April Showers Bring Mayflowers

Figure 49
The Helm area, well, if you dropped
food on it, the three second rule
would be too long!

With April's warmer weather, I took a break from working inside on the features of the Constance Marie and decided to address Her finish.  I would start with the Helm area.  Needed to replace the four stainless steel hinges, clean the dirt, sand the teak pieces, fix the compass binnacle, replace the teak footers that you step onto to get into the boat, placed a new motor support for the dink's engine, cleaned up the ladder and teak steps and put a new stern light on.  The Constance Marie has no bimini.  That project is for next year.  The original knotmeter and depth finder were not working, so I knew that I would want to get them replaced prior to mid-summer. 

April is a busy time around the boatyard.  Manlifts (Fig 50A) be;pw are brought in to allow folks to check out their anchor lights.  Boats are being launched into the moorings field. 

Figure 50
A little sweat equity and She is
starting to look like a real Lady

I shopped around on line looking for 3 1/2 inch stainless steel hinges.  Went to the usual places on line and around our town, but could not find anything under $30-60 for each!  No way Jose!  I was shopping at Lowes and noticed the gate hinges and there they were!  Stainless Steel 4 inch hinges for $9 each.  And believe it or not 2 of the four holes lined up with the others.  I would patch the others before bolting in the hinges applying a good seal of silicone. I noticed that the yellow life ring in Figure 50 was mounted on the inside rather than outside.  I reversed it and made the starboard seating area much more comfortable.

Figure 50A
Yep, that's the Constance Marie
35' down the main mast. 

Beware The Ides Of March

It's the beginning of March and looking for projects that I can complete indoors.  The key switch was unreliable and the tachometer was faulty as well.   I wanted to keep the same instrumentation cluster that Westerbeke provided.  The plexiglass was was all scratched and there was no cover over the key switch.  The upper left hand corner and bottom right hand corners of the instrumental panel were broken off.  Below you see the repaired instrument panel casing.  I used JP Weld as the moldable ingredient to build up the corners.  I created some "corner moulds" using stiff cardboard and poured in the JP Weld like it was cement being poured into columnforms.  Let it cure for 48 hours in my basement.  A little sanding and some black paint and we were as good as new. 



Figure 47
Instrumentation Panel



I then went down to the local hardware and had them cut a piece of Lexan 2'x2' 1/8 inch and came home and measured it to fit.  I needed it to be pliable so that I could get it back into the original position on the face of the instrumentation panel.  If you look closely, I made 45 degree 1/2 cuts at each of the corners so that the corners would not be pressured during the installation of the Lexan.  Figured it would be a good way for any water to drain out if condensation appeared.

Having accomplished this, turned my attention to the Johnson key switch that Andy had located last year to replace the one that was not working reliably.  This switch is the kind where you put the motor key in, push it and  make a quarter turn to the right to warm the glow plugs.  Then after the presribed time (depending on the outside temperature), you then complete another quarter turn to crank the engine. The switch was a little sticky.  I took care of this with some dry lubricant, the same stuff you use on your masts to help the sails hoist easier.



Figure 48
Into the ABYSS - The backside of the
Helm's Instruments Panel

Next, I turned my attention to the rear of the instrumentation panel seeking to understand why the tachometer was not working well.  I sat down at lunch and reviewed the engine wiring schematics in the Westerbeke Owners Manual.  Located the "brown" wire in the harness that goes from the harness to the alternator.  Found a loose connection and presto, we have RPMs being indicated.  Of course I did this with continuity checks while not running the engine.  Remeber I am a rookie at all this stuff. :)









Welcome 2014!

Figure 45
Chilling on a chilling day.

Have you ever been so passionate about something that you lay in bed at night trying to fall asleep and you can't because you figuring out how you are going to get something done.  That is me.  I keep going over the portals and hatches that need to be repaired  But these will have to wait.  We have to ensure that the structure of the boat and essential features are functional.

Well, it's January 2014 and the club had some fun events during the holidays.  Aside from some of the members being comforted by our great fireplace at the club, we had a great Commodore's Ball, a huge turnout for our annual Thanksgiving Dinner and our Christmas fund-raiser for the local kids.



Figure 46
Thanksgiving Dinner at the Club

I have been busy researching the internet and determining what vendor I will buy what parts off of.   I discovered that I could get some pretty good deals through Amazon Prime which provided me a one shop stop for reviewing items.  I always compared prices among 2-3 potential vendors before selecting.  I wished I had access to the all the experience of the club members over the years as to where and what items were found to be reliable from which vendor.  Something to think about for the future.  It would be nice to have an online database in our club website. 

The Second Time Around

We pulled the Constance Marie from its moorings on October 18th.  It was a Friday and Indian Summer was in full splendor.  I was planning to do the haul-out on Saturday but opportunity presented itself and Robert, one of our tractor drivers, said I had a 30 minute window to get the boat to the loading ramp and out of the water.   Wow!  Mad Hatter take two,  jumped into the dink, motored out, secured the dink to the sloop, motored Her back to the dock and we pulled her out and put Her up on her boat stands all inside 30 minutes. Unfortunately, never had a chance to lay any ground cover under the boatstands. Not good. Come winter and spring, this section of the boatyard turns into quagmire of muck and yuck. Well, I retrieved the power washer and gave the old girl a good bath. One of the benefits of sailing the northern waters of the Chesapeake is that it's all fresh water...no barnacles, no annual bottom paint. Five fresh water rivers feed the region. The Susquehanna, the North East, the Elk, the Bohemia and the Sassafras.  At the headwaters of the North East River is a favorite spot for the Bassmaster Pro Elite tour. 

Figure 43
High and Dry

Anyhow, after the Constance Marie was cleaned up, we winterized Her.  You can do this in stages over  1-2 days or spend two-three hours and get it all done in one day.  I like to run the engine and get everything warmed up.  My buddy Denis changes his oil with his boat still in the water.  Makes sense and I think I will do that prior to the end of next season. 

Lesson Learned:  Remember to put some paper towels and a plastic bag around the filter when to catch the oil that will flow from it.

Using the replacement oil filter that was in The Beast's A-Kit (spare parts), I installed the new oil filter remembering to put some oil on the o-ring at the bottom of the new filter so a good seal is made.  This engine is 33 years old but just resurrected, so its important to change that the oil is changed each year.  Never give an old man something that he can whine about.  Same thing with an old engine.

I basically did the same with the transmission fluid, although on The Beast this is easier said than done as the the tranny is located just in front of the stuffing box near the rear of the engine and down below.

Next was the fresh water cooling system which uses a 50-50 solution of anti-freeze and water year round.  We rarely, if ever violate the -5 rule but I insist on using anti-freeze (and Pink Piss) with the capabilities of -55 degrees.  This year I drained the anti-freeze and added the more concentrated mix.  Old engine, runs hot.  

Figure 44
The Beast Ready for Winter

I turned to the topping off the diesel fuel tank.  Most of us at the club go over to the nearest working marina and fill it up, but I know that I was only about a gallon down so I used a yellow five gallon diesel can to do it.  I added some Stabil for diesel engines to ensure that we control the critters and condition the fuel for the winter.
In addition to the oil filter, you have the water/fuel separator and the separator sediment bowl has to be cleaned out.

In addressing the fuel filters and its elements, with the fuel injectors it is important to bleed any air out of them by running the engine for a few minutes. I closed the thru hull sea cock.. Removed the water intake hose from the sea cock and placed it in  a five gallon bucket of fresh water.  Before re-starting the engine, I checked the zinc pencil in the primary heat exchanged and cleaned it.  I cleaned the raw water sea strainer and started the engine  to draw the fresh water through the sytem. As the bucket near emptied I filled it up again with the a mixed solution capable of -55.  I just don't trust the weather as last winter it went to below -5 with the wind chill and gaskets inside heat exchanges failed dumping coolant all over the engine wells.  Once the bucket was just about empty, I killed the engine.  She was all set for the winter.

It's recommended by the manufacturer, but I did not remove the impeller and did not disconnect the propeller shaft coupling from the transmission.  I will inspect during spring commissioning.  I made a list of the spares (filters, gaskets, etc) that I used in the A-Kit so I can re-order them piece-meal.  I swapped out the start and service batteries and put the original battery back in for use in the winter.  Of course, fully charging it before doing so.  Whew!  On to the next task! 

Lesson Learned:  Don't forget to use a trickle charger keeping your service battery (or replacement) charged up for the winter.  A battery charger is good too while working on a project on the boat but don't leave it hooked up for the week if you are not there. 
 

 

 

 

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