Where I left off I had just cut and dry fit the shower wall that sits at the inboard side of the hull and covers over the black holding tank. I have allowed for some plumbing to go behind the black tank, the gas line from the bottle well that sits in the duckboard and is vented overboard, to the underside of the kitchen bench where the hotplate hob will be fitted. The hydraulic steering lines for the port rudder will also run through a conduit glassed in behind where the tank will be glassed. With them set I fixed the black tank in place and glassed it in. Its a 125 litre holding tank so full the weight is 125kgs so I wanted to be very sure that it is securely glassed in.

I am also acutely aware that maintenance or just as importantly access for maintenance is a critical factor in deciding how and where things are installed. And one area that may need regular corrective maintenance is toilet pipe plumbing. If a pipe gets blocked I need to be able to get to it to unblock it. And as all of the journey from toilet to tank occurs in pipes deliberately hidden from view I need to install access points along the way. Not just hidden from view but glassed under or behind walls or floors. To remedy this possibly bothersome problem I have installed points along the way that can be “opened” so that the longest travel between these points is less than a meter. From these access points I can insert pipe cleaning tools to unblock any blockage without too much disruption. I will even have one at what I consider to be the most likely point where a blockage could occur, the S bend at the top of the holding tank. I have included an access point just 100mm below the bend and close enough that I can wiggle an unblocker around and into the tank. In a pinch even a straightened coat hanger would work but I intend having one of those unblocking snakes for this function.

The shower wall is still awaiting installation of copper pipes that will run behind it, just under the chamfer panel chine, that will house the halyards in their run along the inside of each hull from the mast post that is in the bedrooms, through the various rooms to the rear bulkhead (in the aft bunk in the starboard hull, in the laundry in the port hull) and through it to the outboard wells then up to the deck, through to it and forward through the cam cleats to the winch. All hidden from view and more importantly not on the deck to trip over. But more on that later when the mast posts are installed.