main hatch

My first attempt to glue the ply bearing pads for the hatch supports was a failure. The pads have to be (and weren't) EXACTLY level in all directions. Even a very minor misalignment of the pads results in the supports noticably not standing/lying straight and thus not lining up properly for the slide tracks on the hatch.
Also the heads of the 10 mm slide bolts were about 6 mm thick, and together with the insulating nylon washer I needed about 8 mm between the coaming and the supports. Because the bearing pads were (as per plans) only 6 mm thick, the bolt heads rubbed against the coaming.
I hacked the bearing pads off again, and made new thicker (10mm) pads and a MDF jig to glue the pads properly aligned. Overkill? Maybe, but...
....this time the supports alligned beautifully. My home-made slide-tracks and slides also work well. I'm happy. I put some 600 gr glass on the pads to strengthen them, as ply alone will probably wear down (too) fast.
I want to drill all the holes and make all the inserts before fairing the outside of the hull. One of the last pieces I have to make before fairing the outside are the inserts for the mast support. Here is my mold (one sideplate removed): I use the two metal studs to keep the tube at the right angle in the mold.

interior + mast step

With the hull upside down it was time to finish the upper part of the interior. Prior to fairing I made four HD inserts + extra glass for the lifting eyes. Two eyes just in front of the front beam bulkhead, and two eyes at the main bulkhead.

Fairing the interior took a lot of time and it was one of the most unrewarding jobs so far. Despite that I tried not to rush it and to work just as long as it takes to get it right. End result so far (boat is right up again). The interior is primed from the gunwale up. The part in front of the beam bulkhead is finished with polyester topcoat with a textured roller. It looks OK but I'll think about it a little bit longer before I roll the whole interior.
I finally managed to get all the alu to build the mast step. Finding a shop willing and able to sell the alu took a lot of time and effort, and in hindsight it might have been easier to build the mast step in stainless steel, like Tovio did.
I was a bit worried I wouldn't be able to saw the alu, especially the 1 cm thick plate, but it turned out to be no problem. I glued a copy of the plans to the alu sheets and cut all the parts to (roughly) the right size with a jigsaw with a blade especially made for cutting alu and some cutting paste to grease/cool the saw. Finishing can be done with a file (????) and waterproof sandpaper.
Here is a picture of some of the parts put together. As you can see they are a bit rough, I still have to file and sand them to the final shape and I've got to epoxy-glue some extra pieces to the ears. The lightening hole was cut with a normal hole saw and my drill press. It looks good, and it might be handy to tie some things to, but that's it. The weight saving is minimal.