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The story continued......

Forecabin

The forepeak was to be two 7ft 3ins bunks alongside the
hull, which could be converted,if needed, to a big double by
dropping the table . This would then  open straight into the
galley, with two steps up into the saloon area. I’m no spring
chicken , and if  I was ever going to use the bunks I didn’t
fancy  rolling over onto a cold damp hull during the night.  
Insulation became the next watchword, both against  the
cold, and against the sound of  the sea on the hull.  The
bunks were made in situ - a decision  which  may come
back to haunt me, because they are fully built in with no way of removing them.

Insulation

Insulation is an area for each person to make up their own mind, but for us comfort won
over any issues about  weight.. We applied one inch of foam insulation and then two sheets
of  6mm ply bent into shape and held in place with assorted bits of wood whilst the glue
set.  The whole assembly of props and supports took on the look of a drunken spider’s web,
but it worked!

Heart of oak

Around this time a friend offered us a gift of some ‘off-cuts’ of oak which were cluttering
up his barn.   I don’t know what the expression on my  face was like when we went to
collect it!  The whole barn  was full of lengths of oak between 3 and 8 inches wide and
up to 12 feet long.  Chris very generously bade us help ourselves as otherwise he must
burn it on a bonfire later in the month.  Sincere thanks go to Chris for the beautiful wood.

As you will see from other photo’s,
Searolf now boasts oak parquet
flooring and we also decided to fit
her out  with oak Tudor-style
panelling. This had a down-side -
the increased wear on equipment
and the increased time factor that
results from working with oak.
But when you come to putting the
first coat of varnish  on the oak,  
you watch the wood come to life
and breathe before your very eyes
I think it’s one of life’s simplest and
most rewarding  pleasures to see the
grain start to show its intricate swirls,
and the patterns live, and become a
work of  art.

In the beginning
What’s in a name?
Epoxy
Inside comes out
Rebuilding starts
Internal Design
Mock-ups
Forecabin
Insulation
Heart of oak
The galley
Heads and aft cabin
Time to move on
Back to the water
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