Day 412

At every entry in the boat there must be a fire extinguisher according to boating regulations set out by the Canadian coast guard. This makes sense, but wasn't much of a priority. Now it has become one. The size ( surprisingly 10" across, 25" high ) of a 20 lb'er required near the engine room, is larger than I thought. Originally, it was to go inside of a little cupboard under the vertical lockers along the entry with a pull away lexan cover. This isn't going to work so the bracket will be just bolted on under the steps in an open space. It can be seen in position at the bottom of th picture. Luckily it just fits.

I next made the frame work above it and cut out the latch cubbies. These look better than I thought, and solved the big problem I created by telling Gena it was ok to mount the hydraulic take-up tank there.

White panel was laid on to raw plywood to match the scheme on the other side of the doorway.

The photo to the far right is of the engine heat recirculation vent. I made the grill from SS antenna whip snippings from work. This will allow for max air flow.

^^^Vent will circulate warm (hot ) air back into boat during cold weather.

<<< Latch cutouts look cool!

The ugly mess inside will be coved with a chunk of left-over panel.

You may remember the exhaust valve Gena put together on Day 398. It's finally time to hook something up to control it. A lawnmower throttle was found at Rona which will do the job nicely. Good thinking Gena! It's all metal so the heat won't affect it.
After some tinkering around with the little aluminum tower and the connection point, she managed to get it just right.

Good thing too as I was getting tired of "open it...close it...open it...ALL THE WAY!....Close it..."

I made a nice little label for it while waiting for my next order to open or close. Don't know why because I pretty much have it memorized ha ha. Anyway, the label promptly became covered with a blob of white silicone somehow, so I'll be doing it again....when I find the label maker.

I had been urged to make a box for the new battery Gena found in town yesterday, so thought I'd get that out of the way first.

She was impressed with it being square and all. You see, when doing woodwork on a boat, "square" is relative as I have mentioned before. I hardly use a square anymore. Almost never. Usually a piece of ply or wood will only have one square edge. The rest is wherever, whatever fits.

It took me a while to find a square to do the box. Once done, Gena coated it with Blue Stuff and set it out in the sun to dry. The photo to the right shows the box in place. The cables come out of the side and are impossible to photograph. A sling attached to a tie down ratchet holds the lid on.

Filling the hydraulic lines will be the next thing on the menu. We are both a little nervous about it. Gena mounted the electric pump that will be powered by the auto-pilot. It is a bit noisy with the cockpit plywood sides acting like a giant resonant kettle drum so she will be mounting it on rubber.

Battery box for engine in place

Hydraulic electric pump not too noisy....

For all of those who have been waiting for some larger images (probably because you have a mega-screen! ) as promised I have started a Giant photos page. This will slowly grow as I am on dialup still so it's a matter of how long it takes to upload them. It will open in a new window ;)

Blog: Here is a post I just added to the forum August 19th 2007

Sad News......for now

After taking an additional 3 weeks of holidays from work to try to finish up Dulcie-Darlene, we have come to realize that there's no way we will be finished her by September. We have decided to keep her here over the winter instead of hauling her out to the coast and leaving her there for the winter.
The decision didn't come lightly, but there are very many contributing factors:

-Neither of the mast riggers have even replied to us with an estimate on the mast yet. This is probably due to how busy everything is out there at this time. Records have been broken this summer.

-There still is no moorage available and the waiting list is so long that we may need to launch and go somewhere else like Prince Rupert.

-The surveyor never showed up last week so no insurance for dry storage at marina, or transport

-Our business still hasn't sold

-The temps are dropping to near 0ºC like it's October already. I predict a long winter with an early start this year.

-The rudder top bearing isn't ready yet

-We just haven't finished the rest of the interior, even though I myself worked on it 14 hours a day, min 12 hours, for the last 18 days. Working in a boat yard would be chaotic because of lack of big tools ( welder, cutters, table saw etc ) not to mention the cost of staying in a hotel at BCs premium rates.

I can say we have given it our all, but it wasn't enough ( I say this with a lump in my throat ) and there's nothing we could do about it.
On the bright side, we can take some time off on the weekends, and get things done properly, wait longer to sell the shop thus getting a better price, and spend some time with our families before we disembark.

The site is way behind ( as usual ha ha! ) but once brought up to date, updates will slow to a trickle. I will have time to post videos though. There are many that I'm sure everyone would love to see.
Also, the winter will allow me to start the DVD "The Big Sailboat Project", a formidable job to say the least.

The new long range launch date is early April 2008

See you all then!

S&G
CSV Dulcie-Darlene

Day 412:
14 hours: Built latch cutouts, vertical locker framing etc, mounted exhaust valve control, mounted hydraulic pump