Refit 11 - What happened in 2020

Looking good from the rub rail down, autumn reflections

It's probably time that I stop calling it a refit and start calling it a rebuild. We are now several years in to major work and there is still plenty to do.

2020 has been an odd year for everyone and there have been several times when work has had to stop for one reason or another and other times when we have been able to make quite a bit of progress. This blog is a round up of some of the things that have been achieved on the boat over the year. 

View from the galley on a summer day

 

We've laid new flooring on the cockpit floor and along the starboard hull. The galley floor is next for the treatment. We found some EVA fake teak foam flooring from Ebay which is soft to walk on, brushes and wipes easily and looks nice too. It seems to be quite hard wearing so far despite heavy traffic (including claws) in the cockpit.

 
We have finished renaming her (same name, new decals) with new letters on the back/sugar scoop. We got these made by Funky Monkey at the same time as the ones on her hull and were pleased with the freedom to choose colour, size and font. They also resolved an issue with the first delivery really quickly. It's good to have clear lettering that can be seen from a distance as a safety thing. These ones applied easily and have lasted well so far. 

 
 
 

Out on deck, large areas have been sanded right back, refilled, sanded again and painted. There are still some areas to go before a final pretty coat of paint can be applied.  There has also been work around the back including a new flag staff, navigation lights and other finishing bits on the davits.    
                    

 
 

Heating is a project that has been a long time in the planning and needed a lot of preparation to get to the fitting stage. We have two Chinese diesel heaters with ducts running through the boat sending warm air through both hulls. The dog has discovered very quickly where the vents come out and has some new favourite sleeping spots.

There has been a lot of electrical work through the year. Replacement lights throughout, chasing down ghost wires and building a new 12 volt distribution panel.

 

Working on the panel

 

The masts, including the spreaders have been prepared and painted. We got some folding saw horses from Tool Station and they've been used quite a bit since then. They are light and fold down really quickly for storage but are strong enough when up properly to be really useful.

The masts are now waiting for the chain plates to be fabricated and the roof over the aft (back) cabins to be finished then the running rigging can be redone ready for them to be stepped. Roof strengthening has been finished over the main cabin. New laminated cross beams have been epoxied into place with a noticeable difference when walking 0over the roof.
 

Working on the masts in a WW2 flying boat hangar

 

In the cabins all the beds now have slatted IKEA bed bases to help with air flow. We've replaced a couple of the older mattresses too with some new, very comfortable ones, which are also from IKEA. There have been lots of other odd bits done too, some new stuff, some repairs of old stuff. Some things are part way through like our new doors that are taking shape nicely.

Touching up the hulls from fender wear

Last but definitely not least we have decorated for Christmas. The tree is up and our string of hanging decorations as well as lights inside and out. We even got a small poinsetta this year which is a family tradition.

 

Thank you for reading these blogs and sharing in what we are up to.

Wishing everyone as nice a Christmas as possible, thinking of those on their own this year and hoping for a safe and more peaceful 2021.
 

 

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