Masala—Construction—8

38. OILING THE FLOOR

The floor has been installed and is now being oiled with Feast Watson Floorseal, a tung oil based product. This process gives a good gloss finish and has many advantages over polyurethane based products: durability; virtually maintenance free; scratches can be removed by rubbing in more oil with a cloth; recoating is simple with very little preparation required.

39, 40. CONSTRUCTING THE INTERIOR

Left: from the saloon looking forwards. All timberwork must be fitted, then removed for painting, then fitted again.

Right: the galley and fridge area from the saloon, looking down the walkway towards the aft cabin.

41. AFT CABIN TAKING SHAPE

Right: the ceiling and part of the aft bulkhead lining is yet to be fitted.

Note the fore-and-aft standard Queen sized bed base—very comfortable and of course easy to buy bedding for.

The slats are in three removable sections, giving ready access to the three storage compartments under the bed. They also allow good ventilation, a critical factor to stop both stored items and the bedding going musty.

42. SALOON AND FORWARD CABIN TAKING SHAPE

Left: again, the head lining is yet to be fitted. The settee cushions and forward cabin cushions have been made and installed.

43. THE FINISHED INTERIOR

Right: showing the saloon and the forward cabin. They are separated by an (open in the photo) set of curtains. Curtains are preferred to bulkheads and doors in yachts that spend much of their time in tropical climates, as the cooling airflow is markedly better.

The mainly white interior fitout and colourful furnishings create a bright, cheerful, airy and spacious environment, where even gloomy days don’t require lights on.