Captains Chest

A Captain needs a chest, so I thought it was time I made one.

Slightly taller than most to fit under the gunwhales, big enough to go the distance and not too fat. Thats enough about me. The chest is designed to fit a specific space at the foot of the bed to maximise the room and opportunity.

A face frame of 2x1 pine with ply sides and back, draw runners and guides and a top, as yet undecided. Thats the easy part which I knocked up in a couple of hours but making the draws will take a little longer I think.

Comfort

There is nothing like comfort to make a place into a home, and having spent the last 22 months living in a flat with cold hard floors, I MUST have carpet.
So I set off with a handfull of cash, cos we all know deals can be done with crisp currency and I came home with enough carpet and underlay to cover almost 28 sq mts, allowing for wastage.
I have a go at most jobs but I hate fitting carpets. The chance of cutting it too small is always the worry and carpet fitters earn their money. Anyway, I had to just get on and do it. Two lucky carpets, at least they got laid.

Sure enough its made all the difference and within a few hours its changed the whole outlook and feel of the place.

Full steam ahead

Its full steam ahead now as I have less than 3 weeks before I vacate my appartment and move aboard.
Much of the internal painting has been completed and the work is mostly cosmetic and applying the finishing touches.

The bathroom is finally finished, all apart from sealing the floor. I don want to use varnish, prefering to leave the wood able to breath and flex, yet I need to proect it from water. Its so damn hard to find the right product which is totally clear, non staining, breathable and waterproof without being sticky.

There is one small problem with the head. It likes to fill its self when im not watching and I caught it just in time today when the water was only half an inch from overflowing.
Its just not practical to turn the water on and off every time its used as one day someone WILL forget, The fresh water tank is almost 12'' above the toilet pump and it gradually fills the bowl by gravity feed, bypassing the pump somehow.
Im toying with the idea of putting a solenoid valve in the pipe, opened by the flush switch

Whats in a name?

To quote Billy Shakespere 'Whats in a name? That which we call a Rose would smell as sweet by any other name' is true, but a boats name is of great importance and not just any old name will do.
A name speaks volumes to us. It signifies status, intelligence, humour and vision so getting it right is more important than should be left to the luck of pulling a name out of a hat.

Im a great fan of double entendres, words with more than one meaning, reference or parellel. I have seen many witty names and should love to plagerise them but its not unique or original.

Names such as Flat Bottomed Girl or Done With the Wind impart something funny and clever and thats what I wish to emulate.

Fastest fingers on the button please, I look forward to receiving your suggestions.

No new pix

No new pix at the moment but its been a busy week. Mum has ben helping again and got the bedroom, galley and bathroom painting done. Maybe that doesnt sound like much but the preparation took ages and the final results are fantastic. Its almost ready to move aboard and im contemplating giving a months notice to quit my appartment at the end of next week. That means I COULD be living aboard by Easter.

Over the next week I have to complete the plumbing and wiring. I still havent got round to finishing off the shower stall and have lots of smaller things to attend to.

Now the painting has been done I know I have to stop making a mess and that makes me feel as though the project is moving forward.

Actually,..... it looks all white you know.

Another month been and gone, I realy dont know where the times goes, but gone it has.

Ahem......so what have I done?, well im not realy sure, maybe I was kidnapped by aliens and an earth month went by but seems like only 5 minutes.
Ok, its not as bad as it seems, lots of not glamourous stuff, all those small unseen jobs got done and a whole bunch of painting, and now it looks all white (thanks Mum).

Ok, ive sanded the maple headlinings in the bedroom and saloon, finished off the clothes hanging lockers, installed the 3x 220 lt forward water tanks plus pump and pipes, installed some more mushroom vents, upgraded wiring, added more cat5 cable, and many more things besides. Ive also added yet another water tank in the engine room. Ive had to make a few modifications to the layout to incorporate a genny ive aquired and ive just had my domestic water bill for the last 6 months and I now know I need more water storage cos im addicted to spending way too much time meditating in the shower. Total water capacity now stands at @ 1100 lts

Sadly, I also seem to spend an inordinate amount of time cutting fire wood. Im so glad I have the fire as its been a most misserable winter, (or am I getting older)?

I love the whitewashed look which helps to highlight the Maple and resembles a Spanish villa. The white is just an undercoat and ive opted for a mellow Primrose yellow for the bedroom, which I hope will give a gorgeous golden glow to wake to.

More pix

The galley wasnt made for this but I need the space and tools have to live somewhere..
Its almost time to have some basic facilities aboard, so it wont be long before the head is connected up to the 50 gallon holding tank. Its all fitted in very neatly and im flushed with pride !!!
I had to drill and tap the top of the tank to take a half inch nipple for the vent and getting it in through the floor frame was tricky but it just fitted.
The outlet at the bottom feeds into a Y valve which allows me to either self pumpout via the Henderson manual pump or marina suck out

For 5 months, ive been playing hopscotch every time ove walked over the steel framework above the engine compartment. I havent fallen in yet but im not going to chance it any longer so today saw the start of the deck going down. I need to make a few hatches for access but once its done im going to enjoy using this huge space

Im doing my level best, I am. (as we say in Wales)

Im struggling for motivation this week. Maybe this is the psychological equivelent of the wall that althletes hit when the carbs are burned up and they are numb to the pain. They feel 'nothing', and thats hard to beat, its tougher to deal with than the original task and only the winners find the way past it to succeed.

So, my way of dealing with a problem is to side step it and see it from a different perspective. Ive had a misch match of a week, doing nothing much in particular, finishing off some odd jobs like the gas pipe, the bathroom radiator, lifting the fridge and wash machine above finished floor height, and cleaning up.

Occasionally the mess gets so bad I spend too long looking for tools or choking in the dust. Ive done some spring cleaning and moved a lot of junk out.
Ive leak tested the shower tray and calorifier, installed a fan in the bathroom to recirculate warm air and made a home for the AC/DC panel in rediness for connecting wiring circuts. I need to test the wiring so I can move on to finishing the Maple ceiling.

I wanted a panel which is hinged to make connections easier to work on without having to totally remove it. Its over 8 inches deep so I had to build a box around it and to help get the depth, ive cut into the backing board which forms the back of the electrics locker. That way, all the wires will enter from the back and not be on show or in the way.

The panel was a gift from James' 'Arctic Lady', surplus to requirments since her magnificent new fitout. Its overkill for my project but too good to let slip by.

Thanks again James.x

Im usually rather modest about my abilities but this week ive been rather chuffed, firstly with the tiling and now with the flooring in the galley and bathroom.

Im using the same Maple which I made the ceilings from and its a joy to work with as its so close grained and knot free. I first made the border and then infilled. Each mitre cut is 45 deg and its a testement to my laying out of bulkheads to millimitre accuracy that all the mitres are snug and tight, demonstrating how square everything is.

All it needs now is a good sanding and Im going to seal and protect it with teak and linseed oil.

One small step, but -

One big leap forward.

I simply adore the steps, made from salvaged oak boards and given some love and linseed oil, and this is how they look.

Ive also been tiling and 2 square meters later, ive got it covered.