Cockpit Height Detective Work

I got a little bit more done over the weekend. The weather was stunning and it was hard to keep my mind on the job, rather than fantasising about being out on Broken Bay with the finished product (...sigh...one day).

Anyway, after uncovering the boat, I soon discovered a pleasant couple of 'firsts'. Small wins, granted, but you've got to take them when you can.

Firstly, there was no water sitting anywhere inside the hull. The bilge, cockpit lockers, everywhere, all dry (well, dryish). And a container of desiccant that I'd left in the bilge as a test, even had a bit of water trapped in it.

Secondly, as I'd been able to leave the washboards out and lockers open, I finally didn't have to wear a respirator when inside the cabin. Actually, I probably should still wear one because of the various flavours of potentially toxic mould that still adorns every surface, but at least there's no longer the overpowering stench of chemicals and decay in the atmosphere. In any case, I took my chances and refused to don one. I'll let you know if any funny little coughs develop.

Revelling in these new experiences, I happily went on to remove the last bits of crap that were still cluttering up Sentina's cabin. The rubbish pile is quite large now, and my little shed is crammed full with the stuff I can't/won't throw out. I think it could be time for a council rubbish pickup (better warn them to wear hazmat suits).

My main pressing issues now are to get the rest of the gelcoat off, and also to remove the large, fixed items (water tanks and engine/stern gear/etc). Since I'm still working on the best way to remove the gelcoat, I instead started trying to pull up the cockpit sole. By getting that out of the way, I'd have unfettered access to her engine and associated nether regions. I intend to raise the cockpit in the future anyway, to make it self-draining.

Surprisingly, all of the screws holding the sole down, came out quite easily. Even the last one, which is usually always a bastard. The silastic goo that sealed the edges proved another matter though. Good stuff, that. I'm going to have to cut it away, but I'll need a Stanley knife for that job (my old one's died).

With time starting to run short, I opted for a bit of exploring. After removing a cover piece that'd been screwed over the top of the engine, I was able to see the underneath side of the cockpit sole. What I saw make me think that perhaps someone in the past had already had a go at raising the sole's height. A redundant flange continued down past the floor on both sides, to where the original looks to have been located.

Fiona and Jeremy Rogers confirmed that the floor height has indeed been raised, and gave me tips on how to reinstate it to original configuration. They also helped with ideas on how to raise the cockpit the 'proper' way. Here's a couple of photos of their latest CO26 restoration (Grayling) where they did just that.

Looks pretty easy, right? How hard could it be? Just another little job. Tack it onto the list, I'll get around to it sometime........