On reflection, personal and prompted by those around me, it seems I have been making steady progress over the last couple of weeks – and over the last few months since starting full time, despite it not feeling that way.
I feel burdened with the load of work still to do, worn down by long hours in cramped spaces and am acutely aware of the temperature gently but steadily dropping.
Having said that, the Forepeak now only requires the fitting of finger latches, a few more support cleats and the rounding of a few edges.
I’ve also cut out and shaped the quarter berth tops, have made a good start on the seat backs and hope to finish them both this coming week.
We press on…
Lids and finger holes cut out. Showing the lips the lids sit on. Looking more like a cabin every day. Seat back panels cleated in.
Good progress has been made since I wrote last: I started by bonding in the bunk dividers and cutting out the rest of the V-berth structure and the chain locker lid. I spent the next 6 days cleating up the whole interior ready for the bunk tops, and as of last night I have the first one cut out!
Fitting the cleats took much longer than I anticipated but happily the process of spiling for and cutting out the tops has so far been quick and painless. Having the first bunk top on makes the interior feel one step closer to a cosy cabin!
Dividers bonded in and chain pipe fits. V-Berth structure complete with cleats in place. Quarter berth cleats on. The aft cleats proved a nightmare as there’s very little to reference off for getting their height and angle right. Starboard quarter berth top on!! I’ve been looking forward to this moment since day 1!
As I write, I’m on my way back to Tarka to resume work. I’ve been away this past week studying celestial navigation, ocean passage planning and meteorology as part of the RYA Yachtmaster Ocean theory course.
When offshore I plan to use celestial navigation as one of my primary methods of navigation (alongside a more manual approach to coastal work), supported by a backup gps fix from the radio/personal locator beacon. When one calculates their estimated position from landmarks ashore and in the sky they become intimately aware of what’s going on around them – infinitely more so than blindly following the chart plotter (not to say it’s always one attitude or the other). Similarly one often finds oneself blindly following the satnav in the car and having absolutely no idea how we got there or how to get back to where we departed from – without once again following the screen. I find this approach prudent given that a comprehensive understanding of your surroundings is vital in an emergency situation, and gives a much richer and more fulfilling experience.
In other news, the bunk fronts are cleated and bonded in, and the bunk dividers are cut out.
From today I will be bonding the dividers in, cutting and bonding-in the rest of the v-berth structure, cleating for the bunk tops, and then cutting the tops out.
Aft bunk fronts and dividers. V-berth fronts and dividers. Taking distance-off sights off the Dingle Peninsula, west coast of Ireland.
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