I can't believe it has already been two weeks since my last blog post but with Peter now more or less 'retired' and working full-time on the boat, I have returned to my job and found it a lot more difficult to find the time to update the blog and website. It is rather exciting for us though as there is no doubt a lot more progress happening with the boat builder on the tools full-time! We do have a few supporters to add to our website and have some general changes planned, so keep your eyes peeled as I will be updating the website over the next few weeks!!!

As I've just said, Peter is now more or less full-time working on the boat and as winter is approaching we are now focussing on the changes to the deck before the temperature and moisture levels will force us back inside to work on the interior! With our launch date in November we have a fair few major jobs on our to-do-list, changes to the deck, major changes to the keel, everything below the waterline, just to name a few...

The first job on our list for the deck was no doubt building a hard top/dodger for the aft cockpit. We have done enough blue water sailing to understand and know the importance in protection from the elements! While it was easy to know what we wanted - protection from the elements along with as much unobstructed view as possible - it was the 'how is it going to look' part that we took a lot of time thinking about. In the end we did the best we could to try and make it look good while also keeping it functional and practical. To build this we have to also make some other modifications such as shorten the boom, but we do believe that the final outcome will be well worth it. Here are a few pictures of the progress so far. Peter is busy with the next part of the hard top at the moment - so watch this space xx​

After we had finished the topsides painting we decided to ease our way into making a start on the deck by starting with the toe rails. Once again we started a 'production line' - First step is Peter and his grinder dealing with the removal of all the old paint before I removed the last bits from all the holes and corners the grinder couldn't get to with the drill with a burr & wirebrush attachment. Then followed the acid wash and eventually we were painting again. We decided to go with the graphite grey on those as well.

And after much debating around whether we should or shouldn't clear coat the topsides we did bite the bullet and prepped the topsides to spray two coats of clear coat for extra protection of our new paint job. This meant sanding all the topsides again, fortunately 'just' a light sand...

And now it is on to the deck. Peter has already made a head start on the hard top for the aft entrance & cockpit. It is quite exciting and with Peter being able to spend more time on the Refit now as he is winding down from his 'day job' of running a boat yard, we should see a lot more exciting progress from now on. Until then - here are a few pics of the new toys we've been welcoming aboard as well - after all we don't want to get bored in paradise ;-)