There Is Bad News And Good News

This past week was rough for a couple of reasons. Monday was a holiday and on Wednesday the Seattle public schools pulled another one of their patented "Its a random Wednesday so only a half day of school today" tricks.  I've ranted about the school district before so I will try to limit myself to random mocking comments from now on.

I always like to get the bad news first. That way you can process how miserable things have become and then be relatively happy when you hear good news.  The bad news is that while I've ordered all the bits and pieces of hardware needed, it's going to be awhile before it arrives. The good news is that I have plenty of work to do besides. I can separate these into two categories, electrical, and carpentry (still). On the subject of electrical, I now appreciate the amazing technology known as a wire nut. For home wiring it is simple, fast, universal and can joint quite a few wires at once.  No such technology exists for boat wiring.  I'm not sure why not, probably has to do with salt, water, and tinned wires. With that said I think I'm finally zeroing in on a decent plan. When I say plan, take that to mean that I know what to buy, which only sounds simple. For the carpentry part there is no shortage of work there either. I need to put a sole (floor) in the center two sections of the boat (between bulkheads 3 and 5). Also some sort of step is needed for getting in and out of the ama. Then there is the boat related stuff like the antivortex panels and backers, and the trampoline rails.

I did manage to do some stuff that wasn't just planning. Below are a couple of pics of the rudder gudgeon T-nut installation. This one shows my liberal application of filled epoxy.

As expected I did get a bit of epoxy on the threads, but it was quick work to chase those out with a tap.

Also spent a bit of time cleaning the inside of the ama of all the wood cuttings, and sawdust that had fallen in there. This is made much easier when you have a 7 year old that fits in some of the tighter spaces.

In a fit of just wanting to get something done I installed some netting in the bulkhead 2 opening. This is because the positive flotation devices (empty milk jugs) are to go in this section (between bulkhead 2 and 3). I put up the net to keep them from rolling around in there. Once the deck is on this will be a tough place to get to, even with the access hatch.