Thursday, January 30, 2014
Forepeak
Some pictures here of last weeks project: deck finish for the forepeak. Decided on Armstrong VCT (vinyl composition tile). This is the same stuff you see in supermarkets and public buildings. Comes in 12 x 12 squares, 1/8" thick. Glues down with a special adhesive that works kind of like a one sided contact cement. You apply the adhesive to the sub-floor only with a fine 1/16" trowel then wait for it to tack up before laying down the tile and rolling it out to fix the bond to the floor. The adhesive took a long time to tack up, despite our mild dry weather this year. Even with a couple of space heaters running, it took a few hours for the glue to get dry enough to install the tile. Of course the usual fiddling around with hatches, angles, and trim made this small area a full weekend job...
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Little off topic...I was reviewing photos of your engine room and did not see a generator. Did I miss it? Also, I saw you have a single screw but never noticed a bow thruster. Did I miss it? ...Great workmanship in the forepeak!
ReplyDeleteHi Michael. Yes your observation is correct, no genset. We decided to go with an all 12 volt boat. This is practical for our set up as we are using 12v refrigeration, pumps, and LED lighting. The heavy demand of the anchor winch is handled by engine driven hydraulics. We do have outlets for tv, microwave, and some other small appliances. These are handled by a 3000 watt inverter/charger and a healthy size battery bank. Charging for this battery bank is currently handled by shore power or a high output alternator on the main engine, but we plan to add solar/wind charging before we do any serious travels, as well as a small diesel auxillary engine driving a dedicated alternator. This would basically be like a 12v dc generator capable of quickly topping off the house bank and perhaps running a watermaker too. We decided not to install a bow thruster during the construction of the hull. Just didn't have it in the budget. By design (heavy, full length deep keel, barn door rudder, and big slow turning prop) I feel that she handles pretty well. We left good access below the forepeak and I suppose it would be pretty easy to add one in the future if we change our minds. We could probably upgrade the hydraulic pump on the engine and tap into the hyd lines running up to the anchor winch. Doesn't seem like a necessity right now though.
ReplyDeletePB
Good ideas. Big generators are awful no matter how they are advertised. The solar plus small DC generator sounds good. If you install a big bimini, there are semi-bendable lightweight panels now that would be perfect to install on it.
DeletePS If you are thinking of a Panda DC generator, let me know. I think I can dig up a review of one that you don't want to miss!
DeleteProbably thinking more along the lines of what Aquamarine builds - modular, units based on a little Kubota diesel. These can also drive watermakers, back-up hydraulics etc. They certainly aren't cheap though. We're going to take a long look at building up something like this ourselves first I think.
DeleteAll the flooring looks killer Peter.
ReplyDeleteConall
Thanks Conall. The helm setup on your boat is looking great. Starting to look like a proper wheelhouse.
DeletePB