When it comes to motivation there is nothing like a deadline to get some action. Our current deadline is a planned cruise to Pittwater after watching the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Boxing Day. For the cruise I wanted to have the dinette installed and the repainted bowsprit reinstalled with a stronger bob stay. Well the deadline worked and I drew a line under the number of coats of two pack polyurethane I sprayed on the bowsprit and the table top. They are not perfect but are in keeping with the glossy two pack polyurethane sprayed finish on the topsides.
The sliding two part support for the table top has been lubricated with candle wax and the inner top section slides neatly inside the outer box.
The dinette project started in early September and with no deadlines has dragged on. By 25th October I had done a trial fit and was able to glue the two layers of 9 mm ply together to form the table top. By the 20th November enough coats of epoxy and filler had been rolled and brushed onto the timber so that it was ready for the final spray primers and polyurethane undercoat and top coat. By the 5th December it was completed and left to cure until today.
The new bob stay from 6 mm dux was spliced last night using two fids I made from aluminium tube in the garage and in another just in time moment it was ready to be installed today.
Another job that has come to the top of the list for the cruise away is the heat shield for the gas stove. I have a very nice stainless steel laminate with thin steel on the two faces and a stable filler between. A 500 mm wide by 450 mm deep panel will be installed with double sided tape leaving an air gap to protect the painted side of the galley. It was cut and cleaned up tonight ready for installation tomorrow.
With these jobs Passion X is essentially complete as planned but no yacht is ever really finished and in early January we plan to have a professional spray dodger fitted. It will be a bit late for this cruise but should be a great addition for our cruise to Port Stephens in April.
Completed settee table in the double berth configuration
Settee table in the dining position
Bowsprit hung for the spraying operation