Wheelhouse day 6

A few shots showing the detail that is going into the woodwork. Today they have framed up for the ladder up to the roof, setup for the trim of the front window and prepped for the side panelling.

Wheelhouse week one.

I missed a few days of photgraphs this week as we had a family drama going on. My older stepson had a motorbike accident so I was tied up between hospital, work and looking after the other kids. I got back to the boat today after lunch and the progress is great.

I am stoked with the height and length of the new wheelhouse roof. It is going to turn out great now I am sure. Photos say it better than words so have a look, if you click on the picture you get a bigger view.

Wheelhouse

Since the foredeck went so smoothly and the carpenter offered me a good price to carry on and do the wheelhouse I decided to go for it. So today they started ripping into it. We will raise the roof to the tops of the exisiting posts and extend it to the rear most posts. New sides, new sliding doors, windows and furniture inside. They estimate three weeks.

Foredeck

The glass covering is done, the hatches are mounted and it is painted with high build primer. Time

to move onto the wheelhouse. Will topcoat it all at the same time when everything else is finished.

Painting and glassing

With the carpentry finished on the foredeck things have slowed down a little. heavy rain for the first few days of this week did not help either. But Kao and Geng have been plugging away at the boat and I have spent as much time on board as I can.

Saturday afternoon I got into the fibreglass covering of the new deck. First I had to seal the very bow part of the deck which is still traditional planks with big gaps between them. Gaps were filled with epoxy glue and then fibreglass cloth laid over the planks with epoxy resin. All the new work is getting a single layer of 200 gram biaxial cloth (suplied by Kevin of Solidair) and the bow section has that plus a heavy layer to give it good abrasion resistance when anchoring etc. I had a really sore back by the end of the day from all the bedning over sanding, cutting the cloth and applying the resin.

Yesterday the weather got better so I did the second half in the afternoon. With a few lessons learnt from Saturday it was easier this time and Kao helped out which made it go that much quicker.

Now the deck is epoxy sheathed and has one coat of high build primer. Inside the boys have been painting the engine room bulkhead and the underside of the new deck - beams will be varnished and the rest painted white with Jotun enamel.

Kao has also been busy mounting gear and lube oil coolers, oil change pump, steering ram and alternator bracket. I took the exhaust elbow back to the shop and have extended it into a riser to reduce the chance of water finding it's way into the engine. Tomorrow we will insulate it and then it can go back on with some new salt water piping.

Next week the carpenters start on the wheelhouse which is going to get similar treatment to the foredeck. Looks like another month yet.........

Day nine

Here we have a finished look to the foredeck. The hatches are just sitting in place to see what they will look like. First I need to cover the deck in fibreglass, then paint it, then install the hatches properly.

Looking down from the wheelhouse into the cabin. This way if driving the boat at night and the kids are sleeping downstairs I'll be able to stick my head down and check on them easily.

Internal work will come after the external work is finished so there is still a lot to be done......step by step.

The additions don't seem to have messed with the appearance of the boat too much. From a distance it should still look like a traditional trawler but then when seen up close it will be apparent that it has a new purpose in life.

Here you can see the curved cover over the companionway down into the cabin. The curved part is made up of two sheets of 6mm ply laminated together - any thicker and it would break rather than bend.

At last it starts to feel like a belowdecks cabin rather than a cargo hold. Companionway stairs and access from the wheelhouse!

Day Seven

The deck is moving along well now, most of it is glued and screwed down the companionway access and cover will be next. Then comes sealing, fibreglassing and painting!

Engine room bulkhead

Here is the start of a big change to the boat - the addition of a bulkhead.  This is to create an engine room separated from the rest of the boat.  Up till now the boat has been completely open inside from bow to stern with no attempt to enclose the engine space or contain noise and heat.  

As there will be sleeping accomodation in front of this bulkhead there will be insulation added later on the engine side.  

Day 3

Looking aft from the bow.  The height of the new deck is clear and the cutout in the front of the wheelhouse is visible for the companionway down to the cabin.

Day three of foredeck project

Today the carpenters got all the new deck beams located in place and cut to length.  They still have more bracing to do on the sides and have longitudinals to add.  

Currently Nateetong is berthed in the water (she is  only floating at high tide) in front of Pro Carpentering's Kuku workshop near Phuket Town.  Mike Hjorts team have undertaken the task to build the new raised foredeck and the access way to the cabin space below.  

This is day two and they are making fast progress.  Here they are fitting the crossbeams that will support the plywood deck.