Then There Were Two
Above the upper hull panels are screwed onto the lower hull panels on the starboard (right) hull. The hull panels are first screwed together to assure proper alignment. Small plywood squares under each screw head prevent the screw heads from leaving large indents in the hull panels The day to follow, my faithful helper and I will remove the upper panels and reinstall them with epoxy to bring both hulls up to a similar level of construction. I found it exciting to have both hulls completed to this level.
At long last the massive epoxy stern fillets are completed and sanded in both hulls. 1 1/4" thick plywood forms the skeg's upper end and is embedded in the fillets. Fiberglass will be applied over these fillets and then more sanding is in store.
Above the hull has been rotated on its' side facilitating sanding operations on seven fiberglassed fillets in the two aft most compartments. Fiberglass is initially applied with straight epoxy and as the first coat starts to set up, a second coat is applied to fill the weave. I add fairing (smoothing) compound to the second coat to ease the sanding following (I'm not sure if this is a recommended practice). The aft most compartment is a flotation chamber that will rarely be viewed and I let slide the difficult to remove epoxy runs on the previously painted surfaces. Two days were required to sand the seven fillets and two more sanding days are ahead on the second hull. With this work completed, exciting progress on this area will come with the next episode.
Creature Comforts
Two years and four air beds later it is past time to invest in an actual bed. This tall bed features eight drawers in the base and two in the headboard. I like the fact that it has a modern edge to it rather than the frilly style most often found in Belize. I don't know about the lime green sheets, but sheets are hard to come by and sometimes you can be happy to come home with anything at all. I purchased the bed just before I had hernia surgery. I returned from the hospital to learn it was much too painful to climb up into my new bed for a couple of weeks. My mind has time to ponder a tall bed's possibilities in a bedroom recreational setting.
Future guests will also be treated to a tall queen sized bed. This bed features only four drawers in the base so no one stays too long. The sheets for this bed came with an ordinarily useless blanket, but the house breaking for my "pet" geckos is not going well and a sheet shield is necessary.
Above is the new guest bathroom complete with light reading materials. It actually is a composting toilet purchased for the boat.
Above are the inner workings of the composting toilet. Basically the liquids are funneled into the orange colored hole. The orange part is a float that rises as the container below fills. The full container is lifted out and the attached white pipe swivels to form a spout for emptying the container. The solids drop into a bucket filled with sawdust or other material that will dry the droppings. A crank is inserted into the lid hole to engage the bucket agitator. Ten turns on the crank and composting is underway. No plumbing, wiring or odors are associated with this arrangement.
I think most people have walked into a living room and found one television set in use on top of a broken set. I have a different version of that as I have not been able to contact my gas guy for a refill so the stove and hot water services are not available for the present. I've had breakfast at the resort across the street at US prices for a few mornings. The poor guy needs some business as I've been the only customer. This proved to be an opportunity to try out the boat's alcohol stove to great success.
