Some Progress

I have not accomplished a lot since up-righting the boat besides sanding--the manual states (tongue-in-cheek) that there is about 6,000 hours more sanding to do.  It does seem like that much at times.

I installed the companionway hood , shown here:

Companionway Hood

 At this point I only have about half the hood top sanded, so it looks a little strange.

Fillet Around Hood

I have also added a small fillet around the outside of the hood.  Rather than try to reach in and fillet the inside, I'll brush some epoxy in the interface to keep water from leaking in under the edge of the hood, although I don't think it would do any damage if it did because all the wood surfaces are sealed with epoxy already. 

Hood Drain

In this closer shot you can see the hole I made in the hood to allow rainwater to drain.  (*The drain hole is not mentioned until much later in the manual--more about that later.)  As you can also see, I sawed out a slot below the drilled hole so water can drain right down to the bottom.

Electric/Electronic Panel

I also took this time to install the electrical control panel, although I will have to remove or mask it when I do some more painting in the cabin.  Included on the panel are an entertainment radio with USB input, a VHF receiver/transmitter, switches for electronics and lights, two 12V outlets, and a voltmeter.

Open Panel

I mounted the panel on a piano hinge for easy access to the back.  The only problem was there is limited space for the panel so I could not figure out a way to mount the entertainment radio that would allow me to easily open and close the panel.  The solution was to put it at the top because it is fairly easy to slide it out of it's mounting box. (The black metal box above the VHF.)  So the radio will have to come out when I want to open the panel--a bit of a problem but not too bad.

*There are numerous drain holes and other holes that must be drilled in the hull.  The instruction manual, while very well written for a first edition does not mention these holes until after the boat has been painted and is close to being finished.  CLC is working on many corrections to the manual that will be in later editions, so I hope they will move the mention of the holes to match the context.  I wish I had discovered this earlier and made notes because in most cases it would have made for easier or better construction.  For example making the hood drains extend to the bottom as shown above.  There are drain scuppers and holes in several spots that I think would have worked better if they had been there before the fillets were added.  I also wished that I had drilled the drains for the dorade boxes before they were installed.  I had to do some very careful measuring and drill from the outside.  Amazingly, I got the hole almost exactly right on the starboard side.  On the port side, I misjudged a bit and drilled into the bulkhead.  I got it right on the second try, and of course the incorrect hole was easily filled with thickened epoxy.  A big problem, which I have not started on, is that there need to be two holes drilled in the tops of the seatbacks for the gallows poles.  These holes have to be in exactly the right spot of course, but a bigger problem is that flanges are to be installed inside the storage lockers for the bottoms of the poles.  That would have been much, much easier to do before the sides of the seats were installed, with less chance of leaving bare wood exposed to the elements.