Spent last week finishing up the foam insulation in the fridge and freezer box and I’m ready to start glassing up the inside liner. What a pain that was, and as with every boat project, it took a bit longer than I anticipated.
Frigoboat
I finally picked up the Frigoboat system we ordered back in April from Swedish Marine, and it looks like with a little ingenuity I might just be able to shoehorn
that giant evaporator coil within the tiny confines of our new freezer box. Both the Danfoss BD50 compressor and the 200F evaporator are grossly oversized for our meager 1.3 cubic foot freezer and 4.0 CF fridge. That means less run time per hour (e.g. less amps drained from our battery bank), and greater cooling capacity when fresh fish…. errrr, I mean fresh “food” is placed inside for long-term storage. I prefer to bring a bazooka to a knife fight, so to speak.
The Old Helm
Back at home for a few days, I figured I’d do a little bit of varnish stripping on the old weathered steering wheel. A heat gun, a sharp putty knife, and a wire brush seem to do the trick. Once I get it all stripped and sanded, it’s going to get a few coats of my good buddy Phil’s super duper speargun epoxy (Herranen Spearguns). I’ve worked with it many times in the past on my own home made guns, and it makes wood look absolutely beautiful. Rock hard, water clear, UV stable, and a simple 2:1 mix ratio. Ten times easier than the West System I’ve been using at the boat lately, but only about a 30 minute working time before it kicks off. Definitely need to plan ahead and work quickly with this stuff, but the end result is absolutely gorgeous.