The real work begins

Right, the boat is home and we have about 5 weeks to complete some key refurbishment jobs before exams are over and the family can start to relax. The first task was to commission a stainless steel man to fabricate a boarding ladder and to raise the height of the aft guard rail. The former is vital, her sides are high and access from a dinghy let alone from the sea after swimming needs a long and strong ladder. The work on the rails is a matter of safety. As they stand at the moment they are just at knee height so that if thrown against them by a sudden movement of the boat, instead of keeping you on board they are liable to do the opposite and actually have the effect of tripping you up.

It is an odd design feature bearing in mind ours is Hull 518 and a lot were built in the same way after ours. I have no reason to suppose that the Finns are particularly small in stature (Nauticats are Finnish boats)and have heard of no reported incidents arising from this design feature! However the surveyor drew attention to it quite rightly and the insurers have asked for it to be altered. We are going to add 6 inches in height and then lead a cable at half height to go some way to filling what is then a big gap. We will also add a rail to take the liferaft cradle. Fortunately I came across some lovely examples of Keith's work on a Nelson 34 that used to be based at Ridge Wharf. Having met Keith on board a couple of times we have agreed on an excellent design for the ladder which means it can be used for either side gangway

and stored over the stern. We are talking about adding a bowsprit but that might have to await time and money. We have also booked a carpenter to start work inboard. Dave did most of the work on MonArk taking her from workboat to comfortable cruiser. Most of the jobs on the new boat are simpler because they are discrete. He should be able to start and finish each job before moving on to the next and most are carpentry rather than plumbing or electrical engineering.

Sorry about the grotty photo, the cameraphone must have too many fingerprints on the lens. This is part of the wheelhouse and comprises a rather unpleasant thin spongy material stuck to plywood and framed in teak. The first job is to strip out the old spongy headlining, lay some extra cables, insulate, put back a new ply layer that will be grooved and painted and finish again with new teak. The second job is to turn this seat into an "L" shape and in so doing create a single bunk that will run down the side of the wheelhouse.

The bunk part will be interchangeable with a step in the space immediately beneath the wheelhouse door. More modern 33's do this as a matter of standard design - not always with detailing to our taste but we like the principle.

Our task is more complicated because the old engine hatches are wider and are underneath where the bunk will be but we have a solution with the bunk hinging upwards. If time allows we will move on to the galley and aft heads - watch this space!