A lot happened in November-December and all progress was duly photographed. I just failed to upload the photographs on to the blog… So here goes.. 

 
The margin planks on the foredeck were a bit wobbly (a whole other story) so these were rebedded and reattached. They had originally been fitted with a square edge and without the overhang that is meant to ensure the water runs off over the side of the boat. This was fixed through attaching a bullnose trim which provided the overhang and neatened it all up.  

It is rounded off beautifully at the very bow bit (am sure there is a technical name for this bit).

  
Next the temporary door on the hatch. This has been ingeniously mcgivered into place to avoid drilling into the frame.  

Finally all the fiddly bits have been taken care of. The nosing at the edge of the top deck, and all the framing round the hatch. The rule of thumb here being to create the edgings so that any water runs away off the deck rather than pooling around joins.

 
  
   
  
Next all the hatches now have edges. The upstand up bit is also to prevent any water running into the boat and to make it easier to attach any eventual covers. This was probably one of the more challenging bits of logistical carpentry for Ian. The teak is all bought in running lengths which means you don’t get any control over the different sizes and then have to patchwork together the different lengths to make sure you have enough long bits for the long bits – particularly the large hatch surrounds – and not too many unusable short bits left over all while remembering what you’ve got, what you’ve used and what you’ve still got to do. I’m just glad I didn’t have to keep tabs on it!

 Talking of the hatches, led and Ian came up with a temporary solution to cover them until the exact configuration of glass cover is settled upon. 

Like many temporary solutions, this one is actually pretty darn sturdy and should last a fair while. Ply and wood frames were created and some dust sheets stretched over them. The whole lot was then painted with some brand of primer from Hempel that had been accidentally purchased. They are now water tight and also pretty darn tough. They sit over the hatches and are battened down from the inside, keeping the water out and with no flapping edges to catch the wind and start rubbing against things – the constant problem with the lofty tarps.

The final detail was around the sides where a few extra pieces of iroko neatened up the transition from wood to metal.