I Forgot Just How Much Fun It Can Be! ! ! ! !

SHIP'S LOG:

! ! ! Doing work on my boat that is! Well, not really. Luckily, I had Friend Fred to help me.

The projects for yesterday were to remove the refrigeration system ( compressor, condenser, pump, electric motor, the cold plate in the box, the control box, the control panel, plus assorted hoses and piping) and the auto-pilot system( the electric controlling motor, the chain and wires that connect it to the steering quadrant. In addition, there are the "miles of associated wiring that electrically juices both pieces of equipment. What makes it really, REALLY fun is that it all has to be done through hatchways that are really do small. All of the components of each system had to be disconnected and removed independently, in that way the came easily through the hatch. The down side in this procedure is that the screws and bolts that secure them in place are difficult, tres difficult, to get at easily and, as is the case in all such operations, since they have been in place securely since 1977 for the auto pilot system and all of the refrigeration system except the cold plate and control panel( 1986 for them), they are hesitant to give up their hold. And,of course, if there are four fasteners for a component, at least one will break, strip or be corroded in place beyond all releasing.

At least the major components were all in one place though it is/was all but impossible for two people to work together. In that Friend Fred was an engineer of some type in a previous incarnation, he provided the real skilled labor while I was relegated to what the Navy used to call a "warm body," which was defined as "someone with at least two fingers who can pick ups something when told to," though the cussing was handled by each of us in equal amounts.

Friend Fred kept decrying the fact that I was taking the refrigeration system out as he kept referring to its substructure and set up as "elegant" and " beautifully engineered." I have to admit that it was/is but it also didn't work and when it did was an electrical hog and since I had been up and down the ICW without it functioning, nor having ever used it since I have owned ABISHAG, it was time for it to go away. The cold plate, control panel and control box, since they are of a more recent vintage, actually have some monetary value and I will put them in a consignment shop and they should go away and leave some ducats behind. The other components, while rebust and functionable while probably go to trash though Friend Fred took the heat exchanger for his own boat as payment for his assistance, I think for the hot tub. A fair exchange.

The auto-pilot unit came out easier though there was still a lot of wire cutting. There is not much call these days for an old auto pilot that just turns the boat in circles so it too will like go to trash, though I got several feet of chain, wire rope and 8 wire-rope clamps, o I am ahead in that game. It too was an electricity hog and weighed a ton, and since it didn't work, it was/is no real loss.

It took Friend Fred and I about 4 hours to remove these major components and then it was time for him to leave to work on his own boat. I was then left with the fun grunt job of removing the assorted hoses, piping and wires that once connected the refrigeration and auto pilot components together and to the electrical system. The 20 feet of copper tubing($ $ $ $ $)had been bent and soldered in all sorts of angles to horse it into the limited space and could not be pulled out in one piece, or even two. It had to be cut into sections. It is a real pain trying to get at it with a hacksaw. One has to get into some incredible gymnastic-type positions just to reach it and then even more contorted positions to make the cuts. The sawing was accompanied by Anglo-Saxon expletives but eventually the deed was done. The hoses were easier as the required only a sharp knife. The wire could not just be cut and left dangling. It had to be slowly be pulled through the boat to to point where it connected to the electrical panel.The worker who laid the wire evidently had religious prohibition against taking the most direct route. It snaked through the bilge, over and around and above the engine, finally disappearing into a wire run on the opposite. It was a series of freeing the wire from one section of the boat, lifting a floor hatch and locating it under the next section, then repeating the procedure, opening every floor panel and bulkhead hatch, SLOWLY pulling the wire through less it hook on something and rip it out(which it did often), getting covered with oil, grease, water and unidentifiable bilge sludge, all the time twisted into pretzel shapes. Eventually, I had to empty the "In-Law Apartment" (the cockpit locker) and pull up the floor. The four bound wires that I was "pulling" split there, two going into a "black box" of some type and from there into the bulkhead on their way to the back of the main electrical switch panel. The other two went through the bulkhead under the Nav-table to a small fuse panel that I often wondered about. I had to dismantle that panel completely, and disconnect the wires. also connected to this panel was a half-dozen other wires that control what I have no idea. I left them connected and reassembled to panel as it might be something important. If I had to guess, not always a good idea, I would suspect that they go to the control panel for the auto pilot up in the cockpit so I will leave them in place for awhile. I will not be removing the auto-pilot control panel for the moment as it would leave a huge hole in the panel in the front of the cockpit. On this panel is also the display for the non-working wind indicator, the display for the working Speedo, the panel for the working depth sounder, the display for the Auto-Helm Auto pilot that had been installed but that went away before I bought the boat. (Evidently at one time, someone engaged both the old auto pilot and the newer Auto Helm and they fought over control of the boat. The older but extremely robust auto-pilot destroyed the auto Helm and it was tossed. However the display panel for the Auto-Helm , still electrically connected, is still in place.) Before I can remove the non-function items, I am going to have to find a 4'x1' piece of plexiglass to replace what will be a rather "holey" panel.

The day of twisting and turning and pulling and all the rest left me rather stiff and sore. I guess all the limber with which I was imbued by doing the ICW has gone by the boards. I found that getting into and out of the positions necessary to accomplish the various jobs is more difficult this March than it was last March. Either that or I am just getting old. I know that can't be the case!!!!