Rebirth - Ariel #422 "Katie Marie"

[CapnK]

Interior almost all the way blocked in. Soon to come - all the so-much-fun grinding and sanding and paint removal needed to make this permanent.

Infos:
Forward, those are primarily buoyancy tanks, 'composter' head between them eventually, cabinetry on top. Junk rig mast will be up there somewhere.
Main water tankage will be under settees, rough guess around 55 gal. May put central tank in bilge for another 20-25 capacity, if ever needed...
Galley will be port and strbd just aft main bulkhead, stove to port, fridge and cabinet w/sink to strbd.
Aft of them on each side will be enough length for a 6'+ berth while underway, while in port the area under companionway makes for a large athwartships double. There will be a spray skirt to fit around ladder/companionway on wet windy days, to keep water off of berth.
Anchor stowage under companionway ladder - it's a 25# Manson Boss with crazy huge flukes that will be mostly an "Oh Sh*t!" storm anchor. Primary will be an original Bruce, backed up by a Fortress and a folding Northhill, 200' chain and also miles o' 3 strand. Lots of "cheap insurance".
May put the house bank (2-4 x100 a/h LiFePO4 I'm thinking as of now) under there. Or, may put it on front of main bulkhead up off of cabin sole, in case of flooding...
Also, folding/telescoping ski companionway ladder - tucks up out of the way when below to free up space, deploys in seconds when needed. My favorite "smart" idea.
Boxing in area under cockpit seat lockers, making their bottom level with bottom of cockpit. With junk rig will not be needing to stow sails in there, so it would be wasted, wet space. Will be making long/deep drawers underneath that on inside, for stowage of clothing and lightweight personals.

I'm also putting together a site which will have lots more details and pics and such, will post that link once it is ready.

[pmnfernando]

it is taking shape!! nice work

[CapnK]

Thanks! The goal is to take her to the Bahamas, this coming winter.

[CapnK]

Found this drawing which I think likely explains my plans better than the written description above.

As an aside, over the weekend I saw a Bristol 24 advertised for sale, and on looking at those they have/had 2 layouts, one of which is very similar to what I've come up with.|

Which goes to proving that there is nothing new under the sun.

[CapnK]

Been too busy chasing freedom chips for the past few days to get much done but have some more free time coming up it looks like to keep rolling.

Got her bilge sump filled and (not yet in before/after pic) glassed over, and the other pic shows what's happening with the aft end, cockpit lockers and such...

That bilge sump has bothered me from day 1, there was *always* some water in there, near 3' below cabin sole so hard to get the last bits when the pump couldn't. Now, though - DRY BILGES at last - yahoo! And I can reach there (and the pump) pretty easily if/when water does get in. Poured 2# urethane foam, and shaped some divinycel for a flat level 'cap' on that. Sanded after it hardened up to remove bumps and lumps, I just smile when I look in there now.

The cabin/berth will end at the white 'legs' under cockpit, about where the side deck drains are on the hull. That space will be sealed off and full of empty, lidded plastic bottled, tho there will be access if I want to get in there for whatever reason later. The cockpit lockers will be walled off at the forward end you see, not open to cabin as in pic. They will have drains but will basically be sealed off otherwise, providing more flotation if the stern gets down that low due to water inside (heavens forbid....) Also, bilge pump will be plumbed to drain into cockpit at aft end on port side, with a seat-height loop above the actual drain exit, and a check valve just after the pump itself.

Remnants of former aft bulkhead will be sistered and then glassed over to make up strength (ideally) for what has been removed in that location. Possible small cabinets added onto forward ends of the locker bulkheads, as well as against the hull in berth area.

[atomvoyager]

Lots of interesting ideas here. Looking forward to see more of this project.

[CapnK]

I've gotten a good bit of work done, here's an update sans pics which I'll get up soon...

I initially was using the 1/2" ply to make panels, but I've changed from that. Instead, I'm making all the panels with an EPS (pink foam) core sandwiched between epoxy/glass skins. It's WAY lighter, and while I don't yet have a solid figure, I'm guessing 1/5th or less the weight for any given piece. I found this 'thing' pictured below - I'm not sure if it is a medical instrument, or an "adult toy" of some sort ;D - that I use to perforate the foam for a better bond with the glass, and it works really good for that use (To be sure: I have not tried any other use...). All of the panels for the cockpit lockers, after buoyancy compartment, and aftmost bulkhead are done and I'm going to start installing them in the next few days. I will get some pics up soon, and will let you know when they are online.

The, um, "Thingy": https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FRQMK23