Working on the interior

 

 

In the Late summer and fall of 2015 Phoenix did not get worked on once moved to the new yard and covered for the winter because of work taking us away from home. A great weather window missed with the mild weather at home all the way to the Christmas holidays.

A mild spring has us getting a good start on the working season but now we have brought our other boat back from the south so time needs to be split to address the work that needs to be done on Rapscallion II to prepare it for the sailing season.

On Phoenix I started with tearing the old paneling off the walls and cutting away water damaged wood along the tabbing line. New fiberglass tabs and some wood replacement where needed have been the main focus. All the drawers, cabinet doors and the 3 main cabin doors have been taken home to the shop for refinishing and to have them clear from the work zone while the painting, repaneling and floor replacement are taking place. This will also allow easier access to refinishing the adjoining wood before reinstalling them. It was a surprise at the volume of doors and drawers that were on this boat, you don't think about it when hey are all in place. The sanding of all the fiberglass tab repairs and remaining wall surfaces along with the chain plate beds has been time consuming and a vey dirty job.

The original chain plate mounting method is the reason for all the water damage and the past design flaws will not be repeated. The chain plates will be exposed and bolted through the hull.

Ended the season ready to lay the new floor and panel the walls and celling. I roughly placed the celling panels to get a look at how they appear.

2017 has us away from home once again on a work assignment, to Southern California this time.

We are not cruising but we are able to travel and still collect a paycheck so it's not all bad, just cant get the boat work completed in the timeframe I had hoped for.

 

1 more coat to go

I am pleased with the results of the 3rd coat of interlux perfection paint. I wish it was the final one as it has turned out so well I hate to put another coat over it but around the corners/ edges it is still a little thin. I am rolling and tipping and it has taken a couple of coats to get the hang of the flow of the paint. I needed to get the cover on early in order to get some protection from the rain and sun. We have had a lot of rain this year.

Ready for paint

Results have been hard to notice so far this year. The end of 2013 we discovered that the fuel injection pump needed some work. The engine was a run away that luckily I had replaced the failed mechanical fuel pump with an electric type so it was and easy matter to kill the fuel supply simply by turning off the pump. The crank case was filled up with diesel fuel but otherwise there did not seem to be any issues. Winter came on us before I could address the pump and what a bad winter it was. Phoenix was laid up and we gave Rapscallion some much needed attention down south on the Florida border.

 Spring of 2014 and back to work on Phoenix. I have reinstalled the rebuilt injection pump, removed and striped and recoated both fuel tanks with a cold galvanizing coating and finishing the plumbing to the engine. On the outside the focus is on the painting. There was some leaking around the cabin top joint with the deck and to remove the teak trim I had to chisel it up in pieces, there was a LOT of silicone sealer under the trim like the rest of the teak trim on the sides. There were some stress cracks around the windows that needed to be repaired and then the final fairing. The first coat of paint went on fairly well though I need to apply it thinner on the vertical walls to prevent sags.

 Half way through the summer and I feel like I'm standing still on my progress. Painting will likely take the rest of the summer with the schedule I have. I picked up a truck over the winter and put a work cap on it so that I have the ability to store and move larger things than I could with only our car. At home we are moving AGAIN but this time I will have a garage so now I will be able to start taking things home to work on.

Splash Down

After 15 years or so Phoenix is floating again. Far from being finished this only allows us to get on and off more easily and to work on the engine to get it running and to remove the bow sprite for repair. Still, it makes us feel that progress is being made.

Back to work

Back from India and playing catch up on Phoenix. We have spent 3 weekends focused on all the areas to keep water out of the boat without a cover and what is needed to test run the engine. Seacocks, piping, wiring of the engine, automatic bilge pump, hatches and port lights installed. It is now ready to go into the water where it will be easier to get on and off while working. The temporary sealing of the port lights until final paint and the repair of other leaky spots is now the next concern. 

Finishing the walls and putting in the port lights.

Framing in the Galley

We knew our cover framework had a limited amount of time left and sure enough while away on business we had some high winds that leveled it. Going into Year 2 we made a much better frame to support the shrink wrap.

Being that we had a limited amount of time left to the season we decided to hire 2 carpenters within the family to help frame in the galley and the navigation station. We had 2 very productive weekends and nearly finished the framework. Working with the thick white oak made for slow progress.

We picked up a stove that needed converting from CNG to propane which worked out well.
We set the new smoked tempered glass into the sides after laminating the interior walls.

Digging around in the forward end of the boat i decided it was time to address the front chain plates. I knew they leaked as was apparent from the water damage (rotted) bulkheads around the shower stall, and i knew it wasn't from the shower. The chain plates were fiber glassed over along with their reinforced backing of mahogany plywood, which had turned to compost. These will be left exposed after the repair as they should be for future inspection.