Plugging away

It doesn't take very long when cutting out the various margin pieces of a teak deck before you're knee deep in offcuts. Of course, some of the pieces are large enough to keep for later, but as the bits get ever smaller, sooner or later they finish up in the bin. Which is irritating. I can't stand throwing anything away.

It also became apparent that the 400 brass screws I'd bought to fix the deck pieces down with, were fast disappearing - into the deck. Each one requiring its hole counterboring and then plugging. Checking out the price of 3/8" diameter teak plugs, they are currently working out at 5 or 6 quid a hundred.

So the current regime is, having purchased a 3/8" Veritas plug cutter from The Axminster Tool Centre, an hour each evening is spent cutting plugs out of scrap teak and storing them in a tub. Its amazing how small a piece of teak you can get a plug out of if you're really tight like me. I can cut about 50 an hour, so it'll take a week or so and there's nothing on the telly at this time of year.

[Now Playing: "Layla (unplugged)" by Eric Clapton]

Teak Deck - end of week two

So with the foredeck margin boards in place, work moves to the blunt end of the boat.

The aft deck layout is quite busy, with cleats, davit bases and the stern ladder all to work around. (The original layout didn't have Davits, but did have quarter rails.)

This is the first time the stern ladder rails have been fitted to the hull since about 2005.

You can see from the cleats in the photo that there is a fair camber to the deck ( there's a bit of distortion from the 17mm lens ), therefore the davit bases will need to be wedged up so that the davits themselves will be upright. Across the diameter of the davit base there's a drop of 12mm - a couple of plywood wedges painted black might work...

Due to a slight miscalculation on the ordering front, I have run out of 90mm wide teak boards. So it's back to Howells and Son for a couple more.

[ Now Playing: Teak Forest Mist by the Thai Elephant Orchestra]

Can't put it off any longer

Finally, the weather has set fair enough to make a start on laying the teak deck. The materials are in stock and I think I know what I'm doing.

Unlike most decks, where the king-plank goes in last, the Fairey Huntsman's deck layout requires it to be fitted first. The most expensive bit of wood and you have to get it right first time. It is made up of two pieces of teak 120mm wide and 2 metres long. Specially cut by K.J. Howells and Son of Poole.

The first photo shows progress during day two. The two king-plank boards are screwed down, and the bow margin boards in position awaiting profiling to the bow shape. As I've nowhere to put the bow rail and it's required to hold up the tarpaulin frame, I'll be working round it.

The second photo is a closeup of the marking gauge needed to find the edge of the deck under a 9mm thick teak plank. It picks up the edge of the rubbing strake and marks the edge of the deck and also the 75mm margin board width. Due to the fact that a 40 year old rubbing strake is not the most reliable positioning agent, the marking gauge is adjustable. The most important aspect of the device is the plastic DALEK fitted to the top of the pencil. It stops the pencil from rolling off the deck every time you put it down. (For the record, I have a TARDIS on my other pencil).

The next job is the margin boards around the edge of the deck and various deck fittings so I hope this weather holds for a while longer.

[Now Playing: "Slow Down" by the Teak Project]

Slaving over a Galley Worktop

Something other than the windscreen and accessories for once: Progress has been made on the Galley. The photo shows the beginnings of the template for the worktop.

Because the boat lies bow down and leaning over to starboard, the only datum is the bottom face of the worktop, picking up the old support cleats on the bulkheads.

The template is made from some well travelled 4mm plywood which had been around the world and was part of the packing case for my lathe, so has been from Scandinavia to China and back to the UK.

Ripped into strips about 4 inches wide, a reasonably accurate template can be created which will be used to mark the bottom face of the 12mm plywood which will form the final worktop. The template will also hold the bevel markings to ensure a good fit against the angle of the hull

The hole on the left will house the sink, and the stove will be fitted into the gap to the right. There's still more work to do on the template - I still can't decide exactly where the stove needs to be. The 3D computer model says one thing and the Real World says something else.

With the template in place, it's also easier to work out where some of the framing will go.

[Now Playing: "Come on in my Kitchen" by Simply Red.]