I spent last week making some final preparations to the hull before fitting the interior. This involved adding “stringers” which spread the load of the interior fittings on the hull sides and add stiffness to the hull. They are normally bonded to the hull when it’s still in the mold, but as my boat was stripped when I bought it, they had to be retrofitted. Below shows the steps I took.
It began with cutting and shaping polyurethane foam sheets into long thin strips. I spent day one cutting these out by hand, but after waking the next day, to my shoddy workmanship of the previous, I decided that shaping them with sandpaper was the way forward.
Then I determined the exact position these foam strips were to take on the hull, so that the bunks would be exactly horizontal and the bulkheads vertical. For this I used a laser-level; I could’nt use a spirit level, nor the laser-level’s built-in gimbles, because Tarka is sitting on her trailer at a slight angle.
Next I bonded the foam to the hull with thickened epoxy (overkill I know), and sealed with unthickened epoxy, in order to minimise the chance of voids forming under the glass as its an open cell foam. The foam adds no strength or rigidity in itself, but provides a form over which to lay the structural material, i.e. the fibreglass. Wood is sometimes used instead of foam but weighs more and is more time consuming to shape to the exact curve of the hull. I wetted out and rolled on 4 layers of glass (from first to last): 1x300g/m^2 powder bound csm, 2x600g/m^2 biax and 1x300g/m^2 biax. This was done for the forward and aft partial bulkheads, and the forward stringers. Unfortunately I ran out of time at that point and will have to return to the boat for a weekend to finish the job for the aft stringers. The gallery has been updated…
Once I have completed the furniture making course I’ll be working full-time on Tarka to get her afloat by next summer. The remaining work is summarised below:
- Fitting the self-steering windvane.
- Designing, cutting out and fitting the partial bulkheads, galley area, chart table/workbench, hanging locker, berths, the many storage spaces aboard, and various miscellaneous fixtures.
- Finalising the standing and choosing/sourcing the running rigging.
- Choosing electrical navigation instruments, lights, communications instruments, and other electrical fittings, thus establishing my energy requirements.
- Choosing and fitting a straightforward reliable electrical system to support these requirements.
- Fitting a hand pump to my water storage system (jerry cans).
- Fitting the gas cooker and small gas locker with bottle.
- Choosing dimensions, designs and materials of ground tackle, bilge pumps, safety equipment, interior upholstery.
- Getting the engine ready for action.
In other news, our trio ‘Morse Contact’ has released its debut (self titled) EP. This features Cameron Scott on euphonium, Luke Purbrick on guitar, and me on drums. We showcase a couple of tunes we’ve been playing together over the last 18 months and include a few of my own! (“The Opener, “Without Expectation” and “The Raging Bull”). Thanks to Luke, we had the incredible opportunity to record at Abbey Road Studios. We are all very happy with the result so please have a listen if you’re interested!
The EP can be found via the link below and is not available on other mainstream streaming services.
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