Two weeks of Easter Holiday gone (work tomorrow!) and most of it spent on Fly (some with Twig and some without), so where are we now?
The bow well repairs are complete (Twig’s work) and the forecabin hull surfaces are fully stripped and epoxy-coated (mine). The forecabin and main bulkhead facings are stripped for revarnishing (my doing), and the top and outer edges of the former have also been properly filleted to the hull (Twig’s) as done with the main bulkhead facing back in October. The last remaining areas of under-bunk and bulkhead coating at the aft end of the main cabin are done (Twig’s work), with the heads compartment ready for repainting and deckhead in there clear of old liner glue (mine, noting that the central section of forecabin deckhead is still to do). But perhaps most exciting of all in terms of seeing the boat coming back together is the galley rebuilding work done on Friday and today…
With damaged Formica peeling from the galley bulkheads and some other components suffering, we’d long thought we might have to rebuild the galley from scratch. But closer inspection last week suggested we could (very usefully!) retain the two bulkheads and locker front while replacing the old shelves, dividers and sink-surrounding top. So the next three photos here show Friday’s Formica replacement job, noting that the tired, warped top with cutouts you see in the first is also due for replacement and just retained as a temporary shaping piece for now:
And so to today, with a careful dry galley-refitting job followed by a more rapid repeat with epoxy on some crucial surfaces. The new shelves aren’t fixed yet and the blocks/wood strips etc. supporting things are just temporary, but the two bulkheads and locker front are now stuck in place. You can also see one of the Formica faces we did on Friday (the other is the reverse side of the near bulkhead), along with areas where I thought to strip back the varnish in what would become awkward corners before permanent refitting made them so:
Still a long way from launching, but what a long way we’ve come since Fly’s darkest days and I’m starting to smell the sea and the wind again! :-)