Another 48 Hours.....

Multiple projects this weekend have been accomplished here at BeBop Around The World. I had hopes that I would be able to start painting the interior on Sunday but things didn't work out that way. We ARE talking about a boat refit of course. As a rule of thumb from now on, whatever timetable I say it will take to finish a project, just triple it ok? lol.

The shelves are almost done; I've been working on them everyday after work. They just require one more coat of paint and they can be installed after the interior painting is done. Friday afternoon I finished bonding in the front part of the new V-berth locker. With a bit of luck it will be finished by the end of next weekend and I'll have some pictures for everybody. (Please remember to refer to the new time table rule ^_^)

The chemical head was delivered this week so I could test fit where the old marine head used to be. Turns out the stock base installed were too small so I had to fabricate an extension for it. The first thing I had to do was bond in the supports for the platform extension. You can see them in this picture here. Uh, I would like to add that brown stuff is fiberglass mixed in with 404 not poo poo lol. (I know you were thinking it, for shame, for shame) Note that I'm keeping the through hulls in case I change my mind in the future and put a conventional head back in.


This is with the platform now mounted on top of the newly bonded in supports.


And this is with the new chemical head on the new platform. I've yet to decide how I'm going to secure it to the platform but that's easy compared to the fabrication of the platform itself. I'm not going to worry about it. Of course I still need to do some sanding and paint everything over the next couple of weeks.


That little project took a lot of time this weekend believe it or not. While I was busy doing that, Rich completed 3 other projects. The first was creating a bilge water level alarm. My boat, being a bilge keel design doesn't have a traditional bilge. There is a tiny one in the hollow rear keel that water could collect in but should normally be totally dry, as I don't have a stuffing box. I don't plan on installing a automatic pump because if anything manages to actually puncture the hull on BeBop I figure she's going down in a hurry and a tiny 500gph pump ain't gonna cut it...But I do want to be alerted to a problem. Hence the poor man's Bilge detector. Using a regular house smoke alarm you can solder on two wires to the test circuit. Then place the wires about 1/2 cm apart from each other and mount them on a suitable device with a bit of lead weight. Place it in the bilge and if the water level covers the exposed wires it completes the circuit and the alarm goes off. Cost? About $15 bucks vs $50 bucks for the cheapest model at West Marine. Cool factor: 9 out of 10. Here is a picture of the alarm with the wires soldered on and the wire ends with lead weight.


The second project completed is the engine mount that Rich has been working on. The wood on the old mount was totally rotted out and in need of replacement. Rather than buy a piece of 4x4 he laminated up 21 layers of 1/4" marine grade plywood using fiberglass. As you could imagine it took some time lol. He painted it to not only help protect it from the saltwater environment but it matches the boat trim as well. The stainless steel nuts and bolts on the old one were in such bad shape they broke when disassembling the old mount and have been replaced with new ones. Here are the before and afters. Yes the first pic is the old mount on the living room table. (Don’t ask)


The last project was fabricating a new wooden dowel for the main bow cleat. A suitable piece of teak was bought for $2 at Don's Salvage Yard during lunchtime on Friday. Saturday Rich created the new one by using a rasp to whittle the diameter down by about a 1/4" because it was too big. And here are the before and afters. Looks just like brand new for $2 bucks!



This about covers what was done this weekend and I feel a good amount was accomplished. I'm especially impressed with the bilge alarm because electronics is certainly not my area of expertise. I'm hoping to learn more from Rich when it comes time to redo the electrical panel onboard BeBop. Everything currently works but it's quite a mess. Next weekend I'm hoping to get serious about painting the interior. I can't rule out that I might be able to put up the headliner in the head or shelf areas too. We'll see how it goes. It's just 4 months till I launch her and still tons to do. Until next time, Fair Winds...