Very excited to be back in the United States after two weeks in Europe, but even more excited that I can get working on the boat again soon.
I was able to drop it off at the metal guy before I left. He took his sweet time with it, and despite promising he would have it done before I returned, it wasn't done. The good news is that it's minor button-up stuff.
There will be a new rear bench that spans the width of the beam. The front of the console will be skinned in AL now, as opposed to 3/4" plywood. I'm closing off the area under the bow cap, and putting a door and some vents in so I can stow my anchor when not in use.
On the advice of those wiser than me, I'm reinforcing the new solid douglas fir transom wood with a piece of AL both inside and out - just under the O/B. For good measure, I'm adding a small plate where my TM hangs, just to prevent putting depressions in the wood.
All that new AL needs to get painted before I rivet and screw it in. While that's happening, I get to fit all the accessories.
I've got LED strip lighting for under the rails. I've also got these really cool directional LED lights that each have an on/off switch on them. I figure I can use them at night to tie lines without turning on all the lights in the boat. New LED bow and stern lights too.
In the dash, I'm putting a new 6-gang switch/fuse panel, voltage meter (with a toggle for checking each battery), a 12 volt receptacle, and a USB receptacle. I'll also have a manual switch for the automatic bilge I'm installing.
I have to find space for the fuel/water separator too.
Last, the brand new battery switch goes in the back - it's one of the fancy Blue Sea Systems ones that's made to run a starting and bank battery system.
Look for updates soon!
