Sorting out the "heads"

The little portapotti does just fit under the cockpit sole, but as it was installed, the uneveness of the floor due to all the pipework for the ballast tanks meant that it had to be heaved into the cockpit to use it properly. Not a feature appreciated by the crew. I have fixed a plywood floor board across the existing floor planks to give a level, flat surface, and then covered it with an offcut of vinyl flooring from our bathroom. I have also managed to slide another bit of vinyl under the portapotti itself and the ballast pipe. The length of transparent pipe lying between the potti and my bucket (an essential onboard element) is the only exposed bit of the ballast plumbing now visible, which make the cabin interior much more domestic. The loo can also just be pulled out from under the cockpit sole and used in the cabin, which is also a better idea.

This last photo shows how a 25L cool box slots in perfectly at the stern end of the starboard seat, just under the side deck of the cockpit. This was just a standard off the peg box. It is really useful. It can hold enough for a weekend's cruise and is really easy to carry to and fro from the boat. If I am away for a night or two, I put two frozen pints of milk in it as ice blocks. The big "torch" next to it is my trusty Celestron Powertank. It has a 7Ah sealed battery which powers my GPS for most of the season. A standard torch at the top and a huge searchlight underneath for when you really need light. It has two cigarette lighter 12V outlets plus three other lower voltage connections. I take it home about once a month to recharge. I have toyed with installing solar panels to keep it charged, but it hardly seems worth the effort. I may do so if I get any other instruments and it runs down quicker. It is a superb bit of kit, designed for amateur astronomers. You can get it from Amazon for about £50.

More jobs getting done

Spent a cold afternoon carrying out a few jobs "up at the barn". Was delayed getting there by the local hunt suddenly appearing from down the lane to the barn. Huntsmen in red (or pink as they insist) jackets, whipping in a huge pack of hounds, followed by dozens of riders and finally a small fleet of horse boxes. You wouldn't realise that "hunting with dogs" was now an illegal activity in the UK...

I have finished boxing in behind the sink to create an area to store plates and bowls. Just Plywood and stain, but it looks OK. I have also created a small space where I can put sealed boxes of coffee and tea. It is much tighter than intended as I forgot the plwood is thicker than the MDF I mocked it up with. At least the boxes won't slide out in a sea way now.

One job I did finish a few weeks back was to extend the floor boards to cover the sole of the cabin completely and then cover them with some carpet tiles. Adds weight I know, but it is much more like a cabin now, rather than an enclosed cockpit. I have just about concealed all of the ballast tank plumbing.

Most recently I fitted a shelf/box on the port bulkhead. This will hold flasks, biscuits, glasses and eventually mugs underneath. It projects over the seat a bit, but not too much.

A major job that I have worked on all winter so far is fitting floor boards in the cockpit. These are dirty but finished now. They are in two parts, so the forward section can be lifted to get at the ballast tank hatch. The gaps between the boards give bracing potential for the short-legged. It also means the floor is level right through, so no more stubbed toes. Scribing the sides to the curve of the cockpit as quite a job. I mocked the whole thing up in MDF first of all, which proved an essential step.

I have also moved the hasp of the cockpit locker lock right to the stern so that it doesn't catch your ankles any more. Not so secure, but I would rather a thief unscrewed the latch rather than ripped off the locker cover.

I have also fitted a flag halyard to the mizzen mast so that I can raise an ensign. I bought an off-the-peg mainsail cover which seems to fit fine. It is bright blue and cost £70. If I bought a made to measure one to match the spray hood it would cost £250. I quite like blue.

I have started fitting ropes back onto the mast as I don't actually have many weekends left before spring launching date. That will be about mid-April this year, back in Poole Harbour. I want to get the mast up and all lines fitted for testing before I tow back down to the coast.

London Boat show, 2010

I braved the snow and the cold to visit the London Boat show on Sunday. First time I have been for many years. It is not my sort of show, being mainly plastic power boats and expensive fashion. But it is interesting to see. Matt Newland was there with the first BayCruiser 23 on the Classic Boat stand. A strong family resemblance to my Daisy Grace, but look at the decks! Beautifully laid Douglas fir. I would be terrified of walking on them. The aft deck is so big that I am sure most of the extra length is taken up there. The cabin is bigger too, so the cockpit is much the same size, if not a little shorter. This first BC 23 will be sloop rigged. It will have an electric motor with a solid bronze drive leg mounted in the outboard well, with a folding propellor. I will be interested to hear what range it gets on charged batteries. The boat at the show did not have its mast and rig, which will be interesting to see in place.
I have fitted slatted floorboards in Daisy G's cockpit, but haven't been able to get to her for the best part of two weeks because of the snow. I bought some extra bits and pieces for her at the show, including some miles of cut price rope from English Braids, which I have various plans for. Role on good weather.

(PS If you look carefully in the top left corner of the picture, you can see a photo of Daisy Grace on a test sail at Cardigan on the stand's poster.)

Serious daydreaming: winter boat house

Finding a winter store is such a hassle and having Daisy G. in a cold barn about 12 miles from home is not ideal. I have been doodling ideas for a perfect boathouse at home. We have the land, but it is a funny shape at the end of twisty narrow lanes. I have been experimenting with a remarkable free drawing program from Google called Sketchup. I hadn't been all that impressed when I tried it some months ago, but now I am really looking into it I am very impressed. It really came into its own when I discovered that you can download endless things other people have drawn. No one has done a BayCruiser (yet), but I found a Whitehall pulling boat and a trailer. With some judicious strecthing they are now the sizes of mine. I can pull them in and out, and test whether they fit in or not. This is the result of just a few hours practice. Fuly 3D, dimensioned and the roof cut away to show the interior. Need to check the detail sizes of the real boat and then see if I can fit it in my garden.

Winter jobs: chart store

Finally getting a few winter jobs done. Daisy G. is now being stored under an old straw barn roof on a farm "somewhere in Gloucestershire". Out of the rain and well ventilated.
One thing is finished at last. There was nowhere to keep charts close to hand and I had nowhere to keep my Portland Plotter or dividers (not that I use them, but I like to pretend). I have made a shallow box out of plywood with a timber edging on three sizes. This is glued to the inside of the main bulkhead. This gives a space which will take folded leisure charts or a book of tough charts just by the companion way. They can be reached there from the cockpit or from inside the cabin. The wooden slot on the front holds the plotter and dividers decoratively on view. The area above might be used for a clock or a picture. The wooden bracket above is where I store the GPS/compass panel which slots into the companionway under way.