More Destruction

I'm continuing on with the removal of stuff that's no longer needed including the gussets that support the deck beams.  I might have left them in but, I think I will need to relocate one to the beam that ends up in the head. It will be much simpler to relocate one rather than trying to create a new one that will match.  I'll support the beam with the new beam that will be installed to support the new seats (lazerette).

Notice how cleanly the fiberglas tape came away from the hull. This has been a theme on Blackheart as everything I have removed has come off with a bit of prying. Saved a lot of sanding time.  I believe the tape was applied over top of the hull glass without de-waxing or sanding.  Not very structurally sound!

 The lower half of the cockpit walls are in bad condition, not much more than paint holding sawdust in place!  The damage is due to the water infiltrating at the openings for locker doors and around the gauge cluster. Rather than re-installing the mahogany locker door, I'm going to relocate the gauge cluster in that location and install a smaller water tight door next to it.

Quarter Berth Destruction

I took the plunge and have torn apart the quarter berth and the ice box in preparation for relocating the head and installing a D.C. fridge.  Total time was about 10 hours over 2 days.

Original Quarter Berth 

If you look at my previous post you will see a section showing what I have planned for the cockpit seating.

QB Stripped Out

Chart Table / Ice Box

  The chart table is 42" wide which just about takes a full size chart.  Since the laptop with charting program is my primary source, I feel I can take 12" out of the width to give more space to the head.  At 30" wide, the new chart table will allow a paper chart to be folded in half as back up to the laptop.

Ice box destruction

 I originally thought I could cut the aft end of the ice box off and make it shorter to allow enough room for the head.  It turns out that idea would have been a huge amount of work.  I'm glad I decided on the DC fridge.

Fuel Line & wiring

I've been chasing diesel smells since I purchased Blackheart and have addressed a few issues with the fuel tank venting and sealing the filler plate to the tank.  I would never have guessed that the original fuel line was routed through the insulation of the ice box.  The hose had deteriorated and leaked into the insulation where it's been sitting for who knows how many years.  I hope cleaning this up will reduce the diesel smell!!!

Ice Box Removed

 The new fridge will butt up to this partition with a 30" chart table above.  The head will then fit between the fridge and the back of the cabin.

Novakool RFS 7501 Freezer / Fridge

This is the Novakool (http://www.novakool.com/index.htm) DC refrigerator I will be installing.  It is a side-by-side unit and is 7.5 cubic feet.  This should be adequate for a week on the water.

A new year and a new plan

Sanding is almost completed in the V-berth and the saloon so painting can be done when the weather is  a bit warmer.  Really not much to show in the way of pictures.

I've re-worked the design for the the head and the cockpit seats half a dozen times, and I think I'm finally satisfied.  The plan is to remove the existing chart table (with cooler below) entirely along with the quarter berth.  The head will begin at the aft end of the cabin and run forward and take up about 1' of the chart table area, leaving about 30" for a 12volt refrigerator/freezer with a flat top counter above in place of the large chart table.  This will give me enough room in the head for a stand up shower and since we have the chart plotter along with the laptop and digital charts, the paper charts can be folded in half and still fit on the counter.  Also, the chart books we have for the Gulf Islands and Desolation Sound will fit nicely within the 30" counter space.
With such a narrow cabin, it's difficult to make anything work really well, but I'm sure this will be a huge improvement over the current head.

Once the head has been relocated, I'll just extend the galley counter aft to the back of the cabin.  This will give us an additional 20" of working counter space for food prep; right now there is only the 13" above the drawers that's really inadequate.

Section of port side cockpit seat

Plan of head and galley layout

Plan of cockpit