Forepeak Makeover

Hi everyone,
During the last week or so we've been refurbishing Zen Again's forepeak.  The original vinyl-covered plywood panels were nearly 30 years old.  Once upon a time they were cream in colour but had become brown with age.  The forepeak cushions were thrown out in Malaysia after their base material started falling apart.  Twas time for a tidy up!

The forepeak in 2010 with panels in place

On removing the panels we realised that not replacing them would give us about 100mm extra width in the V berth.  The inside of the hull isn't faired but we decided to simply paint the hull.  We used Norglass Shipshape Primer/Undercoat.  Two coats gave a nice satin finish.

Cleaned, masked and ready to paint

Painted!

Bilge repainted too

The forepeak also features two pipe cots.  These are fold-down bunks (cots) formed by canvas-covered aluminium pipe frames.  The canvas was discoloured and becoming brittle.  The frames were corroded in places and were bare metal in others.

We decided to strip and repaint the aluminium frames and have new canvas covers made.  The covers were fabricated by Fremantle Ocean Canvas.

Colour-coordinated lacing

Pipecosts in place

We're still thinking about whether to paint the forward bulkhead.  Not this year!