I set up the settee table in the main cabin to try to get a feel for the original Craftsman layout. I am sure the boat crawl at the Nor’sea 27 get-together will help crystallize some ideas about which way I want to go with the interior.

The prior owner had installed a couple of cleats and extended the side settee into a wide berth, similar to what Curt did on Journey, but without the fine polish in materials and the convertability.  It was easy enough to take out as the board was just held in with a few screws.  I did find that most all of the trim pieces, fiddles that hold the cushions in place were no longer on the boat.  I just had a short 1′ section, but that gave me a template to use when I make a trip out to Blue Pelican to see if I can find more material.

Next I installed the table, which rides on a big steel clamp attached to the compression post. It’s an awkward arrangement using thumbscrews to clamp the post.  Lots of little dings from every time it has been moved or installed.  It would have been easier to use and much less destructive if they used an overcenter clamp and some delrin or something.  The really surprising part was when I had the table installed I expected it to drop right onto the settee and fill in the space much as the temporary board had done.  this is how any modern RV works, but the table is slightly too large to fit the area, the cushion fiddles would probably have further obstructed it, and its own fiddles create clearance issues.  It’s clear I could optimize this arrangement somewhat.  However I found a really nice Lagun table on eBay that may obviate all this and give me a table that can be used in the cockpit or saloon.

I plan to make a trip over to Ikea just to look at what kinds of materials and cushions they have so I can see what I like by way of interior upholstery.  That’s a separate issue from the layout aspects.

I was amazed today to see and advertisement for a Tanbark Jib sail appear on Craigslist, and doubly so because it was for a Nor’sea 27!! Answering the ad, I met up with Bryan, the (relatively new) owner of Vela. Vela spent 16 years in storage in the northwest and its interior is in near perfect shape. Bryan’s spent some time updating the boat, replacing all the standing rigging adding Amsteel lifelines and proper bronze through-hulls.

Stepping aboard Vela at the Richmond Yacht Club was like entering a time machine. It’s a rare opportunity to see a “new” norsea in fantastic condition. The Yanmar 2GM had less than 100 hours on it. Bryan mentioned that at his last haulout when the 2 coats of bottom paint were stripped, folks were asking if his boat was new!

The boat’s a newer 80’s layout that has pristine teak inside and out.  Bryan’s setting off for Mexico in the next week or so, so this was a serendiptitious opportunity. Oh, and I did buy the jib, and expect to put it to great use when my own projects are completed.

After finding this ad on Craigslist, I contacted the seller, Ronnie Simpson right away.  I met him on Wednesday, looked over the motor and made him a cash deposit of $300.  I found out a lot of impressive information on Ronnie over the next few days.  He mentioned he had singlehanded in the Transpac to Hawaii, but he didn’t mention that he had one his class.  I also found he was active in the Bay Area Disabled Sailor (BADS) group, and was a wounded veteran, having been injured by a rocket propelled grenade blast that left him legally blind.

Ronnie and I met on Saturday at his cruiser boat, a Cal 2-27 berthed in Alameda.  We spent most of the day pushing the engine out through the small access port in beneath the galley, then up through the companionway using a hoist connected to the boom, and we plopped it on a dolly.  Ronnie had the engine fully disconnected when I arrived, but we wound up having to remove most of the motor mounts, the alternator, starter and fuel filter before we could get the motor free.

In the course of removing the starter we found the reason for the grinding noise was that the starter housing had basically exploded.  The hope was this was the extent of the problem and a new starter might get the motor back on its feet.  Ronnie also mentioned that the engine did leak oil and suggested at least replacing its seals.

We loaded the boat into my 2000 MPV van.  We had to dump about $50 worth of diesel in the recycling because it was sloshing around too much.  I came away with a nice Racor fuel filter, a raw water filter, 10 gallon aluminum tank and filler, as well as the electronics harness and panel for the Yamar 2GM.  Ronnie’s going to work with a diver to get the driveshaft and propellor out and then contact me for pickup.

Looking over the cabinet hardware after installing the reassembled cupboard doors, I found the latch hardware was pitted with peeling chrome.  Unfortunately the material appears to be chrome on zinc, not brass, so there isn’t much hope for restoring it to any kind of shape. I did a fair amount of internet research and determined that the latches are manufactured by Perko and this is the 3/8″ offset version because the catch mounts on the frame of the cabinet carcass, which is a fraction of an inch below the non-flush door.

Pricing varied pretty widely but I did locate a place that had them at just under $20 a set.  This was just before West Marine changed its price matching policy, so I was still able to get them to order up a dozen for me.  Seven were available immediately and I had to wait about ten days to get the balance.

The Cole fireplace is a solid fuel burning furnace designed for use with solid fuels like wood, wood pellets, charcoal or even coal (although I heard a strong recommendation to use bituminous coal rather than the other kind that smokes a lot).

It’s a simple construction with a two drawer ash tray beneath a firebox and metal grate beneath.  By sliding out the drawers or sliding up the damper on the front you can adjust the draw and combustion rate.  The exhaust port is on top, a 3″ circular port to mate with a 3″ circular flue duct.  I found flue was a little long.  This was kind of strange because it must have fit at some point.  It may be that they had the elbows adjusted for more acute angles.  I adjusted them to get as smooth a transition as possible.

In any case I cut it the flue down to size with some tin snips and set up a fire to test it.  I built the fire in the drawer which turned out to be the ashbox, so it didn’t draw well.  When I found and installed the grate and built the fire up higher I had a much better draw and the bits of wood burned very nicely.

The stove heats up quite a bit. The original installation had the fireplace surrounded by 2″ square tiles.  I’ll probably go with some 4×12″ floor tile I found at restore that is teak colored wood grain planks.  For my test I put the furnace on top of some tile coasters and kept the heat low.

After spending a few days organizing materials from the boat I found a pile of door materials in the aft cabin that were reassembled into doors for the galley and anchor locker.

The cane-faced doors were designed for improved ventilation over solid face frames.  The wood will need refinishing but the cane was in fairly decent shape for its age.  I was able to pair up the materials into doors and panels and other than a few chips and dings, nothing was really missing.

I used Gorilla Glue (a water resistant polyurethane) to glue the doors and clamped them with some bar clamps from harbor freight.  The glue is somewhat flexible and waterproof but not very strong.  I think a better choice would be Titebond III or the similar Elmer’s Wood Glue Max for a couple of reasons:  they are stronger glues and the glue doesn’t swell up and blow apart the joint as much.