New work surfaces

Over the weekend we had gone to IKEA to buy the worksurfaces and I took a day off for another master class with Andrew. The depth we needed was greater than the wood from IKEA so we used two pieces and routed a groove and then used 'biscuits' and glue to fix together. To make sure it's really solid I then routed out for metal joining pieces to hold together.

We'd decided on a round stainless steel sink undermounted to show off the wooden work surface. We'd then have a 'plug' which would cover the sink and become the chopping board on the work surface so we didn't damage it. Andrew suggested we start with the plug. Drew the circle and then rough cut with a jig saw.

We then mounted the router on a piece of wood and screwed it to the centre of the plug and slowly routed it down evenly. The router only went to half depth so we then turned it over and used a different sort of bit that followed the already routed part. This meant we didn't have a screw hole in the top!

Then we went back to the main worksurface, drilled the router/wood in place and routed a circle, sized up so the plug should fit. We only routed down about 12mm and then used the jigsaw again to rough cut. Finally used the bit that followed the routed circle to make it perfect.

We wanted a draining board and a little design so we changed to a rounded channel router bit and routed out a 220 degree circle. But... of course you want the water to drain into the sink. So, we made a slope with some offcuts, mounted the router so it would follow the edge and routed the channel down to the sink! Brilliant... a real master class from Andrew.

Planning the new galley

Tim and I met with Andrew on King Malu to plan the new galley.

We'd already made cardboard templates and now wanted to discuss ideas with him. One of the things Tim and I spend a lot of time on is thinking and planning - Tim often says 75% of a job is the planning. Maybe not it time, but in effort.

Before we started ripping it out the work surfaces were small tile. I'm sure they looked spectacular when they were first installed but the grouting between the tiles collected dirt and it didn't really work. The metal fiddle strips around the work surfaces also looked utilitarian and not really very classic.

We had previously been thinking of a stainless steel work surface and sink, and it could look very good. But King Malu is a classic boat with a lot of teak and so we then discussed the idea of a light wood worktop, probably birch or beach which would be in keeping but contrast nicely with the darker teak.

So I photoshopped what it would look like:

This is oiled beach so we decided to go for the lighter still birch. Not decided on the finish yet...

A breath of fresh air

Tim and I had been doing a lot of work on King Malu and working hard so we decided now that we had re-balanced the boat with the new batteries we MUST sail. So we went out for a quick blow round the bay.

New tools

Since our first master class lesson in woodworking with Andrew we decided we needed more tools so went off to Nicosia and ended up with a router and a saw. We're very glad we now have a good sized workshop.

I suppose if you saw the last post about Andrew's power tools this was logical!