Why no hole?

There is a second Wilson-Tyler boat beside Waiouru and I happened to notice neither of them have a hole in the top of the rudder.

Yet all the other boats in the yard or moored against the wharf do have a hole.

My assumption is the hole is there so a rope can be attached to the rudder.  Probably to ensure it’s not accidentally lost when completing maintenance on the rudder whilst the boat is in the water???

Now for the top of the boat.  A couple of photos of the mushroom vent hole which has been sanded back after the second application of filler.  This is the vent that is located directly above the partition between the bedroom and bathroom.  Immediately in front of it is the solar panel terminal with the two 6mm cables I installed earlier in the week.

  Did you see the “oops” jigsaw cut?

A fault we would probably never have known about as it would have been covered by both the paint and the mushroom vent.

I must have glued dozens of oak plugs yesterday and am quite pleased I’ve decided not to be the volunteer to cut off the excess.

The plugs in the above photo will actually be covered by the slate cladding around the diesel fire.  But the screws get covered anyway!

The “his & Her” drawer opening under the front of the bed.  Meanwhile, Richard and James have made a start on the bed footlocker.  The first cut of the side panels has been completed and they have gone back to the workshop for the cutting of the second cut scribing and fitting of the corner quarter round moulding.  All that is left to see are the chocks and markings on the floor.

The locker will also be divided into “His & Hers” and will have a lid with two gas struts to support it.

Tomorrow’s plan is for Jan and me to lightly sand the bare timber before rubbing it down to remove and dust followed by one coat of varnish.  The idea is to provide some protection to the timber whilst work continues.