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31 Jan 14I spent the better part of the day finishing up the cabin sole on the companionway ladder landing and the area under the cockpit. I decided to screw down the aft most section with some bronze round head 1 1/2" wood screws. Then, I milled a 5/8" thick by 1 3/4" wide strip of walnut. I cut a 1/16" relief on the underside for about 3/4" width and I laid that across the end of the aft most section of walnut. I screwed that strip to the aft most section. That created a slot for the ends of the planks to fit into to they would be held down in place along the far end.

These cleats keep the planks from sliding forward.

The 'twartship cleat is scrwed to the aft sole and creates a slot for the planks to slide into.

Next, I cut some small strips of walnut and screwed them on to the underside of the planks so they can't move forward--they are essentially locked in place. I still need a "hold-down" system to hold the planks in place should the Far Reach get a knock-down, or God forbid, a roll over. Anyway, think I will mill a small piece of ipe that I have been holding on to and use it to make a cross bar just behind the legs. It will be removable and only used offshore but it might be the simple solution. I'll think on it some. Last, I cleaned up the forward edge (which you can't see in the photo to the right) with a slight radius. Other than the hold-down system for the main and forward cabin sole, the installation is complete. Tonight I applied the last coat of varnish to the winch pads and a few other small pieces. I have a little varnish work to do tomorrow around the end of the quarter berth and the head sink area.

30 Jan 14We get a little snow here every year. Normally, nothing to get excited about. We've lived in Montana so we know what big snow and real sustained cold is like. Nonetheless, this little storm has really brought our area to a standstill. The issue is not the snow but the ice underneath it. The storm started off Tuesday as rain at 31 F then later in the evening it switched to snow which continued to fall for about 12 hours. The temps since have remained below freezing. The roads are like a hockey rink. There is no snow removing equipment here. I could not even begin to shovel it off the drive way. It's like concrete. What looks like snow in our yard is just ice. Very hard. You walk on it, not in it. It's dark, cold, and windy. The snow already has the weeks old look. Nothing cheerful about it. The temps are suppose to rise to 36 F tomorrow and then up to the 40s over the weekend. Good riddance I say.

It's dark, cold, and windy. Hopefully, the snow and ice will melt and be gone by the end of the weekend.

Under the landing for the companionway ladder is the spare anchor locker. A few days ago I replaced the plywood working platform with walnut planks. However, the span was a little long for 3/4"x 6 1/2" planks that had to span about 31" between supports. I needed to install a beam half way between them. I decided to use some scrap walnut--of which I have a pile. I made support brackets from walnut as well and half lapped the joints so the beam drops down into the brackets, which are secured by 1 1/2" bronze round head screws. Done in this manner, the beam is very secure yet can be grasped and quickly removed to gain access to the anchors in a hurry should the need arise. Tomorrow I'll work on a system to secure the planks in place yet allow them to be equally easy to remove.

The walnut beam is 1" thick by 2" wide.

I used a half lap joint so the beam drops into place and can be lift up to remove it.

Over the last couple of weeks, during Phase III varnishing, we applied six coats of varnish to both side of the last of the raised panels for the cabinet doors that will be installed in the forward cabin. Today, I glued and clamped them together. I'll test fit them in place, trimming them as necessary. I ordered the last of the butt hinges and when they arrive I'll install them. Once I am satisfied with the fit, I'll remove the doors, and varnish the rails and stiles. They will match the other doors--Bird's Eye maple raised panels and with African Mahogany rails and stiles.

Gluing up the last of the cabinet doors.

27 Jan 2104A couple of days ago I epoxied in the supports for the aft section of the walnut sole--the part under the cockpit. I added a picture in the gallery under the post dated 23 Jan 14. Yesterday and today, I installed some additional trim around the boat. I finished off the trim in the head compartment. I also trimmed in the rope locker and chain locker in the forepeak. I used teak for the head as all the trim there is teak since it will stand up so well to water. The trim in the forepeak is walnut which matches all the trim throughout the boat. I also installed a couple of pieces of trim in the galley area as well as along the main bulkhead at the forward end of the saloon.

A couple of weeks ago we removed all the trim in the Far Reach that we had not yet varnished--phase III varnishing. Included in the latest round were the winch pads, raised panels for the cabinet doors that fit in the face of the forward double berth, some quarter berth trim, and a bunch of trim around the sitz tub. So, after six coats of varnish applied I reinstalled the sitz tub trim. Before I installed it, however, I fabricated a double layer of "Reflectix" for additional insulation.

Along with the other trim that we varnished was the platform and the V groove panel that supports the Refleks kerosene heater. I am very pleased with how they turned out. I think, after some early learning struggles, I have become a competent varnisher--of course it took about four gallons of varnish to get to this point. To install the vertical panel I had to add a small wedge section of walnut and then cut it back to allow the panel to drop down next to the walnut. All of the V groove panels sit on the same bearing surface that support the sole. The sole butts up to the v-groove which allows any water to drip down pass the sole via the grooves. The v-grooves also allow air to circulate around the boat. If you look closely in the photos, you can just tell that the v-grooves extend down (7/8"" below the top surface of the sole. The counter tops are the same way.

The refleks heater sits on this platform.

23 Jan 14The next task was to gather the remaining walnut, there was not much left, and see if it would be enough to cover the area under the companion way ladder and back up under the cockpit where I previously installed a plywood working surface. I just enough good clear wood to cover the landing for the ladder. But, I had to use a few less than stellar pieces for the area that was aft of the landing--the very aft most section. I built two small trim pieces about 3/4" wide that I scribed to fit the out-of-square fore and aft partial bulkheads that form the starboard and port sides of the landing. The original bulkhead head, on the starboard side (left side in the photo) that framed the original engine compartment and quarter berth was not square during the boats original construction. The bulkhead that I installed, on the inboard side of the stove (right side of the photo), is square to the centerline of the boat. Such is what sometimes happens when you rebuild over someone else's work. This challenge would make for an interesting post but it will have to wait for another time. Anyway, I ripped the planks about 6 1/4" wide leaving the plank on the port side a little narrower to ensure that the vertical legs of the ladder will not land on a joint. I also planed all the planks to 3/4" thick since they won't get much wear and they will then be a little lighter in the ends of the boat. Next, I glued up two sections from the last of the walnut to make the aft most section of the sole. Three on one side and two on the other--it was absolutely the last of my walnut except for small off-cuts. This is a very oddly shaped section. There was no way to support individual planks so I glued them together into two sections--two halves if you will. I took a lot of time today to get the shape and the bevel correct--much time was spent with a spoke shave and a block plane. After I was generally satisfied with the fit, I spent a fair amount of time shaping some thick mahogany cleating stock to work as a 'thwardship beam to support the aft most ends of the two halves, and two nubs for the outboard edges of the two haves to rest on. I sanded away some of the grey Interlux Bilgekote paint and prepared the surfaces for epoxy so I can secure them in place. I ran out of time to install them tonight. Tomorrow the high is supposed to be 22 F degrees and even with a heat lamp I would not want to epoxy the supports to a hull that cold. Plus, tomorrow is family time so no boat work anyway. Saturday it is supposed to be 50 F here and with heat lamps in place I can epoxy then.
Update 27 Jan 14: I epoxied in the supports and included a photo in the gallery below. I paint them grey when I touch up a few areas in the next month or so.

21 Jan 14I had some personal business to attend to today so there was only a little time for work on the boat. The sole for the forward cabin is 99 percent complete. I need to add a little trim around the forward starboard bulkhead at the base of the vertical walnut bulkhead trim, where it passes through the cabin sole. I also need to cut a piece of walnut to fit where the mast passes through the sole to the mast step. Once the mast is in place and positioned, I'll make a template and then cut the piece of wood to fit around the mast and split it in half so it will be in two part, that way the trim can be removed when necessary. I ripped the last of the walnut this afternoon and tomorrow I'll start installing it in the area under the cockpit and companionway ladder. The temps are supposed to drop to a high tomorrow of 30F.

Looking forward. I still need to trim the thinner plank short of where the mast passes through the sole and make up a section to encompass the mast in that area.

20 Jan 14Work continues on the cabin sole. Yesterday, I worked on the galley area and today the forward cabin. This afternoon I glued some short planks together to make a wide enough section for the wedge shape forward most part of the sole. Once the sole is in place, I'll go back and bevel the edges lightly to reduce the likelihood they will get jammed together when they expand with warm humid temps. The walnut is really transforming the interior. I am interested to see how it will hold up over the long run. I should be able to start working on the area under the cockpit in the next day or so, which will complete the installation. We still have some varnish work but we are making good progress. Interior cushions and upholstery is just around the corner.

18 Jan 14Varnish Work. The varnishing continues and has been the focus of my efforts for the last couple of days, though I think we have enough coats (six) that I can go back to work on the cabin sole. Today, I ripped and edge jointed a couple of planks of walnut for the cabin sole that will fit at the bottom of the companionway and between the chart table and galley. It will be good to get that part of the sole in the boat. I have also decided to sell a complete set of North Sails (main, 110 percent genoa, staysail with two reef points, and a Hood asymmetric spinnaker with snuffer) that are made for the Cape Dory 36. The new taller mast will mean my current set will not fit. They are in perfect shape. I had the sails survey by the Doyle Sails loft in Oriental last week and they described them "as new." They show no sign of any use. The flashings are still on the sail slides. Click here for more information on this excellent set of sails.

13 Jan 14I completed the installation of the walnut cabin sole in the saloon (for more on the cabin sole, click here). Tomorrow, I'll start on the area at the foot of the companionway. This is not a difficult project. It takes a little time to sort the lumber since I don't have a lot of extra walnut. The off cuts will be used to complete bulkhead trim. It will be interesting to see how well the walnut cabin sole works out. The wood is heavy but its low in the boat and below the center of gravity so it might act a little like extra ballast, though I doubt it will be noticeable. I planed it to 7/8" thick so the wood thick enough to be sanded down several times over its lifetime. The sole forward and aft under the cockpit will be 3/4" thick for two reasons: first, the thinner planks will mean a little less weight forward and aft, and second, some of the planks were a too thin to start with and I had to plane them down to 3/4" to make them smooth. I think, however, it will work out in the end. I am undecided if I'll oil or leave the walnut bare. I am leaning towards leaving it bare.

The walnut cabin sole in the saloon is complete.

12 Jan 2014Yesterday I started work on the cabin sole. I spent some time measuring the sole area and sorted out what the width of the planks should be. I think it will look best if the planks are a consistent width across the sole area vice random widths, however, it generates a lot more waste. Also, I think the planks will be less likely to cup if they are not to wide--somewhere between 5 1/2" and 6 1/2". My preference would have been to have quarter sawn walnut but I couldn't’t' come up with it. There is a fair amount of waste and a good number of the planks have knots and other defects that make them unsuitable for our purposes. It takes a while to sort through the planks and develop a plan that makes use of them. I'll start work on the planks that have to be worked around the saloon stanchions and hopefully get to the area at the bottom of the companionway. We are still varnishing the remaining every day, plus other chores, so there isn't as much time to work on it as one might think. We are making progress and that's what's important.

The bare walnut cabin sole. These planks are 7/8" thick X 6 3/8" wide

9 Jan 2014For the last two weeks I have been working on a variety of projects. I glassed into the anchor storage locker some brackets to secure the 70 lb Luke and spare 35 lb CQR anchors in place. I completed painting of the support box I made for the grey water tank and painted the remaining bilge areas with Interlux Bilge-Kote grey paint. I have not cut the hoses to length; they are just pushed over the edge of the hose barbs for now. I have spent some late nights studying the design and layout of the new spar with the spar engineer/builder (I will write more about the new spar later--It's taller and lighter than the original mast). I submitted my wire size work sheet to Brion Toss who also looked over the design and the standing rigging plan, tweaked it a bit, and gave me the green light. I made a trip to meet with our sail maker to discuss the new sails and refine the sail plan. We also pulled the remaining trim pieces out of the boat and set them up on tables in our heated guest room over the garage and began applying numerous coats of varnish. It was 19 degrees F here on Tuesday 8 Jan, which is quite cold for this area. Today, I changed out the blades in the planer and sorted the black walnut that I had harvested and milled locally nearly three years ago. It’s been sitting in my garage all that time drying out. I’ll take it to the base wood shop and run it over their 14” wide jointer tomorrow. I’ll plane it to the correct thickness at home and then finally start the work on installing it for the cabin sole. I wanted teak but could not afford it (it would have cost over $2000 to use teak for the cabin sole while the black walnut cost about $250). The walnut is supposed to be dimensionally stable, hard, and somewhat rot resistant. It should look nice and has the non skid properties I was looking for. It will also match the bare walnut trim I used to cover the edge of the bulkheads. It will be great to get that dirty old plywood working sole out of the boat.

28 Dec 13Cabinet Doors. I still had a little more work to do on the smallest cabinet door. All the doors are Bird's Eye Maple raised panel doors with African Mahogany Rails and Stiles. However, the panel for the smallest door was too small to run through the panel cutter. It might have got ripped out of my hands . . . dangerous stuff. Sure not worth losing a finger over. So, when I cut the panels for the other two slightly larger doors for the forward cabin I milled the panel for the small door to 1/4" thick thinking I would just leave that one door "shaker style." But, it kind of irritated me knowing that only one of nearly ten doors was different . . . because I could not make it the same as the others. Then, it occurred to me that I could cut a thin "raised panel profile," like a slice of raised panel and just glue it on to the flat surface of the 1/4" thick shaker panel. I couldn't do it exactly the same as the others without a lot of experimentation, time invested, and jig building. But, I thought I could get acceptable close with minimal time and effort. So, that's what I did. I think it turned out fine. I am satisfied. It's not located next to any of the other doors and if you are not sure what you are looking for, most people would never notice.

I made the panel on the left by gluing the raised panel profile onto the flat panel. I think it's hard to tel the difference unless you know what you are looking for.

I needed to install some brackets in the bilge to hold the bilge hose securely in place. I made them from scrap teak. I used a hole-saw to cut the hole about the same diameter as the OD of the hose and then used a cabinet makers rasp to enlarge it so the hose can be withdrawn without a lot of fussing. I had to make the upper bracket "U" shaped and left the "ears" to wrap around the hose slightly so the hose has to be popped in. If I left it as an enclosed hole then I couldn't pull the hose out of the upper bracket because the standing end turned tightly under the icebox and the hose jams up before it clears the upper bracket. The "U" shape allows it to be popped out. The lower bracket is epoxied and screwed to the divider panel that sits just aft of the sump. With the upper part of the hose popped out of the "U" shaped bracket the there is enough slack to pull the lower hose up and out of the bottom bracket when necessary.

I bedded the aft dorade box with teak colored Boat Life polysulfied bedding compound. It required a lot of taping to keep from making a mess. I wrapped a small donut of butyl rubber around each bolt between the bottom of the dorade and the chamfered hole in the the deck. The dorade is through bolted with 1/4" pan head bolts and aircraft locking nuts. After I tightened the bolts down, I cleaned up the squeeze out with a trowel and some mineral spirits. This project is an experiment. I hope that it works and I can avoid drilling a nearly 2" diameter hole in the transom of the Far Reach. Plus, if it works out, this kind of set up has no chance of back siphoning and thus requires no siphon break U pipe. I also bedded the forward dorade boxes with white 3M 4000.

The winch bases. Work continued on the winch bases. As described in an earlier post, I needed to raise the winches, especially the primaries to ensure a sufficient upward angle on the jib sheets from the 6 1/2" high bulwarks to the winch. In order to accomplish that I made 2" thick teak pads from some 8/4 teak off-cuts. I drilled the bases part way through after marking the holes using the actual winches to be mounted. I determined the size the pads and took all the components with me to the Camp Lejeune Wood Hobby Shop. They have a drill press with a five inch reach allowing me to drill all the way through the bases at one time and ensuring that I had a straight hole. I cut the pads out on the band saw and used a very large oscillating horizontal belt sander to sand the pads perfectly round and with an 8 degree taper. Then, with my own 12" long bits, I drilled holes through the pads and the bases on the big drill press. After I returned home I placed them on the deck. It took some fussing to come up with a compromise position for the winches. One of the funny and often aggravating things about the Cape Dory 36 is none of the bulkheads are symmetrical. By that, I mean they are not exactly opposite one another on opposite sides of the boat. They are staggered usually about 4" but even more so under the cockpit. This has caused me some challenges I would rather have not had to deal with during several projects. This project, as it turned out, was another example. There is a bulkhead that runs under the forward edge of the starboard cockpit locker. I had to position the primary winch either on the forward or aft side of that bulkhead. I really wanted it in the middle but that was a no go. I chose to position it to the front of the bulkhead because it seemed more ergonomic when handling the tiller and it left me enough room to mount a boom gallows on the aft end of the boat, vice over the companionway, if that is what I choose to do. In other words, it left me some options that seemed desirable. However, the bulkhead on the port side is much further forward and ended under the location I had chosen for the forward staysail winch--rats! So, I left the winches on the deck for a couple of days experimenting with different locations and going about my other projects sort of testing to see what I like best or disliked least. I also looked on-line at other boats that I admired. I looked at dodgers to see which ones I liked, should we chose eventually to install one, and would that style work with the different winch locations I was considering. Finally, it was time to decide. I chose to install the forward winch a little further forward than I would like in a perfect world. The best way to exit the cockpit appears to be to step between the winches and because the forward winch is rather small there is plenty of room to work forward on the side deck around it. It's a compromise. But, the winch handles clear the stanchion, life lines, and each other with plenty of room. I think it will work. I briefly thought about replacing the Lewmar 44 ST winches because they are more than an inch taller and an inch wider than the Lewmar 40s that are available new. The 44's look overly large to me sitting on the 2" tall pads on top of the 4 1/4" bases but they are very serviceable and I have worked hard to not go down the rabbit hole of replacing equipment that works just fine with new shiny stuff. So far, we have kept the project close to the budget we allocated for the rebuild. We have purchased only the bare essentials new--wood, epoxy, biaxial, bedding compound, water tanks, hoses, seacocks, fasteners (a scary amount of fasteners), hardware for the tiller and some other odds and ends. To be sure, there are plenty of "new" items remaining to buy but it could have been much worse if we did not control the urge to always by new equipment. Anyway, with the decision made regarding the location it was time to drill the holes. I used an electric hand drill with my 12" long bits. I clamped the bases in place and using the previously dilled holes as a guide I drilled down into the deck penetrating the underside of the deck with one hole to check the location inside the boat. Satisfied, I then drilled the other holes (inserting some of the old bolts as I went to ensure the base stayed in the proper location) through the upper skin but not through the inner skin. After drilling all the holes I removed the bases and used a 7/8" diameter fostner bit to drill over-size holes in the upper skin of the boat down through the balsa core but not through the inner skin. Next, I used a scratch awl and dental probe to dig out a little balsa core all the way around from under the edge of the holes. Next, I mixed up some unthickend epoxy with 205 fast hardener and poured it into the holes. Here, things got exciting. I poured all the holes at one time thinking the temps were were pretty cool outside--about 55 degrees and heat would not be a problem. But, I was wrong. One set of holes started to smoke. I immediately drilled all the holes out with the 7/8" fostner bit. Incredible. Only one was still gooey--all the others were curing and very hot. I let the drilled out holes sit for about 45 minutes then I went at it again this time filling the holes in two stages about 45 min apart. I laugh now but I assure you I was not laughing at the time. About two hours later before the plugs were fully cured I topped them off with some thickened epoxy to ensure they were flush with the deck. I put heat lamps on the work areas to ensure the cold night time temps would not interfere with the epoxy curing requirements. When the 9" long bolts arrive I will drill down through the center of the 1" wide plug with the appropriate, but much smaller bit, for the fasteners. This solid plug technique ensures water can't get to the balsa core and also that the deck won't be crushed with the much softer balsa core as the only thing separating the upper and lowers skins of the deck. The bolts are on order and I expect them next week.

19 Dec 13With home school, Christmas activities, cold weather, boat work and family life the priority for the website has dropped pretty low. Still, I have managed to make good progress on the Far Reach. Below is a summary of what I have been working on. The base wood hobby shop will be closed over the Christmas holidays. I go there to use a couple of tools I don't have like a fantastic 25" wide spiral head planer and 14"jointer. But, what I needed this trip was to finish up the three small raised panel doors to match the other seven doors I made last spring. These doors fit in the face of the double berth and one under the forward cabin large cabinet doors. I had cut the rails and stiles last spring but did not slot them. So I spent one evening setting up my router table and slotting them in my shop. Then, I took some of the remaining Bird's Eye Maple, went to the base wood shop, and used their raised panel bit on the big shaper machine they have. The will sit as they are until we do the final varnishing of some trim work that has not been varnished. I'll glue them up then. For more on the building of the cabinet doors click here.

Bird's Eye Maple and African Mahogany raised panel door. This is just pushed togehter. I'll varnish the panels, insert and intall them into the frame, then varnish the frame.

The winch bases. I decided to see if I could not reuse the original primary winch bases, with some modification. First, I cut them down to about 8 1/4" wide or 1 1/4" wider than the base of my Lewmar 44 ST winches. Next, I bought two 8/4 teak off-cuts from Atlantic Veneer for about half off the normal price. From those, I made 4" tall bases for my smaller bronze Lewmar #10s that will also be on the coaming and used to sheet the staysail which is no longer club footed. The sheet leads will be mounted on the side deck near the side of the cabin top. Since I moved the staysail tack forward to the stem I end up with about the same sheeting angle as if the leads were on the cabin top in it original location. From the other piece of 8/4 teak I will make some 2" tall pads. These will be mounted on the wider bases and raise the winch up above the coaming. The base of the Lewmar 44s need to be all of 6" high because the jib sheet is mounted on the 6" tall bulwark. I need 3-5 degrees of up angle from the turning block to the winch drum. Mocks up indicate this plan will meet that requirement. As I said, the original bases were in rough shape with some slight glue line separation. To address it, I make cuts along the glue line with my table saw and inserted 1/4" wide 8" long "Dutchman" as a way to bond back the base. I used T-88 epoxy for the job because it hides will under varnish. The bases will be varnished along with the cockpit coaming but the teak pads will be bare. The winches will be mounted on top of the pads. It has taken more time and energy to rebuild the pads than I thought. I have relearned this lesson several times.

Rebuilding the winch bases have taken on a life of their own. Here I am installing a "Dutchman" to address a glue line separation.

I had not bedded the Groco IBVF seacock and tailpipe for the galley sink drain and I had a little time between projects. I also needed to enlarge the hole in the walnut cabin sole under the sink cabinet for the sitz drain hose and the water tank plumbing to pass through more cleanly. In order to accomplish those tasks I needed to remove the sink cabinet. Fortunately, removing the cabinet was a simple job and took all of ten minutes. This is one of those details that I think will, and already has, pay off in a big way--the cabinetry is easily removable thus vastly improving the ease of making repairs to the interior of the Far Reach or her systems. The sink counter top lifts off by removing some small trim pieces that serve as hold down cleats. Then, about 10 screws hold the panels in place and once they are removed the panels simple detach. I bedded the ball valve and hose barb and reassembled the cabinet. For more on the building of the galley, click here.

I needed to remove the galley sink cabinet to bed the seacock and hose barb. It took about 10 minutes to take apart.

One of the issues that continues to vex me is the mainsheet system. I eliminated the original mid boom sheeting set up forward of the companionway opting instead for end boom sheeting for a couple of reasons: 1) mid boom sheeting puts a lot of stress on the boom; 2) There was only 8 1/2' ft between the mast and the mainsheet traveler and my dinghy is 9' long; 3) I wanted to eliminate as many holes in the cabin top as possible which meant holes for the traveler, the winches, and cam cleats; and 4) it's simpler to handle the mainsheet when its in the cockpit. However, the layout of the cockpit, combined with the propane locker I built has made installing an end-boom sheeting a challenge. I have several options I am considering. One is to see if a raised traveler is feasible (the hinged propane locker lid would have to open underneath it) thus I decided to go ahead an install the hinges for the propane locker to see. Another is to install a traveler against the aft cockpit coaming and replace the hinge pins with removable ones. The lid would open enough for everything except removing the tanks. For that, pull the pins and remove the whole lid.

I installed the hinges for the propane locker lid.

Instead of using nuts, I over drilled the holes, filled with epoxy, and tapped threads for #10 machine screws. Interestingly, I had to reverse the hinges with the wider leaf on the seat and the narrower one fastened to the deck. The reason is that it allowed the hinge pin to be on the aft side of the gap between the lid and the deck. That meant when the lid is open, the aft bottom inside edge of the lid, retracts away from the rain gutter. When I installed them the other way, with the hinge pin closer to the lid, the aft bottom inside edge moved forward just to jam on the rain gutter. It was an interested lesson in geometry and the physical aspects of how something as simple as a hinge works. For more on the building of the propane locker here.
I installed the hinges for the propane locker lid.Working on some simple projects I decided to install the PVC "down pipes" for the dorade vent boxes. When you look at the drawings Olin Stephens made for the original dorades, he desinged them, the bottom of the cowl vent tube extends below the top of the down vent tube that enters the cabin. This keeps rain water and probably some degree of green water from making its way below deck. However, my cowl vents, and I suspect many others, don't extend down far enough to fulfill the design. So, I installed a small piece of wood that essential accomplishes the same thing--it extends below the top piece just enough to separate the cowl vent "chamber" from the down vent chamber. I can't claim the idea . . . I picked it up from "Cost Conscious Cruiser" by the Pardeys. I cut 4 1/2" OD PVC pipe to fit in the opening in the deck and to make contact with a teak trim ring I made from some scrap teak I saved just for this particular project. It took a little back and forth fiddling to get everything lined up correctly. I installed the trim ring to establish the correct depth for the PVC pipe. Then, I used a file to bevel the outside edge of the hole in the deck to hold more bedding compound. I cut a scallop in the top forward edge of the down tube which faces away from the cowl vent opening. I tapped everything off and then used 3M 4000 to bed the PVC. Later, I will use a flush cut router bit to trim the trim ring flush with the PVC pipe on the inside of the boat so the screen vents can be installed from inside.

The next step in completing the installation of the refleks heater was to install the fuel line from the tank in the starboard cockpit locker to the heater at the forward starboard side of the saloon. It required the installation of a "T" near the tap under the companionway (I previously ran the line through the tap on its way to the heater). The T" is simpler and a little cleaner installation. I then ran the line under watch seat, chart table/ice box, and through the starboard settee. I installed some 3/8" copper tubes with flair nuts on the heater. I drilled a hole through the forward side of the settee for the fuel line to pass through and coated it with epoxy. I drilled a hole down through the platform for the "over flow" line to pass through. Refleks strongly recommends not to "cap off" the overfill fitting which they claim most people do. The overfill fitting allows excess fuel a way out of the regulator that wood other wise poor into the burner pot. They state that in rough seas the regulator could flood so the overfill fitting is supposed to mitigate that particular scenario. I plan to install a clear plastic bottle under the platform to capture any over flow fuel. The folks at the hardware store, where I bought the copper tube, bent the tube, with a little device they had, to a tracing I made of the required bend. I decided to install another ball valve under the settee just aft of the heater so if there is a need to shut the fuel down, we can do that as close to the heater as possible yet still have some physical separation from the heater itself. I made a little teak fairlead to align the 3/8" ID fuel line with the ball valve.

3 Dec 13After completing the construction of the dorade box, the next step was to make the brackets to secure to the deck. Continuing to use L. Pardey's instructions in the "Cost Conscious Cruiser" I used some scrap 3/32" thick (just under 1/8" thick) bronze sheet stock for material. Using a jig saw I cut them about 5/8" wide and 2" long. I drilled a single hole for a 1/4" bolt on one end and two smaller holes for #10 pan head self tapping screws on the other end. Then I took each piece of pre-drilled bronze and clamped it in my machine vice, heated with a propane torch till it was red then tapped it over with a hammer to the appropriate angle. Then, while it was sill very hot I tapped it with the hammer to help it realign molecularly, then quenched it in water. I was very satisfied with the fit. Next, I drilled and screwed them to the inside of the box, Next, I positioned the box on the deck and drilled quarter inch holes through the deck. The deck under the aft holes was solid glass but the forward holes were over a cored deck. So, I over drilled the forward holes, dug out the core, and filled them with epoxy and left it to cure overnight.

The combination dorade box and bilge/grey water exhaust is mounted. I am pleased with construction but remain unsure about the visual effect. I'll see if it grows on me.

Later in the evening, I cut thee hole in the lid for the cowl vent. I'd like for all the cowl vent deck plates for all the dorade vents to be bronze or durable brass but they are just too expensive. I'll keep my eyes open and I might come across some in a consignment shop one day. But for now, the plastic bases will have to do. Anyway, I traced the base interior ring, drilled a small hole, and cut out the ring with a Bosh jig saw. I chamfered the open and sanded it smooth. Next, I positioned the box on the deck and aligned the brackets with the recently filled epoxy plugs and drilled down through the center. Using this technique eliminates the possibility of water intrusion into the core should the bedding compound fail to keep the water out--"an once of prevention is worth a pound of cure." The next step was to shape a piece of 4/12" OD PVC pipe to perform duty as the down spout through the hole in the deck. In a perfect world the hole would be further forward--towards the bow--but that is where the original hole was and if it were further forward the bilge hose that runs up through the dorade would interfere with the starboard side control line for the Cape Horn wind vane that runs under the deck through the lazerette locker. This hole was original 3 1/2" diameter and in fact the aft cowl vents are smaller than the ones on the main cabin. I cut the hole out to 4 1/2", same as the ones for the main cabin, hoping that the larger cutout would compensate for the obstruction to the flow of air running the 1 1/2" diameter bilge hose up through the vent. I made a cut out through the PVC pipe for the bilge hose to pass in order to maintain the basic design of the dorade to keep water out of the down spout. The cowl vent air hole and the downspout do not overlap so there should be little likelihood of water gaining access below except under the most extreme conditions. After temporarily mounting the parts I ran a short section of bilge hose up through the vent and on to the hose barb. Everything looks to be aligned and with that completed I spent a little time figuring out exactly how to run the hose from the bilge pump to the spot in the lazerette where the hose rises vertically to the down spot in the dorade box. That concluded my work for the day. (photo gallery below)