April has seen visible signs of progress on this coach.
The north end of the coach has had the connecting door and teak panels removed, the door requires remedial work and the teak panels were damaged beyond use other than as templates.
The framing at this end had all the old screws and nails removed and all the brackets checked and replaced as necessary, this area is now ready for a coat of wood primer prior to the re-fitting of the new teak panels.
Suitable teak panels were extracted from our teak store and moved into the coach. The four central end panels have all been cut to length and checked against the framing. Three panels have had holes drilled and countersunk along the vertical edges, every four inches ready for the brass screws. This was followed by sanding with 120 grit then 180 grit sand paper to produce a smooth surface, a coat of a shellac size was then applied to seal the surface. The panels will have at least one coat of yacht varnish before fitting to the coach.
The fourth central panel is awaiting the holes drilling, then sanding and sizing. The outer edge of the last two panels will be shaped as necessary to the profile of the coach once the others are in situ.
The plug and vent pipe were fitted to one of the toilet water tanks, so both were ready to place back into the roof space. This has now been done and we have a space on the carriage floor. Now we can re-fit the toilet door frames and the various pieces of walling around the toilets.
