Fitting Out (Year 13):

Date Discussion
1st April 2022 Another year, dear reader, in the ongoing saga of building the MV "Rhapsody in Glue". I wonder what this year will bring. More viruses? More Lockdowns? More Isolating? More trying to recognise your friends with their masks on? Or maybe it will bring a boat launch - we'll see!

The one paragraph summary of work to date says: July 2008 - lay a keel. March 2010 - turn the hull over and start on the fit-out. Still fitting-out... This is the thirteenth year of still fitting-out!
19th April 2022 Painting the coach house in its delicate shade of "Golden Tan" is finished and whilst it's hardly a vital part of the build, it seemed like a good time to fit the nameboard to the outer front wall of the galley. The nameboard has the Rhapsody logo engraved on blue acrylic sheet designed to be lit from behind. So, a strip of waterproof, high power LEDs was fitted with some crinkled aluminium kitchen foil as a diffuser and the illuminated sign looks great.

It has an aluminium frame that I made from part of an old street sign. When the local speed limits were changed from 60kph down to 50kph, all the existing signs had to be replaced, of course. The superseded signs, which were printed on flat 1.6mm aluminium sheets, were then thrown in a pile in the council yard for disposal. So, I "helped" them dispose of several - "waste not want not"!

I also decided to fit the portholes to the front wall of the galley (just for the photos for the moment). These do not open but do provide a view forward and add a little stye to an otherwise bland area of timberwork. (They were planned long before the 3D engraver was purchased and making the name board became possible). The portholes are solid brass and were recovered from an old, sunken, boat. During a severe drought, some years ago, the river level around Goolwa dropped very significantly which made navigation really difficult, however, it did expose a couple of previously unknown wrecks. The portholes were salvaged from one of those wrecks and have been polished, lacquered, and have had new glasses and seals made. We will never know their provenance, but a nice piece of history, I think...

One of the early fitting-out jobs, when the hull was first turned "right-side-up", was to fit the TV. This was done so that I could spend overnight in the boat in some comfort. The boat shed is 76kms from home and staying over saves both fuel and time - the downside is that now, some twelve years later, the TV transmission standards have changed to include HD and a lot more channels - and the TV is too old to receive them. The simplest solution is to buy a "set-top-box" to convert HD signals back down to the old Standard Definition format, of course.

However, another downside of taking this long to build the boat is that I'm older and, consequently, my eyesight is not what it once was. So, reading the subtitles on a film showing on a 24" TV has become quite a challenge. I decided that the only real solution was to "bite the bullet" and buy a new, bigger, TV.

I have selected a 12volt Englaon 32" Smart TV, with a DVD player built-in, which is ready for direct connection to the Internet for streaming content and also includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connection facilities. Not cheap, but a nice unit! However, even a completely frameless 32" modern TV, it turns out, is at least 725mm wide. And, you guessed it, the width of the area allocated to the TV in the original saloon design was exactly 710mm. Grrr!

Many cups of tea later, a solution finally presented itself. I just had to remove the right side of the TV area cabinet and move it 20mm to the right - sounds easy if you say it quickly! It then encroaches on the helmsperson's knee space a little, but otherwise it is just a nuisance to have to remove a part of the boat that was supposedly finished. It also destroys the alignment of the other furniture, such as the dashboard in this instance which will look a trifle odd. However, on the plus side, it is very reassuring to find how difficult it is to remove fully cured epoxy! Just as well, I suppose...

I originally intended to have a pull-up blind style cover to hide the TV when not in use, but that is now too difficult to fit into the space available. However, it does make the area from the TV's lower edge down to below the saloon floor, available for other things such as some of the electronic components that need a home. These will probably include the bilge pump and ballast tank controllers, for example, since they need to be somewhere near the helm position to simplify the captain's access whilst cruising and also to keep the complexity of the wiring to a minimum.

I have, finally, now realised that I've run out of reasons to not finish the aft ballast tank. Originally, I had to leave it until the propeller shaft, which runs through its centre, was installed; then I had to wait until the bolts holding the rudder skeg were installed, but now - no more excuses! The top, or lid, of the tank is, in fact, in two halves, one to the aft of the main bulkhead that supports the box keel structure and one on the forward side.

Battens have been installed all around the tank's upper edges to support the tops and given that these all involve compound curves, have turned out to be a challenge. However, they are finished and patterns for the tops have been made. Whilst the tank will be completely sealed, there will be three removable deck plates fitted for general inspection, tank cleaning and submersible pump maintenance.

There are level switches still to be installed to control the electronics and, also, various plumbing connections to allow the tank to be filled or emptied remotely. The aft tank, together with the forward tank, which is under the galley floor, are used to maintain the trim of the boat, compensating for changing levels, and therefore weight distribution, in the drinking water and black water tanks.

The other major components destined to dwell quietly and hopefully, largely unseen, under the bed, are the main house batteries. There are two battery boxes located below the spot where the two pillows on the bed will be. It is not only a convenient place for the batteries but having them so far aft will help to offset the significant weight of such things as the fridge and anchor at the very front of the boat.

The bottom of the battery box areas, like so many things in a boat, are neither flat, square, nor level. So, a false bottom is required to give them a relatively level surface to sit on. There will be three 130Ahr 12volt AGM batteries each side making six altogether, weighing about 32Kg each. So, the false bottoms have to be robust enough to hold something approaching 100Kg each.

Giving some thought recently to connecting up the fuel system, a few issues were quickly identified - this is because there's a myriad of different standards required for the hose connections between the various components. Also, since the boat has three petrol tanks, those issues multiply very quickly. There are two 25l removable tanks in the transom and a 410l tank under the saloon floor. A three-position switch on the dashboard allows the required tank to be selected.

Converting the engine to fuel injection further complicates the issue because now fuel at high pressure (43psi) is required for the injector. Regulating fuel at high pressure uses a diaphragm control valve which returns excess fuel to the tank. That creates a problem because the system then has to know from which tank the fuel was drawn, so that it can be returned to the same place.

The solution is to use a small additional tank close to the engine - sometimes called a "day tank". Its capacity is only 1.25 litres, but it has a high-pressure pump inside that feeds the fuel injection system and it is also where the excess fuel can be returned. The level of fuel in the day tank is maintained from any one of the three fuel tanks, using individual low-pressure pumps, (about 4psi). The three fuel tanks each have an individual solenoid tap so that two are always blocked off whilst fuel is drawn from the third. This is necessary to maintain a vacuum in the fuel lines so that the low-pressure pumps will operate properly.

The result of all this complexity is that an extraordinary array of fittings is needed to satisfy the requirements of each component. The three tanks, solenoids and pumps all have different sized fittings. The day tank is different again and it naturally requires appropriate high-pressure fittings. There also two filters and a water trap required to complete the system and, of course, their fittings are unique as well!

I have standardised on 5/16" or 8mm hose to connect all these fittings, which is looking to be an excellent choice thus far. However, running a 7m hose from the two aft 25l tanks to the day tank is a challenge. The original intention was to run a copper pipe for security against damage and abrasion to minimise the potential for cracks and leaks. That solution proved to be just too hard to install. Then I bought some, supposedly, armoured plastic hose, but, in the end, I decided it was not safe enough. Since then , I have found some CPE (Chlorinated Polyethylene) hose that has a 304 stainless steel wired inner which is then completely covered in a braided stainless steel wire anti-abrasion outer sheath as well. And naturally - it needs different connectors too!

The last of the floor panels for the saloon have been made and are now painted. These are the three that sit over the main fuel tank, and they make the saloon look considerably larger and more complete. The area around the tank, under the floor, still has to be cleaned and, in some spots, repainted. The blower fan and associated wiring also has to be installed, together with the fuel pump, fuel gauge sender, filler and breather pipes and its solenoid operated petrol tap.

I made a minor discovery whilst dry fitting the new floor panels, in that I hadn't actually provided any way of lifting them up again. You can't get your fingers under the edges because when all the panels are in place - there are no edges anymore! I do have some lifting rings on the engine hatches but have come to realise, more recently, that they are a nuisance too, if you have arthritis in your finger joints that is also advancing with the years!

So, back to eBay - to find some suitable floor panel lifting handles. I have ordered a dozen units that are very cunning (I think). They disappear into the floor when not in use so that they're not a trip hazard and when flipped over to operate, present a large enough handle to fit two, or even three, fingers which should make them much more comfortable to operate. Ah! The penalties of the advancing years....

25th May 2022 This series of documents, detailing the birth of "Rhapsody in Glue" is currently running at almost 200,000 words. Given that the average length of a word in the English language is 4.7 characters, that represents nearly a million characters typed - disregarding errors, re-typing and re-drafting). I only mention these hardly riveting facts as a tribute to my Dell Inspiron R17-5737 laptop that was used to type every single one of them because, this month, my laptop died. RIP - old friend!

On the plus side, I now have a shiny new Inspiron 15-5510 running Windows 11, which, it promises, will make me so much more productive - although it's hard to see how that is going to work whilst I'm still struggling with an irritatingly different keyboard layout. Now, what have they done with the "Home" key? There must be one...

Back to "boat building": the battery boxes, located under the bed, have had new bases made to provide a level surface on which the batteries can be installed. The bases have now been glassed and await painting.

The top of the aft ballast tank, which is also under the bed, is divided into three parts. Each one has now been made and covered in fibreglass. The sides of the tank are also the inside surfaces of the box keel structure which were glassed inside and out when they were built. However, the thwartship bulkheads, that were installed much later, were not. Glassing those areas has turned out to be a challenge because of the limited access, but they are now finished.

Making water tanks from timber is counter intuitive. However, once they are lined with fibreglass and have four or five coats of plain epoxy painted over every surface, water should never be able to contact the actual timber - in theory. We' ll see how effective the approach is in practice.

The steering is electric. A reduction geared stepper motor is used to drive a large aluminium quadrant which is bolted to the top of the rudder shaft. The quadrant has end stops set to physically limit the rudder' s travel to about 35 degrees in either direction. Once full lock is achieved, the motor would simply stall, which is not an ideal situation. So, a pair of limit switches have been installed, with a custom designed circuit, to protect the motor. Once the "hard to Port" position is reached, for example, current to the steering motor is turned off until a "turn to Starboard" signal occurs and vice versa. An alarm buzzer is also sounded. The limit switches are mounted adjacent to the rudder quadrant which has had a special striker plate added to activate them. (Thanks for the aluminium welding, Mark!)

The brown paint on the coach house has been finished for a short time and, it has to be said, the final result is somewhat disappointing. Inexperience and dust are the principal culprits and so, now that the paint has had time to fully harden, some of it can be sanded back and re-done. All of which is very frustrating.

The expanded cabinet for the new TV is coming along. Its right-side panel had to be cut out and a new one installed 30mm further to Starboard. The change did provide an opportunity to create a more or less hidden cable trunk to connect wiring from the dashboard down to the under-floor area, which is a plus. However, some of the decorative timber trims, made so long ago, have also had to be removed, which is a pity. The swivel mounting arm has also had to be cut and re-drilled, to re-centre the bigger TV, of course.

I have had a "faux" (read - chipboard) dining table set up in the saloon for some time, just to assess its practicality and size. (And upon which to have lunch!) Whilst modifying the TV accommodation in the adjacent area, it seemed that the dining table could be somewhat larger, without overly impacting the available space. So, a new chipboard tabletop has been made and installed, with its very temporary G-clamps, and I'll see how that works for a while, before committing to making the real thing.
30th June 2022 A new financial year, interest rates coming back, indexed pensions going up - yeah, all good - for retirees at least!

The aluminium windows were ordered and delivered, ready glazed, many moons ago. The fixed glass panels, those that were not destined for sliding aluminium frames, were ordered, separately, much more recently, and finally arrived this month. However - do you notice how there often seems to be a "but" in these sentences - yes, one of the seven panes was the wrong shape. It is not a real problem in the sense that the manufacturer conceded their error and will make a new one at their cost. No, the issue is the time it takes! A 5mm pane of heat treated, toughened and tinted, glass takes about three months to arrive. These are made locally, so it's not a transport issue, they must just be pretty busy.

I provided full sized MDF patterns for all the glass panels and was a bit puzzled as to how a mistake could have occurred. I assumed that they would simply take the pattern I supplied and draw around it to cut the glass. Ah, but no! Apparently, the factory has invested in new and very sophisticated, computer-controlled machinery that can no longer make use of a physical pattern. It can only recognise the required design if it comes as a computer file produced by a CAD drawing program. So, now, the process requires a skilled draughtsperson to take the physical pattern for the required pane of glass and reproduce it manually in a computer program that then produces a file that the new "improved" machine can understand. Hence the mistake and the delay! And, the extra $48 per panel for the drafting service. Such is progress...

Storage shelves on boats have a problem. Boats move around due to waves and, more commonly on the river, with the wash from other, less considerate people on passing boats. Consequently, anything placed on a shelf can be relied upon to fall off - eventually. Not good! The answer is a "Fiddle". A fiddle is simply a lip on the edge of any shelf (or table) that stops items sliding off. Fiddles can be simple - or maybe not!

Fiddles can be just a piece of timber attached to the edge of a shelf to make a lip. They can also be made of contrasting timber to add a small decorative note, or they can be quite elaborate, including little turned timber posts with a varnished top rail, like a miniature fence. These, more elaborate fiddles become decorative highlights and are known as "Pin-Rails". You sense what's coming, I suspect. Yes, this month I passed many happy hours making my first pin-rail.

The area accommodating the new TV has a shelf across its lower edge to hold items such as the TV remote so, of course, it needs a pin-rail! In this case, the shelf is light coloured marine ply to which I added an edge of darker coloured Meranti. The "pins" in my pin-rail are not turned timber, but lengths of polished brass tube. The top rail is another piece of varnished Meranti.

The 6mm brass tube came via eBay, of course, and was in 300mm lengths. Each tube had to be polished and then painted with Incralac preservative to stop it oxidising. A jig was made to ensure that each one could be cut into ten exactly equal lengths.

A test pin-rail was made to assess the proposed dimensions for aesthetics - how high should the rail be, how widely should the pins be set, and so on. Then, in order to get the pin spacing exactly even and the pins upright, a drilling jig was made, and a special square ended drill bit acquired to make the blind holes.

The TV shelf turned out well, and with a final coat of clear lacquer, was duly installed followed by a relaxing cup of tea to celebrate. Of course, the euphoria was short lived as the realisation dawned that all the other shelves planned for the boat will now expect their own pin-rails as well - Grrr!

Enough of all this enjoying yourself - back to painting! The galley roof had to be re-painted because of all the glue dags and boot prints made all over it whilst painting the windscreen frame. So, after many metres of masking tape, another coat of polyurethane gloss was applied. Looks good!

More masking tape - much more - was then applied right around the boat, to prepare the side decks and rubbing strakes for painting! They received two coats of Interplus 1180, high solid, two pack epoxy, from International, followed by a coat of polyurethane two pack gloss. The gloss coat included 95g/litre of powdered pumice stone to produce a non-skid finish.

Once the painting was finished it was time to remove all the aforementioned masking tape. It was then that I was forcibly reminded of the old adage "You only get what you pay for!" I had been tempted into buying a "No-Name" brand masking tape because it was cheap. Note to self: "Don't do that again." The new white paint had leached under the masking tape onto the brown of the coach house wall in many places all around the boat and had made a real mess. It will take a long and frustrating time, with a small paint brush, to fix the problem - serves me right!

On a brighter note, all the deck hatches were painted on the bench, at the same time as the side decks, to ensure that they all matched, and they have each been installed now with their clever "Intelli-Hinges" from Taco Marine - a lousy name and very expensive, but a great device. The rubbing strake is ready for the 32mm rope to be inserted as well, but that little (?) job can wait for another time.

With the hatch covers installed, the anchor locker is now complete and can be closed up. This will allow the fridge to be put back into place and give back access to the galley, but of course, there's always something else. The cable for the gas bottle status sensor has yet to be passed through the bulkhead on its journey to the little computer room (nook). Put that job on the list.

It had always been intended to have solid timber bench tops in the galley. Specifically, I have some very old (1880s) Red Gum, set aside, that I was going to cut into lathes for that purpose. One aspect of the plan had been bothering me because when red gum receives its finishing coat of food grade oil, it goes so dark as to be almost black. Having essentially black bench tops in the galley runs the risk of making the necessarily small area very claustrophobic, which is hardly desirable.

As a result, I started investigating other options for bench tops. Laminex is an obvious alternative, but it scratches over time, without due care, and stone products are too heavy, so it's back to solid timber. A number of commercial kitchen suppliers use much paler timber and, happily, the Big Green hardware shop has bench top panels in solid Beech. They come from Turkey and are made of many smaller timber pieces, finger jointed together, to form a very light coloured timber panel 26mm thick. They are already fine sanded and finished in a food grade oil/wax coating. However, they might be light in colour, but they are certainly not light in weight and given that I can't lift them - fitting them should be great fun...
30th July 2022 With the new paint on the side decks finished, the next job was to paint the timber work making up the rubbing strake. This was painted by brush, using more of the Interplus 1180. The finish was not so critical since most of it will be covered by rope.

Now, with all the new paint still soft, I started looking for other little jobs that wouldn't involve clambering all over the boat. The first thing was to alter my access steps so that they could be secured to the sidewall of the shed, rather than screwed directly to the side decks of the boat, as they were previously. I also cut some carpet to fit in the entry hatchway and protect the side deck, "just in case".

If you want to board the boat from the swim deck (yet to be built), as you might if you've been out in the tender boat, (also, yet to be built), then you need to get up onto the transom. A proper ladder will be installed there eventually, but then you still need to get up to the sun deck. Three steps on the back wall of the coach house are provided for this purpose.

The original intention was to have some stair treads especially cast in brass and indeed, my friend at C.E.A., Philip Mathews, had a suitable mould available for this. I borrowed the mould, and, in fact, the slope of the rear coach house wall was specifically designed to suit the angle of the steps as they would be, once cast. However, Lady Luck intervened, and I spotted an old river boat in the back yard of the boat shed that had three bronze or brass step treads on its transom. The old boat was to be scrapped, so they were mine for the asking. (Thanks, Moose.)

Off to the chrome platers, along with some other bits and pieces, and, voilà, three step treads, ready to go. These have now been fitted and look terrific. To ensure that they are strong enough, I securely mounted a hidden 25x5mm stainless steel bar to the back wall of the coach house, covered with a timber trim cap, and attached the step treads with stainless steel bolts, significantly spreading the load.

While I was working around the back of the coach house it seemed like a good time to fit the stern light. The wiring was installed, together with a cable for the ceiling fan, in a special channel routed into the king plank, (the longitudinal centre plank of the ceiling) before the bedroom roof was built. So, all that was required was to clean the paint off the wires that had been left poking out of the hole - no mean task, as it turned out, (but you learn these things, mostly the hard way), and connect it up. It works well and looks great!

In the mood for connecting up "stuff" my attention turned to the galley. Long-time followers of this project will, perhaps, remember that the original intention was to have a domestic style range hood installed in the galley. Indeed, one was purchased at the same time as the stove, from the Caravan and Camping Show, as a special deal. Of course, once the galley actually had a ceiling and the rangehood could be trial fitted, it was quickly apparent that headroom was an issue. With the rangehood in place, the "chef" then wouldn't have had enough room to look into any of the pots on the stove. So, a Plan B was required.

(Nowadays, I have given up on Plans "A" because they so often fail. So, to save time, I just start with Plan "B" - obvious really!)

The brand new, and quite expensive, range hood was duly sold off and the search for a new solution began. The light part was easy. A 12v LED strip light, to be fitted on the roof beam above the stove, was quickly located on eBay. A suitable fan, that was weatherproof, so that it could be mounted on the outside of the roof, to solve the headroom issue, was much more problematic. Eventually, however, an older, but still unused, unit turned up, again on eBay, for a very modest price. It came from France and after some research, I found that the original retail price was an astounding eight times what I had paid for it - bargain! The only slight downside is that it operates on 240v and not 12v. However, with the more recent discovery of some very cheap and miniscule 12v to 240v inverters, it's really not a problem.

So, now that the painting of the galley roof was finished, the fan could be permanently installed. A routed channel for the wiring had already been cut in readiness so that would be hidden by the fan itself. Very straightforward job, but significant in the sense that it is part of the "final fix" - hard to believe!

Naturally, installing the fan suggested that it was the right time to install the light over the stove as well. Again, the wiring was already in place, so the final fixture was very straightforward. A standard household twin architrave switch, engraved for "light" and "fan", oddly enough, was also installed. Since the starboard wall of the TV nook has been moved and a new cable trunk created, the switch could be easily positioned to hide the wiring. All done.

Whilst in the galley, there was the wiring for the gas bottle full/empty sensor to be installed through the forward bulkhead. There were also a couple of cables, installed previously, that had come "adrift" because, as it turns out, self-adhesive cable cleats have a very short and not very sticky life. They were replaced with nylon "P" clamps and stainless steel screws - that should fix 'em!

Other small jobs around the galley involved installing cables for the fridge, stove and for the gas heater in the saloon. All fiddly and time consuming jobs - but necessary!

With the galley cabling completed, the rear access hatch to the anchor locker could be screwed in and the fridge returned to its proper place. This is not a trivial job as the base of the fridge is keyed into the timber floor to stop it moving whilst in motion. To install it requires a "dead lift", which being aggravated by the confined space, is a difficult job.

With the fridge in place and connected, it could be checked for temperature. It produced 4 degrees in the fridge and -10 in the freezer. The freezer will probably go down a bit more when it's been running for a while. But, cool enough for a beer or two! Roll on summer.

The removable panel behind the fridge was cut to provide maintenance access for the anchor locker. However, in a perfect world on the river, the anchor should never be needed, so the locker can be effectively closed off. There is a drain at the bottom to direct any rain or spray water through to the galley bilge pump for removal. Otherwise, it should be a "set and forget" arrangement.

Normally, the anchor is accessed via the hatch on the foredeck. Given that there is plenty of spare depth in that space, a false floor has been installed to allow the top 500mm, or so, to be used for storage of bow lines and the like. When the anchor is required, the false floor can be quickly removed. The anchor will normally only be used in an emergency and, to stop the floor panels being lost over the side in haste, they each have stainless steel retaining wires attached.

The big job this month, that could be put off no longer, was the re-fairing and painting of the sheer planks. Since the rubbing strake was fitted and glassed into place, a complete re-fairing, and fine sanding, of the area below each rubbing strake was required. After the disappointing experience with the brown gloss paint, used on the coach house, not properly covering the white undercoat, I tried to get some blue tinted undercoat for the sheer panel, without success. However, I did manage to get a small tin of tint, together with the jovial suggestion of "Oh, just tint it yourself, mate!" Actually, it worked out pretty well.

So, two coats of two-pack epoxy Hi-Build primer, hand tinted by me to match Paul Newman's eyes, were then applied with a 5mm nap mohair roller to the sheer planks. After allowing a couple of days to fully harden, they were then sanded with 240grit paper, and two coats of two-pack polyurethane applied with a foam roller. The colour is called Ultramarine Blue and for future reference, is the Australian Standard colour, B21.

After my miserable experience with cheap masking tape, mentioned, with some anguish last month, I went to the other extreme. Instead of paying 0.83cents per roll, I paid $8.90! However, when it came time to remove the tape - oh, joy of joys...
31st August 2022 The connections for the waste disposal system (WDS) pump-outs were originally intended to be simply mounted in the side decks. This turned out to be a bit of a problem when the EPA decreed, in 2009, that all the pump-out connectors, up and down the river, were going to be changed from 40mm to 50mm. It's thirteen years later and there is absolutely no sign of this change actually happening, of course. In fact, when I mentioned this to an EPA officer recently, he looked decidedly puzzled - it was news to him too!

So, what is 10mm between friends, you might say? Well, the difference is that not only does the 50mm fitting have significantly more general bulk than the 40mm version, but its locking arms are significantly longer. So much so, that if the bigger WDS fitting was mounted in the side deck as originally planned, the locking arms would foul the side of the coach house and could not be operated.

Therefore, the WDS connections had to be moved into a new recessed compartment, which involved cutting holes in the hull, changing the plumbing routes, and making a fibreglass hatch with a suitable frame. Since there are WDS connections on both sides of the boat, everything had to be done twice, of course.

This whole sorry saga has been mentioned elsewhere and it is only repeated here because the recessed compartments, hatches and frames are now all installed and painted. Even the necessary catches and hinges are installed as well, such that they now qualify as "finished". I don't get to say that very often - I might say it again... No, maybe not.

I mentioned the galley bench tops a little while ago. These lovely solid slabs of Beech had been purchased and were sitting on the work bench taking up most of the available space. So, it was time to get them installed and out of the way. The instructions suggest that the timber should be removed from its plastic wrapping and left to acclimatise to the changed humidity to ensure that it doesn't warp and this was done.

After being unwrapped for just 24 hours, both boards had started to warp very badly. They were immediately clamped in all directions to solid beams to try and persuade them that straight and flat was good. After a week, they could be allowed out of their clamps for an hour or two before they re-offended. Beware un-seasoned timber!

The boards are 2200mm long and 600mm wide. The length was adequate, but they needed to be wider. So, having trimmed the boards to length, I had sufficient scrap to make them wider. This involved some serious effort with the biscuit joiner, glue and lots of long sash cramps - all the while, keeping the opposing clamps in place to stop the boards warping.

Now, with the boards made big enough, they could be dry fitted into the galley. This is no trivial exercise, particularly in such a confined space, remembering, as well, that each board weighs upwards of 20kg.

This job is now finished but I will leave the final installation of the benchtops until after the galley walls are sanded and painted. Otherwise, the benchtops will just end up covered in paint and other casualties of the painting process. They are now resting under the boat, still wearing their anti-warp clamps and I have my work bench space back.

One of the jobs that could be completed whilst the benchtops were still outside the boat, was to make a template for a suitable splashback. I am still investigating possible materials, but it looks like a simple sheet of 0.7mm 314 brushed stainless steel will be the favourite.

There are various pieces of equipment that will need to be mounted on the saloon roof, such as lights, horns and radio aerials. The wiring for all these items will be routed down the windscreen pillars and a fibreglass trunk cover will be required each side, to hide them from view.

Initially, I made two patterns from PVC pipe and screwed them into place. When all the angles and clearances were finalised, they were glued together and filled with putty to make a positive model of the required parts. These have now been filled, sanded and polished, ready to make a fibreglass (negative) mould so that the final items can be cast in polyester. It's a time consuming process, but it produces a great result and is well worth the trouble.

The last of the panes of fixed glass turned up this week. There had been a hassle with one of the windscreen glasses being the wrong shape. Not my fault, as it turns out, and they made a new one without charge. It just delayed things by several months.

The sliding windows are already mounted in their aluminium frames, whilst special frames for the fixed glass have still to made. The existing sliding frame extrusions measure 30mmx3mm on the outside, and the fixed glass frames need to match. So, 20metres of 32x3mm flat bar has been purchased, together with some 50x3mm bar to make the corners. Each frame will be made in four pieces, which then need to be welded together. Aluminium welding is another skill I don't have, so off for a chat with Dr. Google. Again!
6th October 2022 After some consideration, I realised that I still had some aluminium welding (brazing, actually) rods, in the shed, that I bought, many years ago, from a farm show. I needed them, at the time, for a particular repair and that was ultimately completed and quite successfully, too. I had a working oxy/acetylene kit available in those days, and generating sufficient heat was not a problem. I decided to try the old rods again, on some scrap aluminium using a small propane torch, but, disappointingly, however, nothing like enough heat could be generated to even melt them.

I investigated a number of options, including resurrecting my oxy kit - but that's much too expensive these days with the cost of hiring bottles and so on. In the end, I purchased a propane powered hand torch via eBay that fits (supposedly) on a standard BBQ cylinder. Unsurprisingly, it is Chinese and equally unsurprisingly, perhaps, their standard gas bottle thread is different from ours, which means that it didn't fit, of course. After spending another $17 to buy an appropriate Australian fitting, this so-called "bargain" was not looking so good.

Remember the old joke - "Don't you just love Standards - there are so many different ones to choose from"?

Once the torch was set up, and the various gas leaks dealt with, I have to confess, it really was surprisingly effective. On my first experiment with it, I not only melted the brazing filler rod, but the aluminium scrap pieces of bar I was trying to braze as well! Oops - time to back the flame down a bit and practise some more!

As a tag to the story of the purchase of the propane torch, I should mention the selection of suitable brazing rods. Well, "That's easy", I hear you say - not so, as it turns out! There are two types of aluminium brazing rods mentioned all over eBay. They are not expensive, so I ordered a pack of each. One has a flux core and the other is a solid alloy, but I have had little success with either. Now that I can, at least, get them hot enough, neither want to "take" or flow on to the job. One even recommends heating first and then brushing with a stainless steel wire brush, before applying the rod. Well, you get what you pay for - of course. As a last resort, I went to the Big Green Hardware shop, wallet in hand, and bought a five-pack of AS4047 Aluminium Alloy brazing rods for the princely sum of $3.58 for each rod! And they work really well - of course! More practice is still required but confidence is returning, albeit slowly.

I mentioned the windscreen pillar wiring trunks above. Casting parts from fibreglass is a seemingly never ending process. You make a model of the thing you're trying to create out of whatever material is convenient. That may be Plaster of Paris, plasticine, timber, PVC or any combination of other materials. Anything that will hold the shape that you want is fine. That's the so-called, "positive" image. Then you cover your "positive" with fibreglass, remembering to use lots of release wax, and separate the two parts when they're dry. What you now have is a "negative" version of your original shape.

Now, you can line your "negative" with lots more release wax and fill it with more fibreglass, to create a new "positive" image of your original part. Except now, of course, it is complete, with no filler, plaster, plasticine or any other evidence of how you created it, which looks very professional. I've nimbly skipped over describing all the masking, sanding and filling involved - although it would be considerably less boring and time consuming to read about it than it was to actually have to do it!

You will be happy to know that the aforementioned seriously long-winded process is now complete, and the two windscreen cable trunks are both painted, installed and look great! I won't mention them again - promise!

1st November 2022 Today is Melbourne Cup Day. It is held in Victoria on the first Tuesday in November, each year. The weather last year was "Sunny and 30 degrees". This year, it is being described as a "A Polar Blast" of 13 degrees and storms. I'm not interested in racing, but here in South Australia, it's only 6 degrees in the boatshed and definitely not conducive to boat building!

Progress in the last few weeks has been dismal. Some earlier decisions have been changed, some processes found to be too hard and some products no longer available. The old aphorism describing any job as consisting of "two paces forward and one back" seems to be applying itself in reverse lately - it's more like "one pace forward and two back" at present!

Fuel Injection - a decision changed! Well, modified a little, anyway. The plan to change the boat's engine to fuel injection is fine and still absolutely "the way to go". However, since its specially marinised inlet manifold can't be modified to support a separate injector for each cylinder, a single Throttle Body Injector (TBI) is the only alternative. This approach was common during the 1980s, and 1990s, when car engine designs were being migrated from carburettors to fuel injection and is perfectly adequate for a river cruiser.

The original donor vehicle chosen to supply the TBI, for the boat, was a Holden Barina (Opel Corsa). This may seem an odd choice, at first glance, until you consider that the capacity of each individual cylinder, within the two engines, is very similar. The difference being, of course, that the Barina only has four of them, whilst the boat engine has six. If the volume of each cylinder is about the same, then the amount of fuel required to be injected during each engine cycle is also about the same, meaning that the injector's capacity is about right too. However, where a significant difference does occur in the six cylinder environment, I now realise, is that the injector has to operate at a significantly higher rate, for the same engine revolutions. (Six "squirts" per cycle, rather than four.)

Testing the electronic controller unit "on the bench" highlighted the fact that a single injector trying to run a six cylinder engine has very little time "between squirts" as the engine speed increases. A fuel injector is an electro-mechanical device with moving parts and those parts have weight, and therefore, inertia. Making any object move takes time and at 5000rpm, the injector has only 4ms in which to complete its cycle of becoming energised, lifting the valve needle off the seat, squirting the required amount of fuel, and then relaxing, under spring tension, back to the closed position, ready for the next cycle. For comparison, it has to operate at a similar speed to a bee's wing in flight - no easy task!

The alternative TBI unit that had been under consideration, when the conversion was being planned, was from a six cylinder engine, and it had two separate injectors in the same body. I had assumed, at the time, that it was to achieve the necessary fuel flow rates, but now, I suspect, the real reason is that it allows the injectors to be operated alternately, at half the speed, making twice as much time available for each unit to complete its cycle.

The twin injector TBI was used on a 3.9litre Ford EA/EB Falcon made from 1988 to 1991, but for some reason, suitable donor wrecks are very hard to find. (Perhaps it's because they're ideal for fuel injection conversions!) However, I had lodged a query with a local wrecker's website many, many moons ago, asking him to let me know if one of these particular vehicles became available and then I promptly, of course, forgot all about it - until last week when the wrecker sent me an email. Well, you can probably guess the rest of this particular story - and you'd be right!

Back to the drawing board? No, not quite. The modifications to the fuel system and the air intake system are unchanged. The "Speeduino" control electronics just has one minor software setting changed, so that it knows that there are two injectors instead of one, and all is well. The adaptor to physically mount the new TBI on to the engine has to be changed, of course, which is a pity after all the work that went into creating it, but it's a small price to pay for a system that will, ultimately, be significantly better matched to the job.

Brazing aluminium is not as easy as it looks! At least, just "sticking" bits of aluminium together is not so hard, eventually, but to make it look good as well, is a step too far! All the opening windows in the boat were made for me by Complete Sliding Windows, who did a great job. However, I now need to make frames to secure the glass into the windows that don't open - particularly the three windscreen panes, the three that make up the entry door and the two on the back wall of the bedroom, above the transom. The centre pane of the windscreen is an opening hopper window, but we still have to hold the glass in!

Making aluminium frames by brazing together lengths of flat bar and cut corner pieces, turned out to be possible, but only after wasting lots of time practising. However, in the end, they still looked really ugly, and no amount of filing, sanding or finishing could produce, what might be considered, a satisfactory result. So, it was time to cast around for a "Plan B".

My good friend, and very experienced shipwright, Moose, made his usual pithy observation of my efforts by saying "Why do you need to join the various aluminium bits at all? Just screw them individually to the timber around the frame. They will work just as well, match all the other windows perfectly, look terrific and not waste all that expensive aluminium." Easy!

Space is too limited around the windscreen frame for the aluminium approach, so I have made frames from 4mm plywood. Each of these has been cut in a single piece from a whole sheet, which is a bit wasteful, perhaps, but the result looks good and since I seem to have over-ordered the plywood for the roof by several sheets - plenty of spare material is available.

A downside to making timber window surrounds is that they have to be painted. "No problem," you say? Well, no, except that I have run out of brown undercoat. Furthermore, two-pack epoxy primer, that can be tinted, turns out to be a rare animal. The previous source has ceased manufacture and so far, no alternatives have been found. There's always something!!

Now that the galley benches are ready to be installed - notwithstanding the vigorous warping that is still happening, it is time to finish the final painting. So, much sanding has been done on the splashback areas and walls around the windows. I have investigated many different solutions for a "kitchen-like" splashback material, without success. So, for the moment, they will be simply painted white, and time may suggest a better alternative in due course.

The aft ballast tank is under the bed with the propeller shaft, in its stern tube, passing through the middle. The tank is an odd shape, but the capacity should be about 250litres. It is necessary to be able to trim the boat so that the tunnel, around the propeller, works correctly. The boat's trim will change dramatically depending on the status of the various tanks, particularly the black tank, which could represent a quarter of the boat's weight, when full.

The ballast tank is now fully glassed and has been painted with a number of coats of raw epoxy, particularly where the bottom pintle support rail for the rudder has been attached to the underside of the hull. Two coats of epoxy tank sealant are next, and this will fully seal the tank. A lip has been created around the top edges ready to glue in the top panel, which is actually in three parts. Each has a 250mm threaded "deck lid" for access to the inside of the tank, both for cleaning and to service the pump and float switches that are used to empty and fill the tank. The control circuit to be used for the ballast tanks is available from the sidebar, under "Pipes and Wires".

The stuffing box on the propeller shaft is in its own compartment, under the floor, in front of the bed. Since stuffing boxes are supposed to leak a little to maintain a lubricated seal, it is provided with a bilge pump and has its inside faces sealed with fibreglass and raw epoxy, much as the ballast tank has been, and it will be similarly painted with tank sealant as well.

Painting the inside of the ballast tank and the stuffing box, as described above, involves kneeling on the floor and then reaching down a further 500mm to the very bottom of the hull. Human spines, in general, don't like that sort of treatment and mine is no exception. This particular aspect of the job aggravated an old back injury and sent me to bed for several days until I could walk again. No wonder productivity has fallen off a bit...

28th November 2022 The final painting of the galley has been finished. It now boasts three coats of Interplus 1180 two-pack epoxy paint, applied with a Mohair, 5mm nap, roller to produce a slightly dimpled finish, not unlike the outside of an orange. This is seriously thick and tough paint. If you need to sand it again, once it' s had a couple of weeks to cure, you might have to use a grinder! The paint has a 70% solid content and covers blemishes, cracks, and all manner of carpentry sins, beautifully. It' s great stuff.

However, like all epoxy based products, Interplus has some sensitivity to UV light and can develop a “chalky” surface over time. So, a final coat of a polyurethane gloss paint is required, because although it is not as tough, it is perfectly UV stable. It is also a good opportunity to apply a really shiny gloss finish to complete the job.

This process of several coats of tough epoxy paint, finished with a polyurethane gloss, is very similar to that used on all of the boat' s roofs and decks. (With a little ground pumice stone added to the final coat on the decks, to provide a “non-skid” surface.)

Now the painting inside the galley is finished, the windows and bench tops can be installed. Some trim timber around the joint between the galley walls and the side decks is still required to tidy things up and the shelves above the bench tops, on both sides, will get pin-rails in due course. The benches now have to be oiled with “food-safe” Tung oil and some power points fitted, but the galley is now close to qualifying for the “F” word, which is a rare thing! (“Finished” of course - what did you think I meant?)

Although, there is still the "Breakfast Bar" to be built. Actually, it's a small shelf, sitting above the TV alcove, that is conveniently accessible from both the galley and the helm position, and which is deemed an essential facility in order to be able to easily pass cups of tea, champagne, peeled grapes and the like, to the captain whilst driving. Happily, there was enough of the Beech left over from the galley benches to make a matching shelf.

There was also enough Beech left to make another shelf next to the dashboard, to mount the engine controls, rudder position indicator display, and the natty 100mm Teak and brass “Ship' s Wheel”, complete with its little joystick in the middle to actually do the work. This shelf has been made and looks very handsome. Given that we now have somewhere to mount the engine and gearbox controls, it seems like a good time to order the Teleflex push-pull cables to actually connect the controls to the machinery!

What fun!!!
30th December 2022 Boxing Day. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

This month is a great time NOT to have a boat on the river because the Murray is in a "once in a lifetime" flood. After torrential and extended rain in the upper reaches during the year, the water has finally arrived in South Australia. It appears that it won't be quite as bad as the legendary flood of 1956, but it's getting close. Many riverside properties and towns are flooded and the volume of water flowing down the river is savage. All boating activities have been banned. So, it's a good time to have a boat - but only if it's safely tucked up in a shed!

I have reorganised the web site a little. Last month I included a long description of the start of the MKII fuel injection system. I decided that there was still a lot more to come on that subject and that some of my readers may find it a level of detail "too far". So, we now have a new section on the site that is dedicated to the MKII fuel injection system in all its gory, nitty gritty, detail for those masochistic readers who, like Alice, may want to follow me down that particular "Rabbit Hole". Photos of the selected equipment, together with detailed descriptions of the rationale behind their selection, are included. Circuit and construction details for all the custom electronics being built are also provided. If you're interested - go and check it out - I'll wait...

This month has seen the galley benches finalised. They are painted with timber preservative and finally screwed into place. They will be sealed all around their edges with Silicon to keep everything watertight, but they could be removed if circumstances, like damage to the hull, make that necessary. The section at the back of the stove has not been screwed in since access to the wiring and plumbing underneath may still be necessary.

A few small jobs have been completed this month. Not big jobs in themselves, but each giving great satisfaction because they represent things that are "finished". (There's that word again.) The navigation lights are installed. The six bright blue LED deck lights are installed. The vintage brass portholes over the foredeck, together with the engraved name board, are all installed.

As mentioned elsewhere, I have abandoned the idea of welding up aluminium frames for the fixed glass windows to try and match those made for me by Complete Sliding Windows Pty. Ltd. So, it's time to start making them a different way. Each frame is made of eight pieces of flat aluminium bar - four straights and four corners. Each part is then screwed into place on the timber frame, and, if the pieces are cut well enough, the joints are not obvious.

The sliding door for the Starboard side main entry is almost finished and it's the first time I've seen the brown tinted glass in place. It looks really handsome, and the non-welded frame look pretty good too! (Does anyone want to buy an aluminium welding torch - with very little use?) I quickly realised that the window panel that fits behind, and aft of, the sliding door needs to be completed before the door can be installed, so that's next.

The battery boxes under the bed, in the stern, are finally painted and ready for "action". There will need to be two isolator switches positioned somewhere nearby, but that job is still "on the list". The switches need to be accessible, obviously, but not so much so that someone who is not familiar with the boat would turn them off without realising that they will disable the bilge pumps and various other safety systems. I will install a couple of old batteries soon, too, just to be able to start checking the boat's wiring as that job proceeds.
5th February 2023 It was my father's birthday recently; he would have been 116. He has been dead for many years, of course. He was apprenticed as a carpenter, and coachbuilder, and I'm not sure what he would have thought of my attempts to build a boat - I hope he would have approved. I still have many of his tools and, indeed, still use some of them very regularly, which is oddly satisfying.

Anyway, on to more immediate matters! The making of frames for the fixed glass windows, around the boat, has continued apace. Like all things, as you approach the end of a job, you have usually gained enough experience to realise how you should (or shouldn't) have approached it in the first place. The best early decision was to abandon any ideas of welding the corners of the frames. It was much too hard to produce a "fair" result and unnecessary, as it turns out. Each frame is now made of eight separate pieces and directly screwed on to the timber around the frame to hold both itself, and the glass, in place.

The straight sides of the frames are simple, and are cut from 32x3mm, Mill Finish, flat aluminium bar. However, the corners, and one window that has an oddly curved top, were another matter altogether!

To complicate matters further, not only are very few of the windows' corners right angles, but they are almost all different from each other, as well. As a result, a separate timber pattern had to be made for each corner of each window. The shapes were then individually transferred onto 50x3mm flat aluminium bar and cut out with a bandsaw. All very tedious and time consuming, but the results are extremely pleasing.

The tinted glass is 5mm thick, whilst the windscreen, which is clear, of course, is 6mm. All the glass is toughened and bedded into 12x12mm "U" shaped EPDM synthetic rubber stripping. The aluminium frame pieces clamp down on the rubber strip and should, hopefully, be waterproof. A layer of silicone sealant has been applied as well, just in case!

As we all know, "Murphy's Law" is infallible! When planning the boat's windows, I had ordered the glass and bought what I calculated was sufficient EPDM rubber strip. Fairly predictably, I was two metres short. And I had what I thought were enough stainless steel 6G 16.5mm screws as well, but no, I had to order another packet of those too, just to finish the job. Grr.

After the windows were sealed and whilst still armed with a loaded silicone rubber dispenser, it seemed like a good time to seal the portholes in the front of the galley wall and also the nameboard on the bow. The small round leaded window in the passage, aft of the saloon, also received its share of the silicone to finally seal it into place. I can now install its round window frame, made so many moons ago.

Whilst installing the portholes above the forepeak, I decided that I could also install the lights in the hawseholes. They are actually fog lights from a Subaru and naturally produce a wide flat beam, which I think will be particularly useful during mooring manoeuvres. Since they are not LEDs, (yet), I left them switched on for several hours, not only to enjoy the illusion that the boat was coming to life, but to see how hot they became in their new role. Yep, they get hot! Not enough to soften the epoxy, so they will be fine, but worth checking!

Rhapsody has two helm positions. One is in the saloon and the other is on the upper deck. It is difficult to use a single control lever for both throttle and gearbox where multiple helm positions are in place. One solution is to have separate controls for the throttle and for the gearbox in each location. This approach simplifies things considerably, except that the two throttle cables and the two gearbox cables have to be connected together, i.e., if you move the throttle lever in the saloon, then the upper deck one has to move as well and the same for the gearbox control. The cables need to be able to operate in both "push" and "pull" mode.

The gearbox cables are joined via ball joints on a common drop arm at the gearbox itself. Pushing the saloon control toward "forward", not only moves the drop arm on the gearbox to engage forward gear but moves the upper deck lever to the "forward" position as well.

The throttle cables need to be similarly joined and a mechanism had to be designed to do that. It consists of a "T" shaped board, with an aluminium bar pivoted at the lower end. The cables enter, one from each side, at the top of the "T", and join via two ball joints, to the top of the aluminium bar. When one cable pulls, the other is pushed by the same amount, and vice versa.

An added complication for the throttle control is that whilst the nominal range of cable movement is 75mm, the control arm on the carburettor (TBI) can only move 30mm to progress from idle to full speed. The aluminium bar acts as a lever and mounting the TBI cable take-off point nearer to the lever's pivot, by a bit over 50%, reduces the 75mm travel at the helm control to the required 30mm at the engine.

Operating one of the throttle levers, therefore, moves the lever at the other helm position by a matching amount, just as the gearbox controls do. The unit that joins the throttle cable, and connects to the engine, has stainless steel pivots and nylon thrust guides, which will hopefully provide a long and robust life. Time will tell...

The galley benches have received two coats of Tung oil, thinned with 50% Limonene, spread over a number of days, to allow for the drying time. They have now received their final coat of neat Tung Oil and look terrific.

The new fuel injection system has to be linked to the engine, electronically, so that it can fire the injectors at the right time within each engine cycle. This is done by tapping into the connection between the existing mechanical distributor's points and the high voltage coil. (Or electronic ignition unit, in this case.) The points signal is electronically very "noisy" and has to be "massaged" significantly to make it usable by the Speeduino fuel injection system. An electronic unit had to be designed and built to achieve that "massaging" and it is described in detail in the EFI section of this web site for those who want to get into that level of "nitty-gritty".

Whilst fitting the windows into the back wall of the coach house, I noticed some masking tape that had been left on the roof marking its edge. I read somewhere that the better masking tapes can be left in place for up to fourteen days. This tape has been in place for a couple of years and now I know why they recommend early removal - it's a seriously laborious job with a sharp chisel and mallet. Grr...

26th February 2023 It was always planned to have a flat shelf above the TV which would be accessible from both the saloon and the galley. Being near the helm position, it would also be ideal for passing the odd cup/glass of refreshment to the helmsperson. (Choosing words with care, here!) With that function in mind, I'll refer to it as the "servery". It will have a USB connector nearby, so it will also serve as a charging table or a holder for a tablet computer displaying a river map.

Given that boats roll around whilst in motion, (or even whilst stationary), the servery has to have a ledge, or fiddle, around its edges, to stop things falling off. To match other shelving around the saloon, this has to be a pin-rail. The very tedious process of making a pin-rail has been described before, but it consists of a row of 50mm brass posts, inserted every 75mm, or so, around all the edges, with a strip of capping timber on top.

The servery was originally to be made of plywood, until I noticed that the piece of solid Beech leftover from cutting the hole for the sink in the galley bench top was just big enough to make the servery. 20mm of Meranti beading was then added to all four sides, with neatly mitred corners, to become the bottom part of the pin-rail, whilst a matching set of top rails was also made and then the whole thing put together, which, if you say it quickly, sounds easy. Not so! Fitting 26 lengths of individually cut and lacquered brass tube snugly into their matching holes is tricky. Made more so because each tube has spots of glue on both its top and bottom ends. Also, the top timber rail corners were being glued together at the same time, to become tidy looking mitre joints. The whole process reminded me why this feature might be, justifiably, called a "fiddle"!

The Meranti edging on the saloon, or aftmost, side of the servery also had to be extended out to Starboard, to form the bottom edge of the dashboard area. This piece will also carry the hinges that allow the dash panel to be opened, from the top, to access the wiring behind. That edging piece ultimately joins with the small dash panel, that carries the engine controls and the steering joystick, to make a neat finish right across all the various components.

Since the final size of the dashboard was then known, a suitable panel could be cut from 4mm ply and taken home to finalise the layout for the gauges and warning lights. This involves breaking out the 3D engraver again, but more of that later.

One component of the dashboard is purely decorative. It is a Holden badge from 1965, which is the year Rhapsody's engine was made and the year I started work! When the EH model Holden was first displayed that year, at the Adelaide Royal Show, the exhibition staff all wore Holden special Cloisonné (enamelled) lapel badges. These badges have become extremely collectable, and I was lucky enough to find one, brand new, still in its packet. (Not cheap, however!) I have encapsulated it in clear, UV cured, epoxy, in a spherical mould, for mounting on the dash with an LED backlight.

It's nice to have reached that point in the project where I can start to install components that provide the "finished look", rather than just the essential parts of the vessel. For example: there are a series of holes in the coach house walls, above the bedroom, that are intended to drain rainwater away from the sundeck. These now have polished stainless steel shell-like covers. They're not complicated, or particularly expensive, but are shiny and look terrific.

The re-claimed vintage portholes, on the front wall of the galley, have finally been sealed in place, on a bed of silicon, and look great. It wasn't until later that I realised that from inside the boat, they don't look so good. They badly needed a frame of some sort. So, out with a sheet of 4mm ply and the router, with my home-made circle cutting attachment, and voilà, two round frames ready for several coats of clear finish.

They say that "Too Much Work and Not Enough Play, Makes Jack a Dull Boy", so I've just spent much too much time making an elaborate bird feeder from scrap timber bits and pieces - good fun! We'll wait to see what the birds think of it - I'll let you know...

25th March 2023 I have been busy experimenting with the new fuel injection system and have decided to change the way the Engine Computer Unit (ECU) is linked electrically with the engine. I had proposed to use the points signal from within the distributor, but this has proven to be problematic for a variety of reasons which I have described, in more detail, in the separate Fuel Injection section of the site.

The new plan requires a toothed timing wheel to be fitted to the front of the crankshaft, which, in turn, means that the existing arrangement of the fan pulley, water pump and alternator all have to be changed too. Whilst having to modify the complete fan belt set-up in order to fit the toothed wheel is a nuisance, it is also an opportunity to review the whole arrangement.

The original Holden alternator had a maximum charge rate of only 35Amps, which is very low by modern standards, so it had been replaced by a non-standard 130Amp unit, complete with custom mounting brackets. More recent market developments have seen 100+Amp alternators made available, as upgrades, that fit the original Holden mountings. So, a new alternator has been ordered which will then enable the front of the engine to be returned to virtually standard condition, but with a more powerful alternator, which also easily accommodates the toothed timing wheel. All of this is a positive outcome for simplicity, reliability and future maintenance.

Also, whilst "ferreting around" in the engine space, I was reminded that I had only installed foam sound insulation in half of the area. Whitworths still offer the same product, despite it being 50% more expensive now, so I bought another sheet and have installed it under the secondary hatch and across the forward bulkhead.

I have had to drill some holes in that same bulkhead to accommodate the throttle and gearchange cables. They are Teleflex "knockoffs" from China (of course), but as they are so much cheaper than the local product, they are worth a try. For future reference, the throttle cable is 11ft long and the gearchange cable is 15ft. I will need a second set of cables for the upper sundeck helm station, of course, but won't know their lengths until that part of the boat is built and that has to wait until it comes out of the shed because of a lack of headroom.

Fitting the throttle cable required final fitting of the cable mating device, of course. That's the gadget that took such a lot of time to build and which is described in excruciating detail elsewhere. In any event, it all seems to work very well - which is nice! The gearbox cables don't need a "mating" device since I have already added two opposing cable mounting brackets to the gearbox, that perform the same function.

A major task completed last week was the installation of the final component of the rubbing strake. That is the length of 32mm polypropylene rope that sits in a specially made "U" shaped channel all around the hull. The channel was created by extending the width of the side decks by 50mm and adding corresponding timber strips below. The whole structure was then fibre glassed, filled and painted. Installing the rope was made easier with the aid of a jig to squeeze the rope into the slot and a large mallet! Three cartridges of SikaFlex 291 should hold it all in place. Managing a single 24m length of rope was also made much easier with the help of my friend, Jan. Thanks, mate!

The ends of the rope were cut and sealed with a hot knife and then fixed with right angle trim caps made from common PVC plumbing fittings. Since they stand a little proud of the rope itself, I imagine that they could well be a high casualty item, so, to simplify replacement, they have not been glued in place.

I've described making pin rails before, but this month has seen a start made on the biggest ones on the boat. They are in the galley and are on the shelves above the bench tops, around both sides of the hull. The shelves are, in fact, structural as well as useful, supporting the clinker joint between the sheer plank and the top hull plank, providing additional strength to the bow in case of a nudge or two.

The lower batten, on each side, is made of Meranti, thicknessed down to 19mm x 12mm. There is a significant bend required in each batten in order to properly follow the shape of the shelves and this was done using every "G" cramp available, avoiding the need for screws that would have remained visible.

The upper batten, that sits on top of all the small brass pins, obviously has to follow the same bend. However, without a solid structure to which it could be attached, it would simply straighten itself and pull out the pins. The solution is to pre-bend the batten. Accordingly, it has been clamped on the bench for a couple of weeks now, with a significant bend applied, whilst being occasionally dowsed with hot water. The success, or otherwise, of this approach is yet to be determined.

The shelves, at their forward most ends, are to be used to hold 10litre containers of spring water. A special fiddle was required to allow the taps on the containers to be operated without lifting the containers down from the shelves. These have been made and stained to match the Meranti and are ready to be installed.

The top cover for the aft ballast tank, in spite of having been made for some time, has not cooperated by fitting itself, so I have had to resort to the old way. There are several connections to be made through the lid into the tank inside and since these are exposed to water, the holes need to be epoxy lined. The connections are for "water in", "water out", a "full" float switch and a cable for the pump to empty the tank. These have now been cast in place and the lid painted, ready for installation.

The main fuel tank, under the saloon floor, has a filler, of course, but it also needs a breather pipe to the outside air. There are some legal constraints covering the design of fuel breathers and I have purchased a commercial unit. It was to be mounted on the outside of the hull, but, despite the rubbing rail, it would still be vulnerable to damage. So, it has been mounted inside the Portside black tank pump-out compartment, out of harm's way - hopefully!

There are a number of electronic modules to be built for the boat and these are being made at home as time, and enthusiasm, permit. The first, and perhaps the simplest, (always a good place to start), is the muffler temperature monitor. The boat's Vetus muffler is plastic which has a maximum working temperature of 70 degrees. An alarm should be given if this figure is exceeded. Accordingly, a kit of parts necessary to build a suitable temperature monitor was acquired from Jaycar Electronics which was then assembled into a waterproof box. It contains a relay that will be used to turn on a light on the dashboard and sound an alarm. It was calibrated to the required temperature using an oven thermometer, which may or may not be accurate!

Now, the most important thing that you've all been waiting for - a progress report on the bird feeder so glowingly described last month! Well, it was a dismal failure! The birds completely ignored it, but the local possum population certainly did not. They must have thought it was Christmas and given that they are nocturnal, had a very noisy party, jumping around on my roof, from about 2am all the way through until dawn. Grrr...

Still thinking about that one...