The wonderfull world of ideas and new parts.

So... I've got a week before I can make it down to do any more hands on work on Pylasteki.

I've been working hot and heavy on a new interior layout. While I'm not a giant, the length of the berth allows my head... and feet, to be in contact with wood grain laminate. Its not that I hate wood grain laminate, though it is a bit faded, the ability to stretch and lounge to the fullest is what will make Pylasteki a floating home.

I've decided that the ice box will give way to the port side berth. I'll build a new ice box on the forward end, similar to the layout Dan Spurr suggests in "Spurr's Guide to Upgrading Your Cruising Sailboat." On the aft facing side of the icebox, a small countertop will extend over the berth with a canvas pouch for navigation tools and to the center a chart table will hinge. With any luck a somewhat usable table will come forth, without requiring the door to remain. (My shoulders wedge between the door jams, the trim is incredibly wide at almost two inches! I've removed the forward trim, and can now navigate through without leaping with my arms stretched out in front of me.....)

The galley countertop will be extended, full width across the boat giving a cubby for a sleeping bag... I haven’t figured out why so few boats are designed without a locker for bedding! A duplicate shelf will mirror the galley cupboard for symmetry. Currently the radio, and electrical panels are in the galley cupboard... My momma always told me not to play with plumbing and electricity at the same time... so the electrons will flow from the other side of the boat.

New Parts:

A new water tank will go under the cockpit sole and the area where the area where the engine once sat will be converted to stores. I’m trying to decide whether or not to glass in the deck plate in the cockpit sole. I'm following the K.I.S.S. principle, that the fewer holes there are, the less deck leaks I can have! The prop shaft is coming out, along with the the infernal stuffing box... maybe the threaded scar on my arm will go away with time... I am going to glass the propeller aperture and fair it into the hull, in hopes of some drag reduction. My outboard can be hoisted clear of the water, and that alone is worth a few tenths of a knot! Pylasteki is a sail boat!

If I can build an easily worked water tight deck hatch for a locker in the cockpit sole, I will. With cushions in the cockpit, reefing a sail or dropping sail before docking… it is difficult to manage. Dock lines and sail gaskets need a home that can be reached without turning your back to the tiller. The lazarette access will be glassed over, and a water tight hatch will go on the aft deck.

Going back down the hatch, I’ve got a hankering to place a bulkhead compass above the new icebox so it can be seen from the port berth, or observed by the galley slave. (I am the galley slave, though I am accepting resumes.)