G'day from Galleycat,
I know itz been a long thyme since the Blog haz been updated as many of you have made clear but I'll make no apologies as my focus haz been firmly fixed on finalising the upgrades and preparing the Yot for sea. I promise this tardiness on the Blog entries will change once we are ready for sea!
I've now been back aboard for 2 weex and the changes are many and really fantastic!
The yardz Xmas party haz come and gone with around 120 people attending this year and by all accounts it was a roaring success. Much alcohol and food was consumed.The work on Galleycat is continuing at a feverish pace in an effort to set sail sooner rather than later.
While I was out West, Kenny and Torsten were busy fitting the major support beam between the new rear pontoons. This massive piece of aluminium used 2B a mast in itz previous life, but now finds a new home as the support for my fishing platform and rear deck extensions as well as providing incredible strength to the new hulls.
The fishing platform has also been modified by our on board German Engineer "Torsten", this has now been fitted to the afore mentioned beam and is covered by itz layer of "Turf It" artificial grass.Several design modifications (wkoa) have been made and the rear deck is now enclosed while the new bash plate/cupboard floor is fibreglassed and ready to fit after the Xmas break.
The whole extension looks like it was there the entire thyme. We only have a few fibreglass jobs to complete then a quick coat of paint and the task will be complete.
This is not strictly true as we still need to refit the rudders before the Yot is ready to sail again, but this shouldn't prove a major hassle as they simply need to be re bolted to their original positions. If you look back through the blog to when the rudders were originally fitted you'll find the task is just a little complicated as the rudders actually "float" which means they will have to be weighed down then I'll don the dive gear to swim them under the Yot and feed them into the new rudder tubes we built into the extensions.
There is still lingering doubts regarding the extensions- will the outboards be too high?, will the yot perform better or worse?, will the dinghy lift system work? these are questions that will be answered shortly as we set out for our trial run but with the level of precautionz and the inherent strength we've built into our work at the very least I've got 2 new life boats.The new hatch covers are nearly complete with the underside guttering also nearing completion with just a few layers of glass and a huge sand up 2B done.
The Yot seems like an entirely different beast with each of the new improvementz coming online.
It is really nice to be able to start thinking of basic cosmetic improvements such as exterior wings to shape the old hull into the new, and as an added bonus for Xmas I've treated myself to a few meters of marine carpet for the interior, to replace the second hand old house carpet that stunk once it got wet.The Yot is barely recognisable when compared to wot we started with 3 years ago itz taller, longer and far more suited to coastal cruising than B4. Itz now thyme to put all the hard work into use and with the arrival of the new "powerdive" hookah unit I'll be able to explore below the surface as well as above.
Not only the Yot is getting special attention but the new dinghy is as well, with a coat of heavy duty epoxy paint being applied to the bottom of the hull to protect it from the effects of corrosion and weed growth.I've finished refitting all the electrics and gear to the dinghy and put it to good use over the last few dayz to catch a few mudcrabs for a special feed 2nite.
The rear deck kitchen has also had an upgrade with a new stainless steel bench top being fitted along with anutha drawer under the bench.
The original idea of moving the microwave outside had been shelved and replaced with a new space for the dish draining racks under the bench.I was kind of looking 4ward to have a vegetarian on board for the first stage of the trip to The Whitsundays but apparently Torsten is no longer vegetarian, but he is still German apparently!
One of the Engel fridges haz died while I was away leaving the Yot with minimal refrigeration capacity but this we plan to overcome with an extra icebox and blocks of ice.
The herb garden is looking fantastic with cucumbers, cherry tomato's and capsicum being added once I returned.
I have one dilemma that hasn't been solved and I fear it never will!"There is simply not enuf room for the fishing rods on the rod rack!"
With the addition of the four new rods brother Mark gave me plus an extra supplied by Big Ash I find myself with 11 working rods but storage room for 6.
"Big Problem" but if thatz my biggest, then life cannot be all that bad.
Life is slowly returning, through the difficult period of the last few months I doubted I would get to this stage.
There's still a way 2 go but I'm seeing a clear path emerging..
Itz now Sunday 29th and I have had to accept the simple fact that I'll not B leaving B4 New Year.
This did cause a temporary return to the Bluez but with Torsten firing up the music and Bourbon these Blues soon were forgotten!
We have Richard's Yacht on the main slip for antifoul and service while we paint his boat we're also going to paint Galleycatz new extensionz.
