Boat bundled

Sad news for the followers of the blog. Due to the (very) high possibility of being hit by a tropical storm, we had to remove the marquee and bundle up Serenite like a little child. It also looks like its going to have to stay this for a long time until the cyclone season is over.  It is also good news for dad's leg that has been hurting him as he will be able to rest.

Below is the boat bundled up and protected against the rays of the sun since we have not yet painted her on the outside. (The two big black boards placed there are to prevent the says of the sun from reaching underneath the boat where it is not yet painted.)

The large pieces of cardboard were placed there to prevent the rays of the sun from overheating the marquee which might cause it to adhere to the surface of the boat's epoxy. Even bundled up like that the shape of the boat is clearly visible and looks really beautiful.

Gone to buy paint

Today we went to our supplier Amro and bought some glue. We wanted to have some stock in case our big buckets of epoxy are over before the boat is completed. Reaching home we had to take a rest as the hot weather had drained us completely of all our energy. Also, dad has been having some muscular pains in his leg due to overwork on the boat so a bit of rest will do him good.

Second sole fixed to boat

The second part of the cockpit sole was fixed to the boat and glued in place. The water-storage compartment received its second coat of paint and is now ready to be closed to store water. We also glassed the seams of the motor pod. In the evening we had a visit from dad's friend who works at the bank and he could not resist getting into the boat and sitting there for a bit.

T

first part of cockpit sole is fixed to the boat.

Today we managed to accomplish quite a large amount of work. The first part of our boat's cockpit sole was glued in place and held on by batteries to provide weight. The water-storage compartment also received its first coat of paint and the cover of the motor pod was added to the boat. It all looks beautiful.

cockpit sole now ready for installation

Today we added the second coat of paint to the cockpit soles we painted yesterday afternoon and did other numerous works. We also removed the blue tape in preparation for the gluing of the sole to the boat for tomorrow.

Lots of painting jobs done

The underside reinforcements of yesterday were sanded and painted as well as the motor pod cover. We also cut out the shape to create a door for the little kitchenette that we will be using on the boat. We cut it out of the starboard side seat. The second coat of paint was added to the bilge and to the interior of the motor pod.

Christmas Work

Merry Christmas to everyone!!!!
Today as usual we set about moving forward in the construction of our boat. We were able to complete quite a lot before the influx of guests and relatives in the afternoon. We glassed the underside of the cockpit sole as well as the underside of the part that will later become the head/bathroom. Dad also added two wooden reinforcements to the sides of the motor pod. We also cut the inspection-hatches-holes from the pod cover and glassed what would soon become the inside of the pod.

Heptagonal reinforcement

Wood added on the edges of the separations

Painting the bilge and adding the the second layer of fiberglass onto the transom

We started by adding the second layer of fabric onto the transom. Then we glued the wooden reinforcements onto the transom and some of the bulkheads. Then we painted the bilge after cutting and adjusting the motor pod cover. The paint we used was normal Mauvillac oil based gloss white.

Bilge and motor pod painted with 1st coat

Bilge

Motor Pod

Reinforcements we prepared on sunday

Pod bolts-heads were hidden under coat of glue

sole hatch reinforcement

connectors we went to look for on monday

pod cover ready to receive its glue before being put in place

blue tape used a bit everywhere for the painting.

looking for connectors for the bilge water-removal and adding first layer of fiberglass onto transom

Today we had to go about looking for more connectors for the bilge water-removal system. We were initially trying our passages for the connectors using two brass connectors but today we found PVC ones that are easier to work with and have prepared five sets of connectors for water removal.

We then set about adding the first layer of fiberglass to the transom. Then we started adding the filleting to the underside of the cockpit sole that we had cut the hole for the hatch. However we ran into a big problem and lost hours dealing with it.

The fiberglass for the seam was added too fast and the epoxy was not dry enough. The fiber moved a lot by itself and bubbles of air kept forming. This was due to the fact that the angle of the wood was almost 90 degrees. The possible solutions would have been to allow the epoxy to dry for about 15 - 20 min before applying the fiber or else to chamfer the edges to prevent any 90 degrees.

Preparing the wood to reinforce the seats and cutting the first pipes for the bilge water removal system

TOday we started preparing the wood to fix underneath the seats to give them more strength thus enabling them to bear more weight.

We also started cutting the plastic tubes that will be used to remove water from the bilge in case of a hole in the hull and heavy intake of water.

The fiberglass is now dry

Again we sanded the bilge of the boat and added a layer of epoxy glue again.

Adding fiberglass to the compartment separations underneath the cockpit sole

Today we had to sand the compartments underneath the cockpit sole and then added the fiberglass to the seams.

Afterwards we then glued the hatch reinforcements in the form of half-inch plywood.

glued separations in compartments underneath cockpit sole

Today we spent a lot of time gluing the separations underneath the cockpit sole. The space between the cockpit sole and the hull will be used for storage and we do not want all our stuff to be dancing around inside when at sea. So we have out separations as can be seen in the pictures below.

Finished Pod looks nice

Below is shown how the pod looks once the epoxy and glass of yesterday have dried properly.

Finishing work on motor pod

The work is now complete on the motor pod. The seams have been glassed and yesterday's glue area has been cleaned and polished and glassed to make it all look more beautiful and prevent sea water from seeping in.

The brand new motor pod

Pod and dad underneath doing the sanding work

Glassing the inside seams of the pod

A boat growing

Small boats can grow so fast sometimes....our little Serenite took 18 inches in barely a few hours....the motor pod was installed. Our Length OverAll (LOA) is now about 19 feet 10 inches.

We started in the early morning and positioned the pod behind the boat. We put big wooden blocks underneath it to hold it in place and then put two normal screws to prevent it from slipping. Then dad drilled big holes to accommodate our nine stainless screws (each half-inch thickness and 3-inches long or 13 mm diameter and 75 mm long).

Epoxy glue and wood flour and silicon filler were then mixed together and spread over the backside of the boat and onto the motor pod. Then the two were glued together and held in place by the screws. The final result looks beautiful.

Drilling the holes for the scews

testing one

DeWalt hard at work

Glue on pod

Glue on transom

Here's the motor pod fixed to the boat

The Nine visible from the inside