Quite a lot happening to Fly since my last blog, but it’s not all on camera yet so there’s some you can see and some we can just talk about…
Two weekends ago we got all but one of the new headlining panels done and most of them up, but only one covered outside before the Saturday rain drove us inside to work in more awkward conditions (NB old panel standing up and new one flat on the ground):
So the following four photos come from the Sunday (24 February), when we were able to take the glue spraying back outside (note the mix of old and new panels again):
And here are the main cabin panels in place (most of the others only went up this weekend):
Also happy to note that the new panels are much lighter than the old, with some of the saving coming from slightly thinner ply (3.5mm instead of 4mm), but the bulk of it from the new lining carpet being significantly lighter than the old ‘mousse’.
Before fitting the new panels we also reseated the six coach bolts for the pilot berth hanger eyes, replacing the suffering original plywood spacer disks with more robust plastic ones I made weeks (or maybe even months!) ago:
My made-to-measure porthole liners (from Midland Chandlers) for the companionway bulkhead have arrived and are going to look great, but still await varnishing and fitting:
Last weekend I was on my own with only one full day available, so got stuck into building the speaker enclosures I’d previously prototyped with the jig I’d built (and now fine-tuned with thicknesses of tape) after learning from that experience. Which, despite now knowing how to get things right and not mess them up, I’d guess still consisted of about 90% thinking to 10% doing as I planned my cuts from a single, small, and very finite, piece of reclaimed teak-faced ply and so on:
These then got attachment brackets (lugs?) added and their backs epoxied (for speed over varnish) before applying multiple coats of varnish to the outsides over the past few mornings and evenings:
Leaving just some clever carpet trim (seen here testing on one of the prototypes) required to ensure the best possible fit to the boat when there are various issues (e.g. my 30° front panels crossing the main bulkhead tabs at half height) conspiring against perfection even after careful adjustment from the prototypes:
But, as suggested by my blog title and opening paragraph, there’s plenty more been happening you can’t see here because I’ve not got it all photographed yet… like all the new deckhead panels (including the heads, which never had one before) and interior lights (finished today) in place. Some mild frustrations this weekend because I was necessarily limited in what I could do while Twig got wired in to testing electrics etc., but I did get the bottom track for the sliding galley doors back in, and have a lengthy list of small wood parts to make and tidying up jobs (lining trim edging etc.) to do while I’m on my own:
[Edit, 12 March 2019: took that galley track back off tonight to redo after changing my mind about its best alignment, but no problems doing so when it was stuck down with contact adhesive.]