Mocking up the galley

Last weekend we worked on the galley mock-up and now have the layout pretty much figured out and appliances located. The blank spaces under the temporary counter top will be filled in with base cabinets. For the uppers, we ended up making the test layout out of cardboard, which is the way to go when figuring out an arrangement like this. We are happy with the results and I think that the layout will work really well for us. The long overhead cabinet running athwart-ships divides the galley from the sitting area forward without closing the space off completely. Looking forward to getting the cabinets in. Also did a little plumbing, mostly on the sea water intake manifold. This is made up of all bronze pipe fittings and is bolted to a flange on the stainless sea chest. One thing I've learned from hanging around commercial shipyards is the importance of isolating dissimilar metals that are in contact with sea water. The combination of two different metals that are far apart on the galvanic scale, conductive with each other, and immersed in salt water basically creates a battery that can very quickly destroy the less noble metal. To protect against this, the dissimilar metals need to be isolated from each other. In the case of the flange connection pictured, this is accomplished with a good thick gasket, and non-conductive sleeves and washers on the hardware connecting the two flanges. Once the connection is made this way, a quick test with a meter shows that there is good isolation between the Stainless and Bronze flanges. I'll probably add a sacrificial zinc anode to the manifold too for good measure. After all that work, it was time to watch a dvd on the new tv in the aft cabin. She is starting to feel like home.

Three years

Its been three years (as of July 22) since we officially began construction. While we spent a lot of time leading up to July 22, 2009 planning and preparing for this project, this was the date that the steel arrived so I'll call that our anniversary date. The picture is Jesus and I standing on top of 65,000 pounds of steel as delivered by flatbed semi-truck three years ago. The basic steel work on the hull took about a year, and Sue and I have spent the last two years fitting her out from the bare hull. Our target is to launch at the beginning of October, move on board, and finish the fit-out at our marina in Sausalito.

So, back to work... The name went on this weekend which was pretty cool. We used 3M vinyl lettering custom cut to our specs by Captain Johns Boat Lettering. Good quality stuff and relatively easy to apply (except for some minor battles with the prevailing westerlies here). I definitely recommend doing this type of work on a calm day. Other recent projects included: new bathroom vanity, sink, and faucet (the home depot one just didn't look right to us), insulating the forepeak, more plumbing, and finishing the vacuum pump installs in the engine room with all associated piping and hoses attached. Lots of work ahead, but it's starting to feel like were gaining some momentum.

Time to prioritize

It's looking like our current vessel (Seabird) will be sold at the end of July leaving us without a permanent home until we get the new boat finished and launched. With that in mind we have set a target of early October to have Kama Hele in the water. We are pouring about as many hours as we have available into meeting that goal, and of course life and work still go on... its going to be a very busy summer. I don't expect to have everything completed by then, but we do want to have the "big stuff" done so we can move right onboard after the launch. Sue and I are working on a priority work list to keep us focused on items that are either: necessary for the operation and livability of the boat (running water, operational waste water systems, house electrical, and things that make the boat go), or that would be difficult to accomplish back at our home dock. I don't relish the idea of carting 4x8 sheets of plywood and big pieces of machinery down the 500 feet of ramps and docks that lead to our slip. If I start posting about window shades or making up fancy wood trim, shoot me a comment and remind me to "get focused!" This last weeks projects included some more wheelhouse electronics installs (murphy alarm panel for engine and bilge level alarms, and batteries for emergency wheelhouse back-up power). Also spent a day wrestling with what I hope will be that last of the big plywood cabin bulkheads. These are for the fwd head (to port) and the fwd cabin (to stbd). The last pic is of the likely placement of a tv in the aft master cabin... I know this doesn't meet the criteria above, but is necessary in order to finish the bulkheads that form the aft head (and we definitely need a working bathroom by the end of September). The bulkhead shown (with the cardboard tv cut-out) will have a void between the bedroom and the shower on the other side so that the tv can be recessed all the way into the wall. The limited space between the end of the bed and the bathroom bulkhead makes this the only solution for placing a tv here. Otherwise we would be banging into the monitor every time we walked past the bed. Even with a relatively large boat like this, as you reach the finish stage it becomes more and more a "battle for inches". -PB