Drop Board Retainers | Installation

With the companionway slide complete and ready for installation, it was time to fit the drop board retainers.

First I test fitted the retainers to make sure everything was the right way round and fitted properly.

Here they are, temporarily  fastened in place.

I also test fitted the slide and the drop boards, for the same reasons. Here they are.

All was well and looking very nice indeed!

I decided to apply the sealant to the cabin wall, and taped to prevent too much mess from squeeze out.

Here is the port side, ready to go.

Plenty of sealant was applied and both retainers were soon in place. Looking like this.

I'm pleased with how they turned out.

Excess sealant was removed from the inner slot with thin wooden spatulas fashioned from ice cream scoops. This is them.

They worked really well, with plenty of methylated spirits to wipe off the remainder.

Another task ticked off the list...

Companionway Slide | Fitting Out

Like the mainsheet block, I had not taken the time to fit out the companionway slide because there was no actual hurry, but with time on my hands I decided to do so.

First to be fitted were the slide runners, fastened in place with bronze wood screws and using plenty of sealant.

Here they are, with the slide upside down for access.

I described in a previous post how I cleaned up the edges of the slide runners, including rounding over the forward corners. Like this.

And here is the slide right way up with runners in place.

Next came the hasp for securing the drop boards. Here it is installed on the rear face of the slide.

This is it, in close up.

The hasp connects to a staple on the upper drop board, so that was fitted next. This is it.

And again in close up.

The final item for installation was the rubber bumper which I originally fitted to stop the forward face of the slide from banging up against the front of the companionway hood.

This is it.

So, that's it! The slide awaits installation and is back inside the house, for safekeeping.

Mainsheet Block | Installation

The mainsheet ratchet block had been ready to fit for some time, but I didn't get around to doing it because it wasn't on the critical path for anything.

So, in between other tasks I eventually decided to fit the block.

You might recall that the block has to be fitted to a separate pad on the cockpit deck, which spans the centreboard case. This is because the base of the block itself is very narrow and would require fastening from inside the case, which is obviously not possible.

So here is a view of the underside of the support pad, with the foot of the block fastened in place in its recess.

I have used butyl tape to seal the block fastenings inside the recess, to prevent water ingress.

Next the pad was secured in place on the deck. Here it is with plenty of sealant to bed it down, and using a metal rule to hold the machine screw heads in place.

The rule is held in position with lumps of Blue Tack while the Nyloc nuts are tightened from below deck.

That was quite straightforward. Here is the block, finally installed.

Another tick off the To Do list!

Acrylic Drop Board Edges | Polishing

Like the previous post this activity is more about finishing than material progress, but it is still important...and it's fun!

The acrylic drop boards which I made a long time ago have the same flaw as the slide runners - their edges show saw marks from when they were cut out. Which are unsightly.

So I determined to polish them up.

First I tested the process on the acrylic portholes which were supplied with the kit, but unused due to being replaced with Vetus portlights.

Here is the test.

That went well so I then tackled the drop boards.

First I edge sanded them with the machine sander P180/220/280/320/400. Like this.

That produced a good edge, which I then wet sanded with a P400 grit to get a nice, smooth, flat, matt edge.

Success. That will do nicely for final fitting.

Companionway Slide Runner Edges | Polishing

I can tell we are approaching the final stages of the build when I start to write posts about things which are really finishing activities - maybe even snagging.

Cleaning up the runners for the companionway slide is one such activity. I wanted to do this before refitting them to the slide, which is imminent.

The runners are made from a hard and slippery material called Star Board - honestly - and they work just fine but their outer edges show blade marks from when they were cut. Which I dislike.

So I set about removing the marks with the sander, using successive P180/220/280/320 and 400 grits.

Like this.

Then I wet sanded the edges with a P400 grit until they were a smooth, matt finish.

Like this.

They turned out really nice so I set them aside to await installation.

Drop Board Retainers | Touching Up the Back Plate

I had been aware for a long time that the flange inside the companionway that supports the inner faces of the drop boards would require finishing.

The build manual does indeed call this piece a flange, which of course it is, but I have been calling it the drop board back plate, so that's what it is for the purpose of this blog.

It had been primed when the upper hull was painted, but never glossed.

So I wet sanded it with a P400 grit and applied three coats of white gloss, wet sanding P400 between coats.

I thought three coats would be plenty, given that it is always under cover.

Here it is after the final coat.

And here is a close up of a corner.

It turned out really nice. we're getting there!

Tabernacle Hardware Fittings | Installation

With installation of the upper hull hardware fittings more or less complete, I turned to the tabernacle.

The first task was to remove excess paint which had filled every screw and bolt hole during the repaint.

Here I am scraping the paint out of the countersink recesses for the 8mm bolts which secure the tabernacle to the front cabin wall.

Chisels were the answer here.

Smaller screw holes needed to be drilled out. I used a hand drill, like this.

The first things I fitted were the port halyard block padeyes. The padeyes have a very small footprint so I used butyl tape to make small gaskets to seal the screw eyes.

Here are the port padeyes, with the butyl tape being trimmed around screw eyes with a sharpened wooden spatula.

This is the tape itself.

And here are the finished port padeyes.

They look good.

Next was the jib halyard cleat.

This was not so easy, because the screw holes were completely concealed by paint.

I tried pricking them out where I thought they would be, without success.

In the end I had to sand the area to find them, leaving a scar. Like this.

I drilled out the screw holes and primed the scar, followed by three coats of white gloss wet sanded with a P400 grit between coats.

Here it is, taped for primer.

And here it is after three coats of gloss, with the final coat feather edged.

I can see the touching up, but the casual observer won't know it's there!

Then came the cleat itself. Here it is.

Looking good!

The boom gooseneck fitting was the last piece to be installed. This is it.

That's the tabernacle finished and ready to be fitted, as and when required.

Now, what's next... ?