pre-made cleats cut to fit, I epoxied and screwed them into place beneath the outer sole edges as needed to help reinforce the sole.

I’d now made or installed nearly all of the interior trim as needed, but now I could address some of the last “major” trim needed:  the lower edges of the cabin trunk, where the plywood sheathing (installed during some earlier iteration) had a raw, sharp edge along the sides and aft end of the main cabin.  Trim would dress up the appearance and also ease the cracking of skulls on the low and sharp corner, something with which I had become painfully familiar over the past few months.

I used bevel gauges to get a read on the angles involved so I could start to conceive and cut trim to fit.  These angles turned out to be just under 14° on the cabin sides, and 7° at the aft bulkhead.

From here, and with a series of milling steps, I came up with a prototype trim profile.  The basics of the profile ended up OK, but when I test-fit it I realized it would be better if I cut the angle portion into the short lower leg of the trim (where it covered the edge of the plywood), rather than the longer vertical leg, as in its current iteration the trim seemed overly chunky and ended up vertical on its main and largest side, at odds with the angle of the cabin trunk.  Otherwise, beyond some minor adjustments in height (mainly to ensure clearance beneath the two opening ports forward), the trim profile was  on track and the changes would be an easy fix, just adjusting how I cut the inside faces of the the piece to change how the angle played, and I’d continue with the second prototype next time, but for now I had to leave for an appointment.

I began the day as per usual, with a round of sanding for all the ongoing brightwork pieces.  I spent extra time on the cabinet doors and companionway ladder, as the base coats were done and I planned to finish up with the satin varnish this time around.  I left these pieces for finishing late in the day so I’d not stir up any dust for what I hoped would be the final coat.

After sanding and cleanup, I applied another base coat to all the small trim strips and chainlocker trim pieces.  I also sanded and applied a sealer coat to the galley refer shelf and trim.

In the cabin, I cleaned off the excess bungs from all the trim I’d recently installed, then sanded the trim as needed to prepare it for varnish.  Afterwards, I thoroughly cleaned the cabin and trim, then masked off for the varnish process, including the port side of the head bulkheads, which I’d previously sanded for fresh finish.

Later, I applied a coat of gloss varnish to all these areas in the cabin.

Finally, after final preparations and tack-off, I applied a coat of satin rubbed-effect varnish to the door frames and companionway.

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.

I began the day with another round of sanding, cleaning, and varnish on the door frames, companionway, and other items currently underway.

Next, I turned to the bookshelf trim, beginning with four pieces of 1-1/2″ wide stock that I cut according to the plywood patterns I’d made.  I test-fit these and made some reference marks so I could lay out some slots to hold a cross brace that would support taller books and such behind the trim, after which I cut out the patterns and sanded the parts clean and smooth.

I installed the side members, along with some rounded trim to cover the seam at the plywood edge, and then cut to fit the cross members to fit between the slots.  I bunged the fastener holes as needed, and these parts were ready for final sanding, masking, and varnish along with the adjacent settee trim.

Having wrapped up this trim shortly before lunch, I took advantage of a few slack minutes to install the two GFCI receptacles in the AC boxes that were otherwise wired and ready.

In the afternoon, I prepared the teak trim to establish the business side of the dinner-and-glassware rack outboard of the stove, a relatively simple piece 4″ tall overall with two rounded slots to allow access to the utensils within.

In order to install the adjacent galley fiddle trim permanently, I first had to determine the exact location of the companionway ladder, and this would have to wait till next time since the ladder was wrapped in fresh varnish at the moment.  However, with a slightly longer-than-needed piece of the trim, I could start the process, specifically to modify the end of the trim (and a corresponding piece at the opposite end of the galley) to leave a slot in the corner where one could wipe out crumbs and such to avoid a tight corner where this might otherwise collect.  At the port end, I used a mockup piece of the trim on the refrigerator lid to determine the final location of the adjacent trim, which was a short piece to allow removal of the port part of the galley should it be required in the future.  I’d permanently install these and the remainder of the trim once I could mark the location of the companionway ladder next time.

During what remained of the day, I worked to mill some additional pieces of trim on my list, including some trim to wrap the edges of the stainless steel stove enclosure, and a quantity of “baseboard” trim that I planned to use along the edges of the cabin sole and the base of the galley cabinets where they met the countertop.  I got all these pieces milled and many of them sanded by the end of the day.

I got started removing the masking tape from the interior trim and bulkheads, now that the varnish work there was complete.

Next, I lightly sanded, then varnished again, the door trim and companionway ladder, the second of probably 4 base coats.

Jason the canvas contractor was on hand for part of the morning to prepare the template for a new dodger.  We started by setting up the existing dodger to see its shape and details, and then he set to work making a plastic template of the replacement, working off the existing frame and molded coamings and obstructions.

Next, I turned to some trim pieces to hide the chainplates in the main cabin.  These were exposed outside of the varnished staving and forward of the new settee cabinets.  On the port side, I began by reinstalling a wooden panel containing a stereo and windlass breaker, which panel I’d removed early in the project, as this panel dictated the position of the chainplate cover.

I milled some teak into roughly 1/4″ thick by 4″ wide planks, each long enough to cover the chainplate on each side, then milled two 1″ deep cleats, the required depth of the trim to hide the chainplate bolts.  Starting with the port side, I installed the cleat to the bulkhead with two screws, flush with the outboard edge of the stereo panel, then, in a series of steps, scribed and cut the cover panel to fit in the space.  I chose to do one side at a time to sort of learn the steps and therefore streamline the second side’s construction, which I did next (a few interim steps shown in the starboard photos).  The end result was a simple two-part box allowing easy access to the chainplates for inspection.  I planned to remove the new trim for finishing, but first I wanted to install some adjacent trim on the settees.

While the chainplate trim was in place, I cut and fit the mid settee trim that I’d milled some time before.  This trim covered the edge of the plywood shelf at the top of the backrest, and provided a bit of a fiddle to the bookshelf area in the center.  This wouldn’t be enough to hold in books, but additional trim at the edges of the bookshelves would provide for that next.  Once the settee trim was installed, I bunged the screw holes, and then I could remove the chainplate trim for varnish on the bench.

The design of the trim at the vertical edges of the bookshelf recesses was still forming in my mind, but would eventually accomplish the requirements to hide the edges of the locker panels, as well as provide a means of installing and securing a removable fiddle to secure books across the space.  To make it easier to fit the trim into the confined space, I used the remainder of the day to make some basic 1-1/2″ wide plywood templates of each of the four locations, each cut to fit from three pieces and hot-glued together.  I’d make and install the trim next time.