Week 44 Construction Update

It's been a long time since I've done an update on the N60 build.  We are now at week 44 of a theoretical 52 week build., so we should be 80% done.  Lots has been done, but we certainly aren't 80% done.  Regardless, it's still fun to see all the progress.  One reason I haven't blogged for a long time is that the progress has been steady, but visually very subtle.  In each set of pictures I can spot another piece of teak that has been installed, some more paneling, a porthole, a mooring cleat.  But it doesn't make for a very exciting blog entry.  But now the interior is largely complete and machinery is starting to get installed, so it should be worthy of a new post.

We'll let pictures be our guide.  By the way, if you click on a picture it will launch a viewer where you can see all the pictures in a larger format.  For old guys like me, it's much easier to see that way.

We finally have machinery.  It's interesting to see how completely they built the boat before installing any of the engines.  In my case the engines must have been lifted in through the salon door and lowered into the engine room.  On another 60, they had dry fit the boat deck, but removed it install the engines then put it back on.  With other boats the engines have gone in before the boat deck ever went on.   My guess is that nobody wanted to fork out the $$ for the engines any sooner than necessary, so they were held back until the last minutes.  After-all, we are all still recovering economically.

Wing engine on the left and generator on the right

It's an imposing view looking up at the bow.   You can clearly see the anchor pulpit and rollers.  More subtle are the two holes where the tow eye and bash plate will mount, and the bow thruster which is now installed.

Looking WAY up at the bow

From the stern you can see several new additions.  First is the swim platform extension giving about 3 feet more space to move about.  And you can see the holes along the edge where the railings will fit in.  It appears better in a later picture, but the boat deck extension ha also been installed, though still supported by 2x4s until the stainless railings are installed.  And last, you can see the curved staircase going up to the boat deck

Swim platform extension, boat deck stairs, and boat deck extension

 

Once in the cockpit, you can see the stairs more clearly.  Under the stairs you can see an opening which is for the propane locker.  The salon door has also been installed.  It's a dutch door with solid lower section and glass upper.

Stairs and salon dutch door

The salon is largely complete.  Lots of it is wrapped up for protection, but all the woodwork is done.  They have subsequently been removed, but all the drawers and cabinet doors have been finished too.  On the ceiling you can see the teak dividers between all the ceiling panels.  The panels have all been fitted, and subsequently removed for upholstering (I think that's the right term).  You might also be able to spot the grab rails on the ceiling.  In a bigger space like this it's important to always have something you can hold on to.

Salon looking forward

Looking aft you can get a good sense of the teak color which we are very pleased with.

Salon, looking aft

Looking at the starboard side, this is where the Ekornes chairs will go.  We passed on the models that normally come with the boat and bought different ones.  The ones we selected are a bit bigger and better accommodate our portly figures.  I actually just received them a week or so ago and they look great.

Salon, starboard side

And here is the salon port side.  The settee is on the left and you can see the counter/pass through to the galley on the right.

Salon, port side

Here's the galley with the cabinets all done, granite counters installed (though covered) includign the granite back splash behind the stove.

Galley

Cabinetry in the master stateroom is similarly complete.  Once again, the drawers have all been fitted and subsequently removed.  The same is true of the cover panels for the bed.  You can see that the porthole is installed as well.

Master Stateroom

Here's the stateroom  looking port and aft.

Master stateroom

Last we saw the master head it was raw fiberglass and some rough framing.  Now we have finished teak panels and cabinets with granite counter tops and sink.  You can also see signs of plumbing installed in the cabinet.

Master head

The master show has come a long way too.  The granite floor and bench are installed and the surrounds are being finished.  You might also notice that we are looking through a hung glass shower door.

Master shower

The office space is looking good.  There is a storage locker on the right forward, and the desk aft.  Through the doorway is the forward head.

Office looking forward

And on the port side across from the office is the guest stateroom.

Guest stateroom

The guest head is looking good too.  The woodwork is done and the granite is installed.  You can also get a glimpse of the folding shower door on the left.
 

Guest head

Now you can see into the guest shower, including the seat and storage cabinet.

Guest shower

Up in the pilot house the settee is complete and most of the windows are installed and trimmed out.  No table yet, but I'm sure that will go it last thing.

Pilot house settee

The captains bunk is a small but very functional cabin right behind the pilot house.  Some people call it the "tree house" because of it's high perch in the boat.

Captain's cabin off the pilot house

The day head is also right off the pilot house.  The port light is in along with the sink and counter top, but still no toilet.

Day head

The business end of the pilot house is all built but still has nothing installed.  I think this guy is wiring up the wiper motors.  The actual console goes pretty much where he is standing.  It is all built and was visible in some older pictures, but had been removed, presumably to have the padded material covering installed.

Business end of the pilot house

Still up in the pilot house, you can just see through the window and spot the opened door.  All teh windows appear to be installed except for the curved corner pieces.

Pilot house

Up on the boat deck you can see the round port light in the head, and the FRP surrounding the lower part of the stack.  It's the part dead center with the grey upper and bottom.

Boat deck looking forward

Now, looking aft on the boat deck you can get a better view of the extension.  It's the part furthest away that doesn't have the brownish protective cover over it.  It really adds a lot of space up top, and creates nice shade in the cockpit.

Boat deck looking aft at the extension

Down in the utility room there are signs of the stabilizer actuators being installed.  You can see the hole in the hull and the bolt holes all around it.  The actuator mounting plates are below on the floor.

Stabilizers being installed

Back in the engine room we have the main engine under the blanket and you can see the fuel management system hanging on the wall to the left.  There are a few things about the fuel management system that don't make sense to me and I'm trying to get it figured out with PAE.  I'll have more on that once I confirm my understanding of how it works.

Main engine and fuel management system

Here's the main engine from behind with the transmission attached.  The darker surface at teh end of the transmission is not where the prop shaft hooks up - that's further down and out of view.  We are looking at the PTO coupling where the hydraulic pump connects.  I think that's a clutch to engage/disengage the pump.

Main engine rear view with gear box

Lots has happened in the lazarette.  First off, the deck has finally been lowered into place.  For months is was suspended from the ceiling until the running gear below it could be installed.  But now it's all in place and you can see the AC units have been installed and are being hooked up.  The overhead lights are also installed and operational both here and in the engine room.  I've been passing drawings back and forth with PAE to finalize the layout of equipment in this space.  90% of it will go it its "standard" location, but there are a few things that I want to move fro better service access.  Yours truly is the chief engineer and bilge rat, so I care a lot about service access.  On some of the boat that I've seen, access is impossible without removing a bunch of equipment.  There is just no need for that if you plan it out carefully to begin with.

Lazarette, looking aft

Looking forward you can see the base sections of the battery boxes on either side.  They will get loaded up with 8D house batteries and a few 4D start batteries.  There is a ton of space down here, but I've seen it fill up very quickly on a number of boats.  I think the key is to keep it organized.

Lazarette looking forward

And there you have it.  We always have a list of issues and typically they are pretty small.  Now is no exception.  I think the biggest thing is getting the equipment placement sorted out, especially the diesel heater and its exhaust run  up to and out through the transom.  We are also finalizing the wiring diagrams so the rest of the wiring can get going.

OK, that's all for now.  Feel free to ask any questions in the comments section below and I'll answer as best I can.