Hey all! Work has been slow since the girlfriend's been in town for a month or so, but still things are coming along.

Previously in the boat, those were controlled at the panel in the cabin, which is not ideal when switching between power and sail at night. I really wanted to have control over the nav lighting from the boat's exterior, so I mounted a waterproof switch panel next to the engine controls:


I've removed the traveler track and end control hardware. Under a turning block on the port side I found the worst water intrusion into the deck core that I've seen yet. The balsa here was so saturated that compressing it while digging it out caused it to dump water like a sponge. Yuck! I drilled a pattern of holes to follow the rot and excavate the saturated material. They'll be filled with epoxy before the KiwiGrip coat goes over top:


Location of the old turning block which caused the whole mess. You can still see some of the caulking - this was causing significant amounts of water to drip into the quarterberth below, and the previous owner just covered the tops of the bolts in caulking instead of fixing the problem for real:


The rest of the traveler track was in much better shape, and the starboard side had only minimal water intrusion in the same location:


My new traveler setup is going to be much bulkier. Here's the new car next to the old. It clearly doesn't fit in the groove, of course. The groove will be filled with a length of teak and the new track mounted on top. It will extend further outboard, almost to the edge of the cockpit. I'm doing this to recover length lost due to the larger car and end controls:
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Here is the electronics hub currently, with about 80% of circuits wired:


I thought I would take some pictures of my Espar setup for you all since I don't think I've shown any before. The heater is mounted on a beam that spans between the transom and an aft bulkhead. Exhaust exits in the sleeved tube and loops in front of the unit, passing overhead to meet the transom fitting at a downward angle:


Transom fitting is sealed with high-temperature gasket sealant and is a good 2' above the waterline at neutral heel.


The fuel pump is mounted on the bulkhead at an upwards angle per the instructions:


I've also hired Gianola Canvas out of Sausalito to make all-new interior cushions. They're going to be done in a material called Ultraleather, which will be a significant improvement from the burlap sack interior I have now.

In other good news, my dad arrives next week for phase 2 of the renovation! Our list is much shorter this time (with a few new items):

• Finish up miscellaneous plumbing, wiring, and mounting tasks.
• Engine oil change and routine checkup.
• Re-bed all stanchion bases to ensure watertight seals. No leaks on the new cushions.
• KiwiGrip!
• Potentially mounting a radar unit on a self-leveling pole off the transom.
• Potentially mounting a retractable bowsprit on the foredeck.
• Going sailing!
• Going sailing some more!