The nav cabinet is to have a curved side so that the path into the saloon through the double doors and past the nav table into the starboard hull is around a curved cabinet corner. I thought kerfing would be the easiest way to do this as the inside (kerfed side) is inside the cupboard and hidden from view, but kerfing polycore is a bit harder than it ought to be. Kerfing duflex balsa core is very easy but with polycore the saw rips the scrim and glass from the poly core leaving a mess to glass to and also it does not curve easily like duflex does, it is more rigid. So after attempting a kerfed panel that failed miserably I decided the easiest way was either use duflex which I dont have much left of, or curve a flat polycore panel over a mold then glass it to set curved. This is by far an easier way to curve polycore.

Making the curved mold parts out of mdf is a bit of a chore, many builders hate building something that will just get thrown away at the end, but often it actually saves time or results in a better finish. And of course the more use you can get from an mdf mold the better it works out in terms of amortizing the time saving. And as it turns out this curve radius is consistent (by design) trough the boat so I will re-use this mold again on the port bunk bed side cabinets and also on the pantry door and also the curved ends of the 2 cupboards that will be either side of the port stair well (it is also the radius of the curves on the saloon lounge). The boat was originally designed for fore and aft bed alignment but we decided we wanted at least one bunk to be across the boat, so the port bunk runs across in a space designed for it to run fore and aft, so there is 250mm space either side of this bunk (2000mm space but bed only 1500mm wide) and it protrudes out over the chamfer to make up the length required (2000mm required and bridgedeck space only 1500mm so 500mm used over chamfer). So this 250mm space will be extra storage space about 300mm high, but because it is along side the bed and there is a chance the edge could be rolled into I will curve the corner to the same radius using the mold. I may need 1 or 2 more mdf molds as the spans are longer and if the mold panels are spaced too far apart the shape is lost between them, this will be especially true for the pantry door as it is 1950mm floor to ceiling (the floor to ceiling is actually 2100mm but there will be a 150mm kickboard). But that is a bit further along, probably 2 months or more before I get to that.

I have glassed a front onto the top step of the port bunk under which I have 2 pvc pipes. 1 pipe is larger than the other and is for the water pipes to traverse to and from the water tanks, to and from because one pipe will take water from the tanks to the various outlets in the kitchen and main bathroom, and the other pipe will take water from the water-maker that will be behind a bathroom wall to the tanks. The other is for wiring to go from the switchboard to the various requirements of the bedroom (lighting and 1 power outlet and maybe a fan) and the fresh water pumps that are behind the bedroom wall between the 2 bedrooms. I can wire the pumps via wiring that will run through either bunk so I am yet to determine the exact wiring diagram but I have conduit in place so that any option is possible. Those pipes under that top step are at a very visible height so need to be hidden and the only way is a front on the step.

I have determined that whilst the top step needs a front its fall is higher up the chamfer panel than where the step below meets the chamfer and that next step down is already quite deep. However if that next step were to have a front, its would fall onto the step below and that next step is quite shallow. What happens with shallow steps on the chamfer is that the angle up and away from the level step is such that your toes can follow it so it in effect becomes part of the step whereas a front on the step above stops that, so because of this, only the top steps will have fronts on them. This will be the same for the top step on the other side of the port bed and also for the top step of the starboard bunk. That bunk will run across the boat and I may have cupboards at either end of that bed so there will be a wide (about 800mm) single set of steps up the middle of the bunk side between the 2 cabinets, but they will be at the same heights and the same depth steps as used on this bunk but again, that is next job on the list.

After this port bedroom is finished I will move over to the starboard bedroom. There is going to be some furniture in each room I cannot finish yet due to having to wait until the mast stub posts arrive later in the year, probably around October or November. They will need space around them to glass them into the boat then the furniture is made around them. Whilst doing the forward bunks I am continuing to work on the saloon and I also still have some furniture to build into the starboard aft bunk. Once that is all done I will only have the main bathroom to do which includes the shower back wall behind which will be the laundry, and shower side wall behind which will be the watermaker and maybe also the fridge heat exchanger so that it can vent out into the cockpit. I am yet to speak to the fridge supplier, I have narrowed it down to 2 brands, so once I do I will get a better idea of the physical size of the unit, where it can fit and where I can vent it to, there is a slim chance I can vent it under the bridge deck through the chamfer panel but I am not convinced of that idea yet, best to keep water away from anything that opens to the inside of the boat.

I anticipate I should have the bedroom furniture, as much as I can do now anyway, done by the end of the month and have the saloon furniture done by the end of September. So things are moving along. Every now and I then I get delusional and think this boat will be done very soon, but then I come back down to earth to realize that I still have to hustle to get it on the water even late next year.