Exhausts, doors and a hole in my boat

The boys have got on with the engine room connections now that the deckhouse is on, and we can see a little bit more how things are going to shape up indoors.

Here is a bit of the skipper standing next to the Caterpiller (main engine) exhaust pipe (left) all primed in red and the exhaust and silencer (right) for the generator. As you can see, the Caterpillar's exhaust is a fair size and both these exhausts will be in a steel, fire-proof conduit taking them, and the surronding air up and out of the back of the bridge. Our reader who is, no doubt, highly intelligent and observant will have noted the skipper in shorts, this is not because Eyemouth is enjoying a warm winter but because the cook is behind with the blog. Sorry.

The steel conduit runs like an internal chimney up and out of the engine room, so that any fumes from the machinery will be blown up and out of the top of the boat. This will also help to cool the exhausts, although they will both be mightilly lagged, to keep things cool in the rest of the boat.
The right hand part of the conduit (a narrow section) will be a separate bit for running all the power and control and data cables from the engine room upwards. This will include all the helm and engine controls as well as all other essential information from the engine room - oil pressure sensor, oil temperature, spin speed, baby alarm etc. We plan to incorporate the structure into the deck-level cabin - there have been many discussions and sketches about how to get the exhaust up and out, mainly because it means sacrificing a space 3ft by 2ft from the valuable deckspace, but as compromises go, I think it will be okay. Part of it forms the corridor running to the access to the old fish hold and the rest is part of the walls of the cabin and heads.

The double doors are now installed and they are just beautiful. They are teak and were once installed in what might have been a man-o'-war, the brass plate on the inside describes their origin as a torpedo room, and not the only torpedo room but number 2, so at least two torpedo rooms with doors this size, impressive. They need some prettying up, but the sheer quality and weight is impressive. We treated the doors to a bit of bling (which since installation need polishing) photo to follow.

This is a  rare picture of the marvellous Arthur (whose arms are not really that long), a master craftsman and who has been a great source of advice and inspiration, so many of the key components that have been made for Heroine have turned out so much better and faster than we could have imagined. Arthur's experience has saved a great deal of time and worry.

The side doors have been installed and while we were initially worried that the extra corridor, "athwartships", will take up deck-space, we have it from a good source that the extra ventillation makes summer in the Mediterranean bearable. I should imagine that the sunshine, blue skies, peace, quiet and cheap wine will help too.
This is the starboard door and the port one is very similar except it has a larger port-light. We were thinking about making them match, but have decided it is not noticeable, you will see for yourself when you vist. Both of these doors are teak too and are tough as anything, the construction is beautiful and we do not need to do anything more to them, finally, one part of the boat which is finished.

Half of the original number of solid oak cleats have been re-installed following paint stripping, the other two were too far gone with rot and damage, but here is the reconditioned port-side cleat re-bolted to the bulwark stringer, also in solid oak. I think we will be painting the stringer (bit at back) but keeping the cleat plain wood, but oiling it or something. It seems a shame to have so much beautiful oak around and then to cover it all in paint. 

Here is JP installing the new oak cleat on the starboard side, it looks identical to the old ones (see previous photo) but without the rope marks cut into it (you can just see this cross marking in the centre of the cleat) and why shouldn't it? The same man made and here installs the new ones as made the originals, but 40 years ago, and he doesn't look old enough, does he? What's your secret JP?

There is a rather worrying chute right through the boat - this is the way the anchor-chain comes up and then enters the bosun's locker. When the winch is installed, between the hole and the tube thing, the chain will be come up through the hole and over the winch, leaving the anchor on the outside. The chain runs around a toothed pulley on the winch so it can drop through the rusty tube into the chain locker which directly below the deck here.

The skipper has a plan to get the chain clean as the anchor is winched in; the chain is likely to emerge thick with stinking mud and debris from the sea-bed in various bays, and I think that the plan requires the cook to leave the galley, put on overalls and squint into the murky spray-back as she holds the high pressure hose to rinse the chain before it is stowed, the skipper is at a safe distance operating the hydraulics. Well, the skipper's plan might get re-thought while he chews on his sandwich of burnt bacon...

Here us the general arrangement taking shape - just before the is put in place, and the foremost hatch is visible. Behind the winch will be the mast, and all of the plate will have been galvanised prior to installation, including some Sikaflex sealing to get it to stick properly to the deck in a water-tight way.