Bulkhead Pass Thru Tubes

Finished glassing inthe bulkhead pass they tubes. These are mount pretty strong. So much so that I worry they could break if something puts lateral pressure on them. I may fabricate a cover plate to protect them. I still have a little clean up work to sand down globs of epoxy and random fibers on the tubes, ANSI want tone sure the other side is sealed better do water can't in between the layers and cause freeze damage.  I will be filling some voids and giving the aft side a extra layer of lay up.  The other side also needs a board above it to protect the tubes. After this I can start tabbing in the upper bulkhead fitting. 

Tabbing in bulkhead fittings

Lucky me. It was cool enough to wear a suit working today.  I was unable to complete the tiller arm as my drill bit was dull at the tip. Tomorrow I'll try again with a new drill bit.

I cut out the holes precut in the plywood. And water started coming through as there was no way for it to drain prior to this. 

All the holes cut and ready for epoxy. 

Test fitting the fiberglass tubes. I decided to cut the smaller ones shorter. 

Tabbing it on will be a multi stage process. The lower 1.5" diameter tube is just a drain and will be connected to a hose with a ball valve at the main bilge to allow this aft part of the boat to drain and also allow it to be blocked off in case of a hull breach aft.   The 3" tube is for the exhaust.  The top three holes are for bilge pumps--two electric and one manual.  Once these are tabbed in on both sides.  I may wrap some tape around the all to stiffen up the whole assembly. It would be really bad if one broke off flush. 

One or two more sessions should complete this tabbing and I can attach hoses and attach the upper bulkhead section. 

Progress on the interior

These are a few photos of the new wall panel Herreshoff style interior--white panels with teak trim.  This provides a brighter interior.  These panels suffered some subdued spotting as it rained after I sprayed them. I will be touching them up as I repaint other parts if the interior before the teak trim goes on.

Looking forward. 

Looking aft. 

The yard is clearing out. Space to take a photo and size up repainting the topsides. 

I cut a small piece of plywood for the bilge.  I precut a drain hole and a portion of the exhaust port. 

Then I tabbed it in on both sides.  I'll be cutting the holes out and glassing in the fiberglass tubes next.  After that I will tab in the upper half of the bulkhead apply a filler on the bevel and several more layers of roving on this the forward side to make it very strong.  

I  located a tank welder to fabricate a new fuel tank, which is the last step for this task.

Now for the good news.  My friend Ron came over with the starboard settee.  After trimming and fitting the supports I ground the hull to smooth it out and prep it for tabbing. Then I tabbed it in!  I didn't waste any time as I plan to prep it for priming and painting.  I'll have to bolt in the water heater soon and make a few minor plumbing changes. 

While I cleaned the boat from one end to the other it needs it again.

Finally, I drilled the bolt hole for auto-pilot tiller arm, but my drill bit was a few inches short so I'll need a longer drill bit to finish it up.