Once the gloss had been sprayed it was time to prep for the non-skid and touch-up painting inside prior to fitting the new portholes and hatches. In between coats there's even been time for some finishing touches inside, such as building storage for the plates and bowls, a new shelve in my galley cupboard, finishing the floor in Tara's cabin and much more. All in all there is never a shortage of jobs and projects but most importantly it's awesome seeing each area coming together and dare I say starting to look 'finished'. Here are some photos of the progress:

After a few weeks of prep we spent yesterday once again with the final prep and masked the boat for the last time as we prepared to topcoat on the deck for the last time...what an exciting moment! Here are a few pics of the primer coat stages that some of you may have seen on our Facebook page. As always the primer we use is Jotun Penguard.

And the final result looks like this. As always, topcoat is Hardtop Ultra by Jotun in Pearl Grey. We are quite chuffed with how she looks :-)

And because it's been an early finish today we may have made a decision on the floor finishing of the interior and did a little trial in Tara's cabin. Far from finished but looking good!

Next week brings a bit more time to focus on some projects inside while we are waiting on the topcoat to cure properly. Saying that, it won't be long before we can start fitting portholes, hatches and start on the non-skid so watch this space for lots more exciting pics soon...

With the aft cockpit finished and the focus moving further forward on the deck it was time to make a decision on the forward cockpit. For months we've been scratching our heads whether we should leave it as is or drop the cockpit floor to make it a more usable cockpit, give us the option to make it a more comfortable entrance and to 'use up' the dead area above the generator and engine inside. And so it began...

And then there was a giant hole where there once was a cockpit :-) As you can see the working area is all masked in on the inside to keep the dust at bay! Part of the original entrance/hatch will be re-used but moved further forward. And then a new cockpit floor emerged...

Once the new floor was glued, glassed and faired, the sanding started all over until it was time for the primer coat...

And now Peter is busy making all the required repairs, modifications and fitting the new portholes in preparation for the last prep before painting the last remaining gloss! So watch this space for some more pictures following in the next few weeks of a much better looking foredeck :-)