We decided going against redesigning the whole interior. She seems quite well laid out already. What we ideally wanted was a double in the forepeak. but also a shower room. We decided the we didn't NEED the shower. At least not yet. But if we did we could add it in later. We see the project costs and are trying to keep them down.

So the plan is: Design the forepeak to be able to cover over the heads and be a double berth if it needs to be. Current thinking is a folding door for entrance. and cover over the entire space. Cut out part of that bulkhead to cater for the feet.

So step one:
Wipe clean.
Sand everything with 80 grit.
Clean.
Filler low spots.
Sand with 120 Grit.
Clean.
(optional) Sand 240 grit and clean.
Water based primer/undercoat (duel use dulux trade) x 2/3 sanding with 240 in between.
Oil based Eggshell Pure brilliant white

Step two:
Interior carpentry (easier when less in the room).
Build sink and cupboards.
Build double berth layer.

Step three:
Remove existing seacocks
Fit holding tank
Fit valves and connections
Fit toilet

If you don't already know- The amount of research that I have to do is staggering. I think it's probably around 4 hours per day. Every day. I guess I don't HAVE to....but the reason i'm doing the project is to learn!

The main thing i'm picking up is this: not everyone agrees. In fact you struggle to find two people who agree. So what I do is to understand the problem, listen to others and then make my own mind up about what makes sense to me.

As part of my research I phoned up a guy from International Yacht paints. Bryn. What a nice chap! It seemed he had ALL the time in the world to talk to me- was genuinely interested, and was giving me gems of advice with every question. It was all about colours, times, methods etc for painting. He'd like me to keep him in the loop with the project (so I will).

It so happens that its today that i'm making this blog. The idea is to have somewhere so people can come and see whats happening...I thought i'd show the actual sequence of events and how i approached it- in the hope that when it's finished I have some sort of time-line. I need to do it sooner rather than later- if I leave it any longer I wont remember the order!

Here's a link to all the photos I have taken:
Photos

I appreciate just how far away I am from this stage. But it helps put some costings in order. In any case. Have you seen the price of veneered cabin sole? ridiculous! Teak and holly is over £300 per sheet.

I decided to make my own-
Take a piece of marine ply.
Use a router to route 7mm deep lines 50mm apart.
Sand it.
Stain it with your choice (didn't know which one i wanted so i did a selection)
Epoxy it.
Look at what you created...

Well, I don't believe in problems. Just issues that haven't got a solution yet.

I'll go to the start....When we took the weathered deck from cockpit (bolted down sheets of planked wood) there were some tiny black round mites. They move slowly and dont seem to be eating the wood itself. IT's odd. They must be there for a reason....


Then I found a wet-spot. I've been tapping around any leak looking for rotted wood etc, been pleasantly surprised for so long. I knew it was a matter of time. There was a slight ding on the starboard aft corner of the transom. Apparently water was getting in here, and is rotting it away. I saw two of those little black bugs in the gap...

Under the footwells though there were a couple hundred of them.

Advice time again i think! I know it will be a big job- but surely its a matter of taking rotten wood out, replacing with new, and making good? The only issues are the need for careful joining of the wood, and treatment for future proofing.

There was bound to be a BIG problem...

So all the seacocks are bonded. Apparently a no-no when it comes to wooden boats. I understand the wood can suffer from something called delignification. The seacocks are corroded and on the outside show areas of increased underwater growth- which I assume is from a loss of antifoul.


On one seacock there is a small area of delignification, where the top of the plank seems as though it's going 'papery'. Turning fibrous.

I have taken the seacock off, allowed to dry, stopped any leaks allowing water getting to the area. The hull seems in good shape there. I asked a chap that is working next to me (a professional) what he thought- it was pretty much what I thought... Clear it, see what the hull is like. Re-inforce with a backing plate when putting the new seacock on. My thought was to epoxy the surrounding area (in the planking). Perhaps slight drill holes, and inject the epoxy to strengthen the area. Still seeking advice for it, but doesn't seem too bad! The others seem fine.

It was wierd that my battery the day after lifting out of the water was completely flat.. and I noticed the antifoul areas around the seacocks.