The objective lately has been to finish painting the interior, forward of the engine, and prepare to “close up” the boat in the form of hatch, window, and companionway drop-board construction and installation. The pieces in the photo below are the shelf and drop-boards for the engine compartment, and these were constructed back in 2017 (review HERE and HERE). Here they are outside the boat for another coat of paint.

These boards have been in the basement for a few years, but they are the hull lining for the forward cabin (review HERE).

These are the storage fronts for the forward cabin.

Modifications to the companion-way ladder, to fit the new layout, were made almost three years ago (review HERE). Finally, with the painting more or less done, I was able to contemplate final installation. Here you can see the lower stairs (three steps) in place. Details on the hardware will come in a later post.

The upper step (one step) is secured laterally by two pieces of teak, one of which is pictured here. I settled on the sizes of these pieces by considering the size of the original hardware, but the new hardware is wider, so…

…off they come.

Checking the position…

Here are the new pieces, in which the top step sits.

Of course, now there is repainting.

Meanwhile, a few feet aft, it’s time to prime the cockpit.

I hope to get all this painted before it becomes too cold to paint.

Up in the forward cabin, the storage fronts and hull liner strips are in place.

Whether or not there will be doors to these six giant storage compartments, and whether or not they will be further subdivided, will come after launch. My current thinking is that the forward two on each side would be great for sleeping bags, blankets, pillows, and duffel bags.

In my last post I mentioned the need for custom hatch hinges.

16 L-shaped pieces and the three rods, all 316SS. More on that in the next post.

Five sheets of marine plywood from Boulter plywood will allow me to begin storage fronts and seat backs in the main cabin, as well as other odds and ends, big and small.

Finally, the last coat of varnish on the house. At this point all exterior varnishing is done until either (1) I apply a “spruce up” coat in the Spring before launch or (2) I begin the endless cycle of maintenance coats (2/year on all exterior brightwork).