Water Heater

The original setup had a small water heater below the galley sink which had an open flame and required repair and renovation to make safe. This I felt was unwise. The primary use of this boat will be in the South West with plenty of sunshine so I thought a small solar system would be adequate for the occasional warm shower after spending time playing with the cold water of the Colorado River.

Thus setup a time consuming saga. The first part was quite easy with the addition to the first fit of the plumbing of a cold feed to the roof and a return line to the hot taps and shower. But then began a frustrating time.

The solar collector needed to be light strong and simple. The first concept was to get a large plastic tube to act as a reservoir and heat collector and to mount this to the outside of the roof rails.  However this led to a series of frustrating failures when the system was pressurised Either the tubes failed at the end joins or the the pipe connections or on one occasion the pipe itself failed. Sometimes the failure was immediate or other times the system got to pressure and the pump stopped for a slow small leak to develop that increased to a torrent again.

This led in the end to the mark 4 version where I abandoned the large pipe resevoir collector and created a spiral of tube which was then painted black. This version worked first time. If only I had known, so much frustration could have been avoided

Next the Solar collectors

Second Fix in the Cabin

Once the foundation ie floor and services were reestablished progress could sometimes be rapid when other priorities didnot take over such as re landscaping the back yard and worse still work!!!!!!!!!!!

The basic layout has remained the same, with from the back to front. The Head on the left, and Galley to the right. The fridge has been replaced by an all electric 12v model taking its power from the solar panels and backup batteries. (more of that later).

The dinette on the left has been replaced with a sofa bed designed for a toy hauler so it will also lift right up leaving access to the storage area underneath.

The galley also includes a 12v Microwave mounted above the utilities area.

The counter top now includes a full size sink from IKEA and a two ring propane cooker with extractor hood above.The rear two section the front edge now includes a small storage area and a deeper shelve in the utility area.

The front seating  now consists of two IKEA office chairs and West Marine adjustable height pedestals. These seats were cheap and fitted the style we are hoping to achieve. Most of the marine seats were for open cabin situations and did not have the desired look. Additionally now the two original chair bases have been turned into movable and height adjustable coffee tables for the house.

To the sides of both seats have been created shelves and panels to cover hull and utilize the space.

With both front seats swiveled they face the end of the sofa bed and a bench seat at the end of the galley. A removable table is to be added forming a 4 seat dining area. Additionally the left hand seat has been placed a little nearer the bow, This lets Fei put her legs up on the bench-step when facing forward.

A frame is going to be made so that when the left seat is lifted off the pedestal the frame can easily slide on and form a single bunk across to the seating bench on the right hand side

On wards and Up

 The refilling of the lower hull continued along with building of the new crossbeams

After the beams the floor was laid. The only variation I made was to drop an area next to the galley. I'm 6'3" and the cross beam for the roof would catch me so lowering the floor will hopefully stop many future headaches.

Once the floor was finished the galley rebuild was started and the shower cubicle was re positioned. and the door reinstalled. The door was lifted 2" to make the cabin more secure from water, and also reduce the chances of head injuries :-) 

The rear engine cover was removed and a new seating area built to make the area usable as a secondary bunk