Another step towards completion

Well 80% of another task was completed today and I must admit to being nervous throughout the job.

Can you see the difference?

Yes, all but one of the chrome mushroom vents has been fitted to the roof.  Darren and Nick described the method for fixing them which I followed this morning.  First an M5 tap was used to clean the paint from the threaded holes.  Then a bead of construction adhesive was applied around the underside of the base of the mushroom inside the line of the screw holes.  The vent was then positioned and aligned with the threaded holes.  Finally a bead of construction adhesive was applied to the tip of each stainless steel machine screw before the vent was secured to the roof.  Surplus adhesive was cleaned with white spirits.  Nick explained it was important to use construction adhesive rather than silicon as the silicon breaks down over time allowing water into the seal between the vent and the roof.

One vent wasn’t fitted as we didn’t have sufficient short machine screws.  It will be installed when the additional screws arrive.

Inside the boat the vent holes needed to be cut through the ceiling lining.  This was done with a 100mm diameter hole saw (a very blunt hole saw!) which took some time (nothing like looking up and getting your eyes and mouth full of sawdust!).  Andy had provided some spun chrome liners for the mushroom vent holes which are designed to conceal the ceiling cavity.

It’s not a very aesthetic view looking up into the hole from inside Waiouru.  Moreover we’re wondering whether we should be fitting some type of insect screen across the opening.  We’re having them on the Houdini hatches and think we should probably do the same with the mushroom vents.  However we’re not sure whether it’s necessary.  Do other narrowboats have their mushroom vents screened?

I was thinking of fitting one of these across each opening with some insect screen material as a backing behind the mesh.

More hand sanding of the cockpit in the afternoon.  It’s now almost done, apart from a few spots which require some epoxy filler.

Meanwhile Jan has been trolling through the internet looking for a foam mattress manufacturer capable of supplying us with the two piece mattress for the back cabin.  She thinks there may be a local supplier at Thatcham and is planning to visit their showroom in the coming week.  I plan to be going in the opposite direction tomorrow with yet another walk to Maplin in Reading.  We need another plastic mounting box to go in the engine compartment.  It will hold the fuses, line filter and surplus cable for the bow camera system.