February 22, 2024

Calliope Girl 71

Thursday

Working towards the goal of installing the large, fixed section of countertop, there were several tasks I had to complete first, beginning with installing the sink.  With the layout already done and the hole previously cut, now I aligned the sink with the marks I’d made on the bottom of the countertop, and installed it with the eight metal brackets supplied with the sink.  I secured the brackets with screws driven into the underside of the countertop, and these brackets pinned the sink tightly against the plywood.  Later, I’d apply some sealant to the exposed seam between sink and countertop inside the opening, but for now I moved on.  I noted the position of three of the support brackets as they’d require some relief in the galley structural members on which the countertop would sit.

I worked on layout for positioning the faucet.  I found that the overflow drain arrangement I’d assembled earlier was extending further out (aft of) from the sink than was desirable, as its current position was forcing the faucet further from the sink than I wanted or had planned in order for the faucet body to clear the drain.    With all this in position now, I could see that I should have shortened the horizontal leg of the drain setup when I originally installed it, and fortunately this was straightforward to deal with now, as the ball joint connection point came apart with surprising ease when I tried.  I shortened the leg and repositioned the whole assembly as close to the sink now as possible, which allowed me to move the faucet significantly closer to the sink where it belonged–nearly a full body diameter, as seen in the circular marks on the plywood.  The closer circle is the final faucet position.

Next, I drilled for and test-fit the faucet, then drilled and installed the push-button, cable-driven actuator for the drain nearby.  I’ll admit I don’t really understand this feature, but it was part of the setup.

For convenience purposes, I had hoped to pre-install the faucet on the bench, before slipping the countertop into position in the boat, but with the depth of the sink, including the drain assembly, I didn’t think there’d be clearance for all this.  To check, I brought the countertop into the boat for a dry fit.   It was clear there was no way the faucet would be able to be pre-installed, but the good news was that with the countertop partially in place, as shown, I had reasonable access to the underside so I could finish the faucet installation before the countertop was in its final position.  The dry fit also highlighted a clearance issue with the bottom part of the little bulkhead still supporting one of the battery switch panels, which I’d left in place because reconfiguring all that wiring would be difficult and time-consuming, but fortunately this was an easy fix since the lower part of the bulkhead didn’t need to be there anyway, and I could (and did) cut it away to increase clearance for the countertop.

Removing the counter back down to the bench, I went ahead and marked and chiseled out the three sections of support beams where clearance was required for the sink brackets.  I also prepared and installed a plywood bracket to support the galvanic isolator, which had originally been mounted on the underside of the old countertop.  The engine room light fixture would be remounted beneath the countertop, and I had a plan for that too.

Because I planned sound insulation wherever I could in the engine room–this meant the overhead, the two removable side panels, and the front access panel–I needed to provide a mounting surface for the light fixture.  I’d marked the approximate position on the underside of the counter where the wiring would allow the fixture to go, and now I prepared a 1/4″ plywood panel to fit, and installed mounting studs to the plywood that would penetrate the sound insulation and give me a secure mount for the plywood, and thus the fixture.  These studs were designed to work with the 2-part adhesive used to secure wire mounts.  Once the adhesive had cured enough, I made a pattern for the sound insulation, then cut out and installed the self-adhesive insulation, securing the plywood panel over top to finish off the installation.  I was pleasantly surprised how well the adhesive back of the insulation worked; I’d expected to need to augment it with mechanical fasteners, but it seemed to really work as is.  While in the process, I also installed insulation on the other panels as applicable, covering all the edges with foil tape for as clean an appearance as possible.

I would have liked to install the countertop, but I was awaiting delivery of some braided water hoses I needed to connect to, and adapt from, the sink faucet to the fittings required to connect to onboard water plumbing.  These parts eventually arrived, but by then it was too late in the day to get going on the final countertop installation.  So in the meantime, I worked on some loose-endy wiring and related projects in the starboard settee, making up a terminal block connection for the propane heater power source, which I’d needed to extend from the original length, and running in a length of potable water hose to service the galley from the new water pump (and tank) location forward, then securing all the wires, the water hose, and the propane line to service the propane heater.  This meant that I could also reinstall the base panel beneath the stove, now fully painted to match, and the settee locker covers.

Another small detail I completed was to install a full-length piano hinge on the two parts of the refrigerator compartment lid/countertop.  I’d previously cut the plywood panel to form a lid and a narrow piece to be permanently affixed, and now I connected the two with a stainless piano hinge.

Total time billed on this job today: 7.5 hours

0600 Weather Observation: 29°, overcast. Forecast for the day: Mostly cloudy, 38°