Fall is Balling for Sailing

I decided that enough had been done on the boat to let the Constance Marie get wet.  We launched her on Friday, August 23 - my mother's birthday.  I was determined to get some fall sailing in with my wife.  The Down the Bay cruise was right around the corner, but deep down inside I knew the Constance Marie was still too sick to go very far from the mooring field.  So we sailed in the harbor outside Charlestown and Susquehanna Flats and learned how to sail the basics with my wife, our oldest son Jordan and our friend Dale.

Who knows what next year will bring?  More resurrecting power that's for sure!

That yellow flag is the Scottish Flag of St. Andrew, many regard it as the Scottish Battle Flag

Alien vs Predator

I went back to a wiring project and knew that my Anchor Light was not working.  I wanted to trace the wire from the electrical panel under the galley floor and test for connectivity where the wire entered the mast.  I was more curious how the wire was run than whether it worked or not.  The height between the hull and the galley floor in the Hunter 27 is around 5 inches and it was very hard to see anything until it dawned on me that my I-Phone has a camera and video on it.  I shoved the phone into the bilge hole and shot several pictures pointing in the direction I thought the wires might be coming out of and what did I find....

Figure 38 - The World of Alien

Creepy, very creepy. I was expecting something hideous to come out of that black hold in the back.  But there were my black and red wires.

Creepy, very creepy.




 

Figure 39 - Meets the World of Predator

Somehow, I snapped another picture and this time it is ROMEX and I could not figure out why it was where it was and where it was heading. All the ROMEX I had found to date was in the AC connecting the three GFIs.to the electrical panel.  Not sure if I ever concluded what I was looking at here.

Maybe somebody who reads this in the future can answer this riddle?

I continued in my wiring efforts to inspect and ensure functionality prior to replacing.  The DC schematic from the original 1979 Hunter Owners Manual helped a great deal  along with the The Beast's wiring diagram of the harness.

Figure 40 - I=V/R

Figure 41 - Internet Research
Found This

Well, it was time to connect back the

bowl of spaghetti wires to the electrical panel.  Thank goodness I found a diagram on the internet for this exact panel.

Lesson Learned:  If you are going to take wires off of something before you know what you are doing, make sure you label them well.





Figure 42 - Unlabeled wiring.
Humbug! 

It took the better part of August to finish the wiring because I was my own worst enemy.  But this was on my bucket list, to wire a boat from scratch.  My manhood was at stake.  I cried, cursed, kicked things until somehow, someway, the great feat was accomplished.  I am glad I was alone in these moments because the embarrassment of another club member or Olivia observing me would have been too great to bear.  Perhaps someone did hear me and they were mature enough to let it pass.  Yikes!

The Lady in Red (Diesel Tank)

Now that many of the structural projects were done, I was catching a second wind.  It was just past mid-summer (for our neck of the woods) and folks at the club were already talking about the Down the Bay Cruise in September and the subsequent Pig Roast.  Now that The Beast was in, I wanted to fix the fuel guage on the newly painted aluminum fuel tank.  The original 12 gallon tank had been reduced to 8 gallons by the first owner who wanted more storage room.  Cruising the northern Chesapeake, an 8 gallon is ok with a 10hp Westerbeke.  The Beast burns around a gallon an hour when iron sailing and there are plenty of marinas in the area.

Figure 36 - Fuel Guage
 12gal to 8gal

In opening the fuel guage by removing the four outside screws, I had to play around with a pair of needle nose pliers in bending the stem of the float just right so that when the fuel tank was full, it would register 3/4 tank.  It took awhile but the resurrection process was moving ahead at hull speed.

Figure 37 - The Full Monty

The Beast Within

I call the engine The Beast but frankly, the Constance Marie, carrying the name of Mom, is an angel.  Little by little this angel is getting Her wings back.  With Andy's supervision, Reese and I manned the block and tackle and hoisted the mighty 10hp 2 cylinder (ok guys stop laughing, I am an old school guy.  If I wanted a dragster with 18hp or more I would have converted to nitro-methane).  Cruising is cruising.  Racing is racing.  Currents are currents.  Wind is wind.  I am not worried about changing out the engine because Dennis The Wise told me that "SAILING AND SCHEDULES DON'T MIX" so why be in a hurry going from Point A to Point B. 

Figure 35 - The Beast back home

Later on we cut the raw water hose and put in a raw water filter mounting it below the antifreeze overflow container.  You can see the fiberglass wrapping at the end of the radiator and above the heat exchanger.  The custom fit on the elbows leading into the carbon muffler on the other side of the painted bulkhead meant we did not have to have a support to secure the muffler as did the old stainless steel which is where is rusted through.  Given this is a closed system, we made sure that the loop in the exhaust hose met specifications for water and diesel discharge.  Although not seen, the Coast Guard required placards were remounted along with the Westerbeke engine sign.

Every Task Completed is One Day Closer to the Return of The Beast

Figure 25 - Whole new stuffing
 box

Figure 26 - All filters mounted
on bulkhead

Figure 27 - New thru hulls for raw
water and galley sink

Figure 30 - Making the harness
look pretty



Figure 28 - Old buss works

Figure 29 - New Stainless C-17 Prop Shaft

Figure 31 - Fiberglassing the Heat Exhaust



Figure 32 - Old Stainless Steel Muffler

Andy worked for years in the aerospace and defense industry and knew all about the benefits of heat retention by wrapping things in fiberglass.


Figure 33
Carbon muffler and new exhaust hose

Figure 34 - The Beast Overhauled and ready
for a test run.  Note the filters simulated on bulkhead

After The Beast was pulled a variety of projects dependent on The Beast not being home were accomplished including fresh BIN primer all around.  These took us past the July 4th weekend to complete.

June & July - Fixing the Iron Sail and Then Some!

I can not tell you how many times, as the weather warmed, that I visited the Constance Marie high and dry on her boatstands during April and May.  I would go there and just sit and look at the things I wanted to do.  I had spent more time during this past winter (November through June) organizing the maintenance garage at the club than working on my boat.  I think in a way, it was a way of achieving victory over projects that I did not want to tackle on the boat.  It was good for the club, as we cleaned up the clutter, organized the hardware and created work centers for the guys to drill, sand, cut metal, weld, cut wood and generally tinker with odds and ends.  I labeled everything I could so people would know where things were.  Sadly, the Constance Marie was experiencing loneliness.  Through improving the garage, I actually restored my motivation to take care of my boat projects and finally put others second.  Sometimes we serve and sometimes we need to be hunbled in being served.

Turning my attention to fixing the Westerbeke 10-2 diesel (The Beast), I realized I was in over my head.  By this time I had learned who in the club was good at things.  I also learned that there is a cadre of members who earn a few bucks assisting other members in the club with their boat projects. The guy I was looking for was named Andy.  Experienced, a straight shooter, great sense of humor and above all, a penny pincher.  I would come to like that last trait alot.  Andy believed if you can get the right part for pennies less, it's worth it.  I just wanted the engine to run reliably every time I turned on the ignition switch.  Problem was, the ignition switch wasn't working.  Then we got serious and I loved it.  I had a partner, a noble task, and the resources to ensure success.

I was remiss in taking photos of the pulling of the beast out of its cavity.  The Constance Marie was wedged too close to the adjacent relics that we could not get the club's frontloader close enough to lift The Beast out.  Andy rigged some block and tackle to the main boom and The Beast was hoisted out and laid on the ground beside her benefactor, propped on two 6 x 6's in the mud.  For some reason I started to feel like a enuch. 

Figure 22- The Beast

 

Figure 23 - Bloody mess

Remember I told you that I had spent most of the winter fixing up the garage.  Guess what, now were going to make use of some that extra space and the new work centers to fix the iron sail!  We used the front loader to move The Beast to the garage where she would sit for 2-3 weeks until we tackled some other projects that needed to be done before reuniting The Beast to its momma.  Look at the engine cavity (Figure 24)and all it entails and then look past the bulkhead and the prop shaft and try to envision all that lies behind there for a sailboat that has a wheel mounted helm.



Figure 24 - The gate to hell

Working from the stern, we found helm drainage hoses, wiring buses,  steering quadrants, steering pulleys and cables, the muffler, exhaust hose, missing nuts and bolts, wear and tear on the hull, the fuel tank, thru hull fittings and the need to clean up that part of the boat that I was sure has not been painted or cleaned for 33 years.

At this point, perhaps a series of pictures would serve best with commentary offered where helpful.  My intent for the Journey of the Constance Marie is to put my prime thoughts down and then go back and add the BOMs associated with each project so that this journey becomes more of a tool for the novice apprentice who wants to take on a project boat.

 

I am Mortified, Stupified, She is ELECTRIFIED!



Figure 19 - Mast Grounding and Keel Bolt

Well, the winter is wearing on and you can only stay in the basement for only so long.  After working some 35 pieces of teak and miscellaneous woods and by no means done, I was yearning to turn my attention to some else and so I fired up the portable heater on the boat and took on a another project:  This time it was the grounding wire from the mast.  It was  grounded to the front keel bolt.  It was not in good shape and partially broken at the connector. Let's talk about the grounding of this sloop.

[ABYC Recommendations, Marine Advisor, Spring 2001). Being the Constant Marie is a sailboat with an aluminum mast we have the starting point of a well-grounded lightning rod. This will provide a zone of protection for a radius around its base equal to the height of the lightning rod. Due to some vessels overall length, it may be necessary to install another lightning rod to encompass any areas that do not fall within the zone of protection. Don't forget that the mast itself must be physically bonded or connected through to the common ground - one of the keel bolts or if a encapsulated keel, to the grounding plate, in order to provide optimum protection.  In this case, to the Constance Marie's keel bolt.  The apex of the rod should be a minimum of six inches above any masthead device. The end should be sharpened to a point. The base of the mast or the mast step if metal, should be connected to a keel bolt on externally ballasted vessels. The preferred wire gauge is No. 6 or even better, #4AWG stranded copper. In no case should such a connection be made to a vessel with internal ballast. The result could be a hole blown through the bottom of the hull. Boats with internal ballast should have a copper ground plate of at least one square foot in size installed externally on the hull bottom. The grounding wire should then be connected to the ground plate. All wire conductors should be kept as straight as possible. All large metal objects above and below decks should also be electrically tied into the lightning ground conductor. This is a precaution against side flashes. Large metal objects include shrouds, chainplates, toe rails, sail tracks, winches, steering wheels, and bow and stern pulpits. These items can be tied into the ground conductor wire by a minimum #8AWG stranded copper gauge wire, or connected directly to the hull ground terminus.  And that's exactly what I did.


Figure 19
Front of electrical panel

You might remember earlier that the electrical panel was disconnected from all the AC / DC wires in the first days after the Constance Marie was pulled. 


Figure 20
Back of electrical panel

This is the original electrical panel designed for 1980. Hmmm, what was going on in 1980?

 

 

Yearly Inflation Rate 13.58% Dow Jones Industrial Average 963        Interest Rates Federal Reserve   21.5%   Average Cost of new house $68,700    Median Price Existing Home $62,200 Average Income per year $19,500.00 Average Monthly Rent $300.00   Cost of a gallon of Gas $1.19 Average cost new car $7,200.00

Back to reality.  I was looking at an electrical panel that had the alternating current (AC) designed on the same panel as the direct current (DC). Of course the AC is like the power in your house and the DC is like the power provided by the battery in your car.  Things change over time and codes now require that AC and DC be on separate panels but the Constance Marie is a 30+ years old and I chose to keep things functionally normal.  I would focus on the DC conductivity and fix the AC later.  Remember, we moor the Constance Marie and not slip her at a dock as a matter of routine.  I bought some 5 amp, 10 amp and 15 amp circuit breakers to replace the old ones in the panel.


When I purchased the Constance Marie I discovered that I did not have an owners manual for 1980.  I found one for 1979 and could barely read the wiring diagrams, so I created one myself from physically eye-balling things and the little I could get from the documentation.
I did the same for the AC which was alot more simple.  Remember you can click on the picture to enlarge it.

Figure 21 - DC schematic of the Constance Marie

 

I checked all the wiring on the boat as best as I could and I was surprised to find twisted pair and not solid core.  I spent the next several weeks putting in new galley and berth stainless steel lights, new running lights, fixing the mast ground and putting in three ground fault interrupter (GFI) sockets in the galley, navigation and head areas.