Once they got over the jet-lag and sangria overload, they were soon back to work. A site visit was spent discussing the detail of the complicated, bow-mounted fuel tank. My design brief was to achieve a capacity of 650L. The tank will have a Fuel Guard polishing system fitted to it, to reduce water, debris and diesel bug.
I returned to XR&D again on 31st July... they had made good progress. Rubbing strakes on; weedhatch finished and emblazoned with my boat number; stern bulkhead set up; forward hatch (over fuel tank) complete; T-stud and mooring dollies in place. Rivets all fitted and 'plank effect' applied to steelwork.
The 'kit dump' is growing! I now have a cooker, a number of blue Victron boxes, an engine, a gearbox and a generator waiting to be installed. I brought the cooker lids and oven doors home for a thorough clean and degrease. The cooker top has been refinished and returned to the boatyard.
The engine bearers are in, ready to accept the 4" x 4" oak bearers. The skin tank is in and ready to connect up to the engine cooling system.
A major topic of the day, was the installation of the diesel generator. This will be mounted in the Potter's Locker (forecabin) on heavy-duty slides, so it can be pulled out for refuelling, servicing, etc. All good except for the very awkward oil filler and drain plug. Ordered some neoprene channel for it to sit on and removed the wheels, which are redundant.
An hour after I left, (typical!), the Crowther prop and prop shaft arrived. I had been hoping to see these 'in the flesh', but Gary was kind enough to send a photo of this rather beautiful hunk of bronze.
Back home, I've been setting up my woodworking machinery in my new rented workshop. The plan is to pre-build a lot of the more complicated wooodwork, such as the kitchen units, cupboards and so on. Hiopefully, this will save time on the overall build process! More on this in another post.
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