Work is still ongoing although there is not much to take pictures of yet. I put the water tank back in today and then did some grinding back in the cockpit area. The battery boxes were removed and I will build new ones for the bilge area in front of the engine. I have been moving between the cockpit and the head area as I wait for epoxy and paint to dry. When I find a holding tank that will fit all the plumbing is laid out and ready to be hooked up. As I write this I realize progress is being made although it doesn't feel like it at times and the job just seems so huge. I guess I need to keep my head down and keep at it until it is done.

Installed the aft bulkhead today. I cut it to a rough shape so I can trim it later when I do the sides/cabin top. I had to make all new slats for the inside and my stain came out a little dark but I think it will be OK when I get the varnish on. I also had to replace the corner posts on the inside of the cabin due to rot. It was so bad back there that a light hammer blow went all the way through the cabin sides which are 1" ply! I'm sure glad the hull is glass because if the hull were in the same shape as the topsides she would be at the bottom right now. Every time I take something off I find more problems underneath. The boat looked to be in much better shape than she is. There have been lots of repairs through the years and in some cases I have found repairs to repaired areas. Although it is hard now, when we launch it will be nice to know that everything is fixed right. I'll try to get some more pictures up soon but there really isn't that much new to see yet.

Back to work on the boat at least. After my first year of homeschooling our kids, remodeling our kitchen and building a new bedroom for our daughter I think I have caught up enough to try and get the boat project moving again. I am starting back in the cockpit area by adding insulation to the ice box. I have increased it substantially where I could. I hope it helps.

I finally got the engine to run. The good news is that the engine appears to be in good shape internally. I cleaned both the raw and fresh water cooling circuits, replaced the rear seal and cleaned out the old oil and sludge. The wiring needs a bit of work since the ammeter isn't working but the rest of the system is. The bad news is that I need to rebuild the transmission. It shifts between forward and reverse but when in neutral it continues turning in a forward direction. According to the manual that means I need to replace the clutch plates. The parts aren't too expensive and the rebuild doesn't appear too difficult but it is another project to add to the list. Oh well, at least this means I can get back to the carpentry portion of the project while I wait for parts to get here. Onward and Upward!!!

No pictures to go along with this post. Generally my hands are too greasy to hold the camera and gasket replacement or cooling tube acid wash just isn't that picture worthy. I am still in the middle of the engine and transmission work. It is going slow but still moving. I really want to get back to the boatwork. A diesel mechanic I'm not!

Here is me with the engine already hanging from the hoist. I took the transmission off first and then grabbed the engine just to make things lighter and a little easier. As you can see from the condition of my clothes this was a dirty, nasty, greasy mess. Did I mention that I really don't care for engine work :-) I am pretty excited about this stage though because after it's done I feel like I'm home free which is silly because there is still a TON of work to be done. After the engine however, I get back to the construction and systems side of things that I am much more comfortable with. Things are progressing well at this time which I hope continues.