Weighting anchor and sorting out the masthead light mast wiring and removing the cabin bulkheads

At last got the anchor locker bulkhead glassed in and flow coated and so the anchor can be stowed back where in belongs in the stemhead bow roller fitting  

A well thought out stemhead fitting for a anchor 

All the chain back in the locker and out of the way, the only thing it needs in about a 100 ft of warp on the end of the chain to give it a good cruising ground range as specially where this boat is going to be cruising.  

The steaming light mast is now wired up correctly for its light fitting and just needs the deck gland wiring up and sealing down to finish that part of the job off and then thecockpit roof lining panels can go back up in position 

The hull and superstructure are now in need of a good cleaning down and the  new rope fender fitting back in position to finish off the hull and make it look more like the Hardy 25 it is.

The removable cabin bulkheads now out of the cabin so that the cabin carpet linings can be glued in position and after these bulkheads have been sanded back and re-varnished they can go back in position and the rest of the interior can go back together.

The chain locker finished off and the work in the cockpit carpeting and the hanbd rails getting a good rubbing down ready to be oiled

The chain locker now flow coated on both sides,so it is now ready to carpet the inside of the cabin and start the refitting of the interior 

Just got to drill the drain hole in the bottom of the locker to let the water out of the locker

The manual bilge pump diverter now installed so that the engine bay and the lower bilge can be pumped out with the same bilge pump in the port aft locker

The first piece of carpet lining glued to the side of the cockpit on the port side and now the heater can be fixed in position and piped and wired up 

The starboard side carpeted as well and the fiddle rail can be screwed back in position and so can the engine control panel,then the steering pipes can be run through to the stern and connected to the steering ram.

Both sets of roof hand rails getting a good rub down ready to be oiled with teak oil once they are sanded down to a natural colour.

Sealing down the deck with a semi curing sealant which will keep the joint sealed when the yacht is in commission

Sealing the deck is the first stage of getting the yacht sealed from the elements when she is back in commission 

A messy job to start off with, however once the sealant is cleaned off and the toe rails are refitted and a bead of sealant is apply on the edge it will be good for many years to come.

The aft end is now sealed and the front will be sorted out once the stemhead fitting is removed and re-fitted 

Good progress on the Morgan Giles 30

Over the past couple of days it as been possible to get the deck off the hull and clean the joint between the two halves and remove the old hard sealant which was between the two halves.Now that the sealant is removed and the joint as been sanded and new fixing holes have been drilled and countersunk for the new bolts it is time to bolt the two halves back together on a non hardening sealant which will move with the movement of the yacht and stay sealed.

Once this job is finished the inside of the yacht can start to go back together with the new bulkheads and chain plates going in first along with the other smaller bulkheads that were find to be rotten in the cockpit locker area which will have to be put back in before any work can be done in the aft end of the yacht and in the cockpit area at all.

So there is a long way to go to get the first of the refit sorted, but with patience and experience the job will come together in a good order.  

Making up the centreboard case and dry fitting it to the hog.

The centreboard is now dry fixed together and the ribs are cut to fit the centreboard case over the slot

The centreboard case needed a few pieces planing on the bottom edge before it would fit down on the hog. 

Finally it is now sitting down on the hog and is ready to get the screw holes drilled in the hog to be able to screw the centreboard case into the boat and the the centre thwart can be fixed back in position. 

The chain locker bulkhead going in and the pipework for the sea toilet and holding tank re-instated

The first layers of CSM glassed on to the inside face of the chain locker bulkhead , then there will be four more on the inside before it is all flow coated and then the area in the chain locker well will be glassed in the same manner and that will be flow coated as well to ensure the whole area is watertight

The pipework for the sea toilet and holding tank re-instated as before and the diverter valve fitted to bulkhead  so it can be operated easily when changing over from overboard to holding tank when going from sea to inland waterways. 

The two pipes now cut to length in the toilet compartment ready to be connected once the rest of the work in the toilet compartment is completed.

Mai-Star Class dinghy centreboard build

Sorting out the two halves of the centreboard case so I can line up where to put the biscuit joints  to make up the total height of the case.

From the build plans the shape and size of the case when it is in the dinghy once it is glued and nailed together and the inside is painted with epoxy to seal the surface of the centreboard for the life of the centreboard case.

Reshaping an old centreboard from another dinghy which was no longer needed so it was reshaped  to make the centreboard fro this dinghy 

All dry fitted and ready to be taken apart and ready to glue together

The centreboard slot in the dinghy ready to fit the centreboard in with bronze wood screws in the traditional method of fitting centreboard case on a good bed of sealant and caulking cotton. 

Sourcing bilge pump parts and working out how fittings are held together after thirty years.

Trying to source parts for old bilge pump, thankfully the bilge pump is still made and is showing no sign of going out of production as time soon.

On a completely different view, the way the Morgan Giles 30 stemhead fitting under deck fittings was glassed in after the deck fitting was bolted down and as covered up the fixings holding it in position.

The deck is now starting to come apart, working from the transom and working forward along the hull to deck joint finding that it was held together with hard filler which as broken down over the years along with the fixings that held it down on to the hull.  

The apprentices are carefully removing the filler and cleaning up the joint to ensure that the joint is sealed with a more reliable and flexible jointing sealant which will not leak in future and with next bolts holding down the joint to ensure this happens  

The forward bulkhead in the Hardy 25 under the cockpit sole have to fit the new two diverter valved for the toilet and bilge pump.

 Just lining up the bilge pump pipes to know where to bolt the valves to the bulkhead

Patterning up the cockpit carpet linings and getting the bilge pump pipe work sorted

Using the old carpets as patterns cutting the new linings a little over size 

Just laying the linings into position to check size and shape before gluing them in position 

Starting with the two carpet linings on either side where the helmsman and navigator seats will be fitted after the linings are glue in position

Refitting the centre bilge pump raiser pipe to the new diverter  which will in turn be fitted to the forward cockpit bulkhead.

The Morgan Giles 30 bottom all sanded back to the base gelcoat and the Hardy 25 headlining panels getting re-covered

The port side is now done so it is just a matter of time before it will be time to coat it in a new coat of Gelshield epoxy treatment

Just the front edge of the keel and the back edge ahead of where the rudder sits and a long the bottom edge of the keel to sand back.

The headlining panels for the Hardy 25 now cleaned of the old glue and made ready to cover with new material 

There are just a few panels to do 8 in total.

Making a echo sounder transducer shield so it is protected when it is fitted through the hull.

The Hardy 25 Cockpit re-build work begins

The first job is to get all the wiring that as to go in the roof area above the headlining panels put in position so that the panels go up once and then stay in position.

Some of the wiring goes along the sides while others go to the front and into the middle of roof space

The upper instrument console in position and having the instruments wired up and tested. 

Battery and charger locker now finished and the battery powered up so that the engine and instruments can be tested and checked

The heater locker almost finished it just needs carpet linings glued to the cockpit sides and the last of the insulation fitted and the heater refitted and powered up and checked 

New deck socket needed to finish off this job and the wind speed instrument wiring pulled through

A new horn is needed as this horn is U/S

This light will need to be changed for a light that is correct for its use as this one is going to light up the sky and not show its light over the aft end of the boat.

A new VHF ariel is needed as the old one is missing 

This area under the cockpit sole needs to have two two-way valves fitted, one for the toilet holding tank and the other for the two bilge areas, then the echo sounder transducer fitted in the hull on the port side of this area.