The cockpit saga continues....
07 August 2009
Obviously I haven't been able to hold to the timetable from the last post but progress continues to be made. I finally got the fuel tank out today and was pleasantly suprised as to its' condition. Some other Mariners have had mild steel tanks but mine is stainless and appears to be in fine shape. I think I'll be reusing it. I continue to be amazed at the teak being used as framing on this boat. The board supporting the mizzen mast step is a solid piece of teak that is 2" thick by 8" wide by 18" long. I'll replace that with white oak and use the teak for some other project where I need it properties/appearance. The Mariners have such interesting construction details. I call them "transitional boats" for lack of a better term. They have glass hulls but almost all the rest of the construction details are from wooden boat building. Things like the sleepers that the tanks rest on and the fact that the tanks are removable without tearing the whole boat apart are legacies from wooden boat building that modern boat builders would do well to learn again. I'll have to replace the aft cabin bulkhead which wasn't on my to do list. As I was removing parts of the cockpit I slipped and put my screwdriver right through the bulkhead. Oh well, what's one more project when I'm doing so much other stuff ;-) Well, that's enough for tonight, tomorrow will hopefully see more framing done.