Mast partners

Main mast partners . This component holds the mast up so has to be strong.

3x layers of half inch ply followed by the deck (2xlayers 3/8”) Because of the raised deck this over nine foot long by two foot wide making it quite heavy to handle on your own! I thought about making a mould to laminate it over but concluded that it would consume too many materials. It turned out easy enough to mold it in pisition on the boat. Starting with scarfing the ply to make three 10’x 2’ sections. I put one of these in position on the boat and then spent some hours putting props under it from the cabin floor/galley units/water tanks pushing it up into a smooth curve that i was happy with. It looked quite a lash up but worked well. Once the props were in i took the ply off and added a mass of epoxy to create the usual sticky laminate sandwich and clamped into place.

cabin sides

At last the cabin sides are now finished and the boat is really showing her shape now. It is amazing how different she looks with the sweeping cockpit sides that are mirrored at the bow.

To get this shape I started by making a hardboard template to get the shape right without committing to expensive ply. I then scarfed together two 8’ lengths of ply to get a 16’ section that would bend and twist around the cockpit in one hit (it makes the transition from leaning into the cabin to leaning out to match the hull angle at the stern post/stem while curving around the cockpit/bow) These are then screwed, glued, nailed and tortured into position followed by a second layer. At the same time I used 100mm glass tape and epoxy to smooth in the joint between deck and side.

Its getting cold!!

Over the past few weeks the temperature has been plunging to below freezing. The epoxy needs pre heating with a fan heater then i stand it by my workshop stove to keep it warm for the day.

The workshop has not been the only cold place - the cottage where we stay has also been cooling down. In light of this i have spent a few evenings making a little stove. I used an old diving bottle for the main part, some cast iron gutter as a flue and some 8mm steel plate to make a door/vent/lid/hinges. Its is top loading and has a removable griddle made from re-bar (from keel framework) and the legs are the off cuts from the keel bolts.

The plan is to fit it into the boat when it is finished - i will add a stainless steel fiddle rail to keep a kettle on top at sea.....

It works well and heats the little cottage well using very little fuel (Coal or wood).