Holidays at the Hammer

20 December 2011

What an amazing holiday season we are having here at the Gremlin’s Hammer!  The weather is beautiful and warm, we are getting a lot done on our projects list, and we are really enjoying our free time with each other and the boat.   

RELAXING IN THE HAMMOCK WITH A COLD BEER

 Early on this past week we attempted to get our genoa on.  Unfortunately our furling track was a bit dinged and would not allow the sail to go all the way up.  The following day I winched him up the furler in a bos’ns chair with a Drimel, a cut-off wheel and a can of Sail Kote.  Within a half hour I let him down with the problem solved and we were able to get the sail up and on easily; both of our new sails are now on!

Gremlin’s Hammer is now officially federally documented- very exciting!  Our boat documentation numbers oak board came in the mail a couple weeks ago, and it is now mounted in the forward berth.  

The overhead paneling is finally complete.  The final step on the overhead project is trim work, which will be put on hold until our more important projects are checked off the list.  We have had a LOT of other boaters ask us about how we tackled our overhead project from start to finish.  Here is how and what we did:

1. Paint:  First we coated the bare steel with three coats of Devoe pre-prime and two part epoxy primer.
2. Insulation:  We used 3/4 inch sheets of insulation from Home Depot or Lowe’s.  We cut the sheets into strips, and fit the strips in between our stingers and ribs.  We used a combination of spray adhesive (medium sticks better than low stick, and doesn’t eat the foam away like high stick) and outdoor double sided tape.
3. Slats:  We measured four inches from each side of the ribs, and halfway between ribs and inserted slats in these places between the stringers.
4. Frames:  We had to build wood frames where stingers were not built, and where the overhead was uneven (hatches and coach top).
5. Templates:  We made templates of each section out of craft paper since we did not have any other patterns to go by.  Templates were made by measuring, cutting, fitting and adjusting the paper.
6. Paneling:  We used 1/8 inch white paneling from Home Depot.  The templates were traced out onto the paneling, and then we cut the panel board accordingly.  
7. Mounting:  We mounted the panels section by section, using the slats and the frames to screw the panels to the overhead.  
8. Trim:  We have not gotten this far yet, but we will be using a dark wood trim over the panel edges to bring it all together.

INSULATION AND TEMPLATE MAKING

PANELING IN PROGRESS

Our upcoming to-do’s include building our head, engine work, and some of the interior “pretty” work.  As of now it looks like we will be spending a little more time in Florida than we had hoped or expected, but with weather like this it is hard to complain!

AS PROMISED, HERE IS A PICTURE OF OUR SETTEE CUSHIONS

Hope that everyone is having a wonderful holiday season!  

~ C