sailboat – Page 4 – sailing dawn treader

V-Berth

The original V-Berth left something to be desired: storage, comfort, style, etc. Some of the original cabinetry had been cut away to accommodate an obsolete holding tank, and the volume of available space was largely inaccessible with the previous compartment design. V-berth reconstruction was also a great opportunity to add structure and strengthen the forward third of the Dawn Treader. Its watertight integrity has been enhanced with new watertight compartments. The V-berth platform was also raised 8 inches above the waterline.

4 inches higher (new berth will be 8 inches above the waterline)

Almost done, barrel bolts and hinges are on

We are super excited to set up our sewing work area in the coming weeks! We’ve got foam, fabric, and a Sailrite Ultrafeed LSZ-1! Let the sewing lessons begin! We’ll see how things turn out…

Ventilation

Ventilation became a high priority after sailing in rougher weather to the Azores. The cabin was stale and claustrophobic! We now have three air-only ventilators (watertight even in a capsize). Two vent cowls were added for the main cabin, and one low profile vent with electric fan was installed for the head.

Cutting holes in the boat!

Vent placement near dinghy to protect from entangling lines

Core filled with epoxy

Installing and cutting vent tube

Smiles

Air-only vent insides

Next piece

Butyl!

Air-only ventilators finished

We also added a new hatch under our nesting dinghy. Because of its protected position, this Lewmar Ocean 30 stays open in most conditions (when the dinghy is stowed). In combination, the new air-only ventilators, small protected hatch, forward hatch, and companionway complement 4 original port holes and give Dawn Treader many ventilation options.

Position for hatch frame

Cutting another big hole in the cabin top

View from below

Deb rounding the corners

Frame epoxied in place

Dry fit

Provides ventilation to main cabin salon, and galley

Dinghy in place over little hatch, experimenting with lashing

Protected by the dinghy, with large slot for air flow

Lewmar Ocean 30 has perfect dimensions for opening under the dinghy

Hatch installations complete!

Electrical

The all new wiring in 2014 was installed in a couple of weeks. Brian created an electrical box consisting of circuit breakers, postive and negative busses, terminal strips, inverter, and solar charge controller.

Old wiring, note negative bus solder ball!

We have now moved the electrical panel to the new navigation station, where the old ice box was!

Interior Paint

We painted interlux epoxy primekote on the interior cabin. We like the matte finish and high build easy application. Its also a hard durable finish that works inside (less vulnerable to sunlight), so we avoid the high-gloss, expensive, difficult to apply top coat perfection that we use outside.

We’ll be updating with more paint in the future, and this is a great base for almost anything we choose.

Head – Chart Room

The head was initially converted to a chart room in 2013. All the thru hulls were covered, a composting toilet was installed, and then moved to the V-berth.

We have now re-installed the head in this area, and moved the charting/navigation area to the location of the old icebox.

Jordan Series Drogue

For storm management we built a Jordan series drogue from a Sailrite kit. It consists of 107 cones and is deployed from the chainplates we fabricated and installed on the stern. The series drogue keeps the stern oriented to the weather.

Polished chainplates, next step drilling

Atlantic Loop 2014

These images were taken sailing around the Atlantic. From Georgia, USA, to Bermuda, Azores, Canaries, Cape Verde, Caribbean, and back to the states. We’ll share more information about the locations we visited and some of our favorite anchorages in following posts.