More overhead progress

This weekend was a good one. I was able to get down Saturday, but not until around noon. Alia and I were almost successful in our goal of killing off a bottle of tequila. Needless to say, we stayed in bed till way late. But, I was able to rally and get down to the boat for a good days work.

The weather was good so I was able to make some progress on the overhead panels, but before all that happened I spent a little time making the paper patterns for the cork insulation and then cutting the cork. This was set aside until I have the overhead panels cut and painted.



Now onto the overheads. I picked up 2 more 4x8 panel sheets and made patterns but this time running fore-aft rather than side to side like I did with the cork insulation. I made the patterns in one long piece, but these are just too big to handle with anything less than 2 people. So these will be cut down into 2 sections but I'll wait on that until I can get Alia down to the boat for a test fit. After a quick job with the saw they will be ready to go up, just after I glue up the cork.


These panels received the same treatment as the forward cabin, and coat of 2 part West Systems epoxy then a top coat of Petit Dura White on the back to make them resistant to any deck leaks that may occur. Ideally I'd like to have used some sort of light weight foam panels but I just can't find them. I guess I'd have to worry about them getting dented or cracked, but even some sort of plastic would be nice, no rot, super light weight, that would be ideal. If anyone has a source, pass it on!
The material comes pre primed, but there are some brush strokes and drips that should be sanded out. Folding a piece of 120 grit and running it through each of the grooves and then some 220 over the flat surfaces has given a good, smooth surface in the past so I stuck with that. The front side then got a coat of Petit Dura White. This paint is good stuff but the 1st coat is a little hard to work with. I've got a system down. 1st I use a angle brush and brush the paint into the grooves, working in small section. Then I quickly use a foam roller over that. You'll be left with some brush strokes, but once it dries you can knock them down with some 220. Then you can apply the 2nd coat which is really the 1st coat on the flat sections. The 2nd and 3rd coats I apply with a foam roller. This will coat the flat areas and maybe a little into the grooves. The 2nd and 3rd coat goes on really easily and once it's dry has a really nice finish to it. At $30 a quart it's not cheap but it looks far better than the cheaper Home Depot stuff. It would be nice to spray this stuff it would make for a much faster operation. But without air or sufficient working area this is not an option for me.














I'm adding a picture I poached off the Morris Yachts site. These things are expensive! But look at the overhead, that’s what I'm going for here. I love the white upholstery, That wouldn’t stay white in a boat that gets used, but damn that looks nice. Notice the details on the bulkheads.










This week I'll get the overheads up. I have 2 small areas then I'll need to make patterns and panels for. One, in the port aft section. The port side from the companionway to the main bulkhead is 4-5 inches longer than starboard. This made a little bit of a problem. The starboard side fit on a 4x8 panel, but port can up 6+ inches short. I opted to make the break in the aft most section. You won't see the seam as it’s covered by some finish trim but even still the aft section is less of a visual focal point. I have one other overhead to pattern and cut, which is the area in front of the heads door and into the forward cabin.
So, progress is being made, visual progress at least.

I heads up to anyone local, I saw that the Des Moines Yacht Club is have some sort of swap meet on Saturday. I'm hoping to get AC and DC panels as well as some old halogen fixtures that I gat swap in L.E.D. bulbs into. I'll then start pulling some marine grade boat cable and start the wiring of the lighting.

Another positive note, it was a bit warmer this week. It's been staying above freezing even at night and even touched 50 degrees during the days. The newest boat in the yard was even able to put on a coat of antifouling Saturday. I hope to be able to start the bottom paint in the next month or so.

It's about time!