Little work

Today only little work on the boat has been done. It took me the better part of the day to find and purchase a drill, with the right measure to produce the holes that will house the pins on the transversals. Since I was close to the foams shop I also bought the materials to produce cushions and a test for the "mattress" . Which turned out to be to high.

T38 sailing fast

Internals

The installation for the electrics is still keeping me busy. All wiring is now in place. Ok, except for the bilge pump. And the top light... But I have already passed the wire through the mast. But what I want to say, is the I still need to make the final connections for all those wires. And that's a rally irritating job. Cut to length, take isolation of, put on terminal, isolate, connect.... And that will need to be done about 60 times!!! I have 10 switches, each has 2 wires. So its; 2 for the switch itself, and then 4 more for the connection to the wire bar. And all needs to be organised, bundled, labeled. I've got plenty of plastic braces to keep wires organised and have started with this already.

I have asked a shop to print labels for the switch board. The result looks pretty crappy, I think. Hell,... something to be improved in future, I guess. The good thing is that the shop printed a few more of the labels for me, for the same price. And these additional labels will serve me to label the wires in the back of the panel.

The back of the compass sticking out and cramping the switch panel is also not quite ideal. Another thing to ponder about and improve in future.

A working light for the bow and stern have been installed. A second might follow. Besides serving for occasional jobs in the "torture chamber", as I call it after the latest jobs up there in the front, I think it makes for a rather decorative feature. Hopefully I will be able to keep the bow uncluttered. from useless gear and stuff that usually accumulates in boats. 

Coppercoat

I have grabbed deep into my pockets to purchase a fine protection for the bottom of Arpex. The epoxi based "Coppercoat", promises a more efficient protection while offering considerably less maintenance, while being more friendly to the environment. In my book, that makes a winning proposition for an anti-fouling.


I figured that the purchase price would be double that of a conventional anti-fouling. I asked for a better price, but the representative ignored.... But if it lasts as long as promised the cost-benefit will be very positive. I guess they know that too... Well, now they still got some free advertising from me. Go figure. On a side note, I think it will also look very nice...

For your information: A gallon of conventional anti-fouling would cost me about R$ 500, and must be repainted every year. That includes a considerable effort (time and money) to haul the boat out of the water. Coppercoat has cost me R$ 1100 - in USD 250 and 550 respectively. Coppercoat says it will protect me for 10 years. All it needs for maintenance is a little scrubbing from time to time, to keep slime off. That can be done easily and quickly in the water. More so considering my shoal draft and reduced wetted surface.

Into the Ocean

This boat needs water

It has been a few weeks, that I've been thinking how to bring this boat to the water. Not only for the launch, but actually, I would like to put the hull to the water to define the waterline, and properly align the parts. Sure this is not the classic way. The classic way would be to build, launch and hope that it floats on the lines. And usually it would. At least in the history.

The issue is, that my construction cradle is not really strong enough to drive through the club, down to the water. At least, it seems risky. Therefore, I have to lift the boat, put it on another cradle, make the test. Ideally the boat would then come back, so that I can do the last things that need doing. Mainly finish the electrics installation, the engine mount, and installation of deckware.

As for pulpit and pushpit, I am very happy to report that I managed to finish installation today. The very tough work stuffed up in the bow will be remembered for a long time.

 Windows have been installed today. Only one is left to do.

Hard work going on

I'm thrilled at the prospect of seeing this boat in the water soon. But some hard work is still called for. These days I'm doing some jobs deep down forward, stuffed into the cramped bow, in order to secure u-bolts and pulpit. Hot and cramped. Though job.

One thing I still have to build, is the engine mount and a support for the anchor. Both parts will be part of the deckpiece. Since I don't have a clear picture of exactly how it is going to be built, I put the deck into place, so that I could get a visual, to better figure out things.

I also bought a compass, and produced the opening to receive it. It is not a big and wonderful piece of equipment, the pride and joy of a captain, but it will do its job.  

 Walmir is finishing his job, by giving the boat a good scrubbing.

I started to glue in the windows with Sikaflex. It is the first time I use this material. Therefore, I'm still getting used to it. But it is not complicated. I actually enjoyed it. To get the job done cleanly takes some caution.

All painted now

 These days working on the boat have been fruitful. Things are falling together.  However, of course, not as fast as I would like to. Many unexpected jobs do take time. Like the bow U-Bolt located just so, that screwing it is just impossible. So, boatbuilding is not just swinging the swab to varnish shiny wood. It is also hard work in dark, cramped corners.

But the reward to hard work is a boat with lovely details. I do think I'm overdoing it.But I can't help it. It's just what I seem to want to do.

Arpex - Keep on moving

Last weekend, on Sunday my girl and I went to the beach. Oddly, it is not often that we enjoy this treat. And one of the mandatory things to do is to go out to the Arpoador Rock and jump into the water, to swim back to the beach.

It is not an extraordinary feat. But it reminds me of many things. And ultimately it is where the name for my boat comes from. From the feeling of standing on a rock, of doing the step forward, the cold tickles when you incline your body so the by mere gravity, you're on a point of no return, where all what comes next is already decided; Jump so as not to get all cut up on the rock, dive in, and then keep on swimming, until you reach the breach. Never mind the cold. Just keep moving to warm up. And if the sea is going high, douse the occasional breaker. Currents might drift you off a little. And there is always the unconscious worry about fish looming in the deep... But eventually you reach a point where you can almost touch the sand, the safety of the beach. You know that you#re not quite there yet, but you did it. All you need is a couple of strokes more. The feeling of exposure, back there on the rock, is now a reassuring memory. You reached another little victory over your inner fear.

Pimping up

A sailor might consider these less noble tasks in the construction of a boat. But I enjoy this.

The cabin will have cushions on the bench. So these will need to be covered in fabric. Therefore, I need to choose the fabric. Color, texture, material, price. All matters. And it will have determinant influence on the character and flair of the cabin and the boat as a whole. Not to speak of practical livability. So, I'm giving it some consideration. Taking the opinion of my girl into account, potentially one of the major users of the cabin, is also paramount, of course.

I took a few days off, and am taking these to push the boat closer to launching. One other thing to do is to cover all the external wooden parts in varnish with UV protection. The wood is already coated in epoxi. However, as the epoxi is subject to effects of UV, some UV protection is called for. Between yesterday and today, I managed to put on to coats of varnish. Which is a satisfactory amount of protection, I believe. Besides the practical effects, it looks great. Admitted: I'm such a sucker for varnished wood.

I have also prepared the definitive installation of the pulpit and pushpit. Deck holes are drilled, filled and drilled again. All is fitted and tested. The wiring for the navigation lights is passed. Now I just need to prepare for gluing the holes with Sikaflex to avoid leaks through the decks.

On the edge

Starting installation of deckware

This week I started the installation of the deckware. If you think; "Great, then the painting of the deck must be finished, then". - Then you are wrong. Nothing of that sort. Actually, no progress was made from last week. What happened, is that I lost my patience, and my temper, and started working. This might make some of the painting jobs slightly more difficult. But I don't care. Valmir will find his way. And if he doesn't, by next week, I'll just do it myself. Got tired of this nonsense.

I stated by drilling the holes for anchoring the pulpit and pushpit. I did not install them yet, because I first epoxied the holes. Remeber; Drill, filll, drill. Otherwise, I'd have bad spots in future. I'm glad that things are looking good. Beaty is in the eye of the beholder, ... but I like it.

There is one thing that still needs to be built, really. It is the mount for the engine. Frankly I have some ideas, but no real plan of how I'm going to do it. Originally I wanted a sled, which I could lower and pull up with pulleys. But maybe, I'll keep it more simple.

"Refurbish"

 I had painted the interior of the boat some years ago. Must have been around 2011, that 2 years ago. After 2 years of work, with lots of it also inside, things were a bit messy. So I decided to give it a new coat of white paint, to have it nice and shiny. Also the floorboards received some sanding and a new coat of epoxi. This was already planned for, from the beginning. I knew they would suffer a little during construction.

I also continued my work on the windows. Now I only have to more policarbonate panels  to cut out. Then I will think about how to glue them into place. I'm still considering to have one of them "openable". The more ventilation for the cabin, the better.

You might also ask yourself; "Yes, but what about the decks, and other painting jobs? Finished?" A justified question, with a simple answer: No. ... Explanation? Missing materials... Ah! ... ok. So, now I have to go and buy them. I wish I had been told about it last week.

Festa Junina

This time of the year Brazilians celebrate a colorful party called Festa Junina.

Another step closer

Despite an alluring invitation for a sail on TikiRio on Saturday, I did drive out to the boatshed in the early morning. I decided I should go sailing, as I did, but I should also a little bit on my own boat.

I was surprised to see that Valmir had put the second coat on the decks. So my last phone call had worked. However, the job was not quite finished. Which is why I did not start with installation of deckware. In an objective conversation I told him I expect to be completely finished with painting by next weekend. ... Of course it has been raining in the last few days, which is inconvenient, since it gives him an excuse.

But what I did is I started on the windows. For a test, I cut the first one, which went pretty straight forward. I suppose it will be easy to finish the other 4 on the next weekend. Gluing them will be the next challenge.

 After that, I called it a day, and went for a pleasant sail on TikiRio. I did not regret it.