SHIP'S LOG:
Yesterday it was supposed to rain (it didn't) and I was planning to take that opportunity not to go to the boat and do some work on line. I had to use this computer because it was the one that had WIFI Internet Access via Verizon. Unfortunately, my back up computer, the one that made the trip up & down the ICW, the one that perform so brilliantly the whole trip, developed a bit of a problem. The key board decided not to work all of the time. I was typing along and suddenly some keys wouldn't type, not unless I hit them repeatedly. Not the same keys but all of them in a random manner.
Now two months ago, the keyboard on that computer stopped working completely and when I contacted DELL, they very kindly sent me a brand new keyboard( for free!) which I had installed by my friend Mark who is an I.T. guy and all round computer wiz. Now that the keyboard was crapping out again, I called DELL again and spend a good 4 hours on the phone with Sanjay Gupta's brother, "Bob," and they did a complete cleaning, updating and re-alignment of my backup computer. After this stint, during which " Bob" controlled the computer from Mumbai or Cleveland, I'm not sure which, the conclusion was reached that it was not a software problem but a hardware problem and I was promptly transferred to "Out-Of Warranty-Hardware-Tech-Support." They immediately wanted $59 for this "technical Support Incident." When I asked them how they were going to fix the machine's hardware when I had the machine with me and they didn't, Sanjay's other brother, Larry, decided that didn't make much sense. So he went and talked with his supervisor and they came to the conclusion that they would send me another keyboard "for which I would have to pay!" When I protested, saying that the keyboard I had was new, only two months old, and asked if it wasn't still under warranty, they said that it had been sent to me "as a favor" and I would have to pay for another new one.
After one long day on the phone and online, eating up minutes that I would eventually have to pay for, it wasn't what I wanted to hear. I hung up the phone and stewed. Nothing like being semi-cut-off from the world for stewing. So this morning, I took my new computer to Skip & Nancy's, got access to the Internet, downloaded VZ Access Manager and can now get online again in my latest digs. I will get my backup computer to my I.T. friend to see if he can do anything. If not, I'll check with the Nerds/Geeks at Best Buy and see what they can do.
While it didn't rain yesterday, it is pouring today. This is both a good and a bad thing: bad in that I find the rain "depressing"; and "good" in that it will test out all the leak repairs I have done. All should hold and hopefully no new ones will be discovered.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Gremlins In The Goop!!!!!!
SHIP'S LOG:
Yesterday was a beautiful day. I was warm and sunny and was a great day t be outside. A good thing to as I had several caulking projects to attend to. Caulking is ever fun as it is always messy despite and in spite of whatever precautions and preparations you take. The easiest projects were the four stanchion bases that had to be caulked, but even these were a bit messy. I had to put tape around the bases so that I could force the "goop" under and around them creating a decent seal.There is no tool to d this, only fingers will do the trick. So I had to wear rubber gloves to keep the "goop" off my hands as I did the work. The stanchions were on the far edge of the back deck so they were relatively out of the way, but it didn't seem to matter as I still got fingerprints of goop on several unintended places.
But this was child's play compared to sealing the two seams. Sometimes you need more than one person for a job, like the time I had to hold up the ceiling in the aft cabin with my feet while I screwed it back in place At other times, one person seems like too many. Caulking the seams was one such time.
After outlining both edges of the seams, had to spread the goop. It has the consistency of peanut butter. I had to put down bead in the seam and then force it into the seam with a putty knife, spreading it over the edges of the seam and onto the masking tape. You want the goop o extend beyond the seams so that as the deck flexes it doesn't pull away from the edges of the seam defeating the whole caulking effort. Due to the configuration of the deck,I literally had to sit on the panel and caulk the seam around me. It is something akin to painting oneself into a corner. And of course, moving around on this too large/not large enough panel, I got goop on my hands and arms and shorts and transferred it to every place I moved. The only two good things: 1.) the seams were righteously sealed; 2.) I used white colored caulk, as opposed to black, which meant that random goop placement was not so obvious.
Before leaving for the day, I ran a line of erasable marker inside the boat at every place leaks had indicated their presence. Today, it is suppose to pour and if any of the former leaks are still active, the marker lines will show them. Wednesday will tell the tail!
Yesterday was a beautiful day. I was warm and sunny and was a great day t be outside. A good thing to as I had several caulking projects to attend to. Caulking is ever fun as it is always messy despite and in spite of whatever precautions and preparations you take. The easiest projects were the four stanchion bases that had to be caulked, but even these were a bit messy. I had to put tape around the bases so that I could force the "goop" under and around them creating a decent seal.There is no tool to d this, only fingers will do the trick. So I had to wear rubber gloves to keep the "goop" off my hands as I did the work. The stanchions were on the far edge of the back deck so they were relatively out of the way, but it didn't seem to matter as I still got fingerprints of goop on several unintended places.
But this was child's play compared to sealing the two seams. Sometimes you need more than one person for a job, like the time I had to hold up the ceiling in the aft cabin with my feet while I screwed it back in place At other times, one person seems like too many. Caulking the seams was one such time.
After outlining both edges of the seams, had to spread the goop. It has the consistency of peanut butter. I had to put down bead in the seam and then force it into the seam with a putty knife, spreading it over the edges of the seam and onto the masking tape. You want the goop o extend beyond the seams so that as the deck flexes it doesn't pull away from the edges of the seam defeating the whole caulking effort. Due to the configuration of the deck,I literally had to sit on the panel and caulk the seam around me. It is something akin to painting oneself into a corner. And of course, moving around on this too large/not large enough panel, I got goop on my hands and arms and shorts and transferred it to every place I moved. The only two good things: 1.) the seams were righteously sealed; 2.) I used white colored caulk, as opposed to black, which meant that random goop placement was not so obvious.
Before leaving for the day, I ran a line of erasable marker inside the boat at every place leaks had indicated their presence. Today, it is suppose to pour and if any of the former leaks are still active, the marker lines will show them. Wednesday will tell the tail!
Monday, May 7, 2012
Leaks & Leaks & Leaks . . . But All Fixed!
SHIP'S LOG:
I have been out of touch for a couple of days as I am now living in a place without an Internet connection . . . but then I remembered that I have an WIFI connector for my old computer so I hooked it up and WHAMO it worked.
Over the last few days, I was able to fix and cure several leaks that have been plaguing me forever. Two were in the salon where the water was getting in through two pipes that drain the seating space in the cockpit. The ends of the pipes were fiberglassed in place but the connection was merely painted over with some high-grade-through-34-year-old-paint that had cracked and so allowed the water to seep in. Over the years, the seepage became greater and greater until whenever it rain or water got on the seating, it never drained simple entered the salon via the ceiling panels. I had to take down the ceiling panels and epoxy the pipes, kill the mold and mildew and reinstall the ceiling panels. Sounds relatively easy but, while not a complex chore, it was hard enough. Fiddling with the ceiling panels, getting them back in place and screwing them back in tight was a real pain. I need two more hands that I had. Fred was able to help with one but the other was all mine.
I caulked the exterior of the secondary hatch in the aft cabin as it showed signs of leaking too. Usually a puddle on the floor! While doing that, I decided to take down the ceiling in the aft cabin as it was laking back there some where too. It turns out that two of the aft stanchions had flexed over the years and allowed water to get beneath them and damage the wood into which they were affixed. They are set on the aft deck which is a piece of marine plywood laid over the fiberglass of the deck and painted. Once the paint cracked, water got into the wood and the rest is history. I am going to leave the actual re-beding of the stanchions until next spring as I just know they won't be the only two that have to come out. So I dug out the rot, put in some wood strengthener, filled it with marine epoxy filler, and will caulk the hell out of it today.
There is also a seam that runs around this aft deck that I suspect in leaking in places so today I will go through the process of striping and caulking that. There is a similar seem in a place in the cockpit and it will get the same treatment. And for the heck of it, I will also do the main hatch in the aft cabin. Might as well as I am on a roll!
I also painted the bottom and now ABISHAG looks ready to go. There are several small projects yet but none of them effect whether or no to launch her or her seaworthiness. I will do as many as possible until launch date which is . . . I am not sure. It depends on whether or not I can pay the remainder of the yard bill. I am off to a convenience store to "remedy" that issue!
I have been out of touch for a couple of days as I am now living in a place without an Internet connection . . . but then I remembered that I have an WIFI connector for my old computer so I hooked it up and WHAMO it worked.
Over the last few days, I was able to fix and cure several leaks that have been plaguing me forever. Two were in the salon where the water was getting in through two pipes that drain the seating space in the cockpit. The ends of the pipes were fiberglassed in place but the connection was merely painted over with some high-grade-through-34-year-old-paint that had cracked and so allowed the water to seep in. Over the years, the seepage became greater and greater until whenever it rain or water got on the seating, it never drained simple entered the salon via the ceiling panels. I had to take down the ceiling panels and epoxy the pipes, kill the mold and mildew and reinstall the ceiling panels. Sounds relatively easy but, while not a complex chore, it was hard enough. Fiddling with the ceiling panels, getting them back in place and screwing them back in tight was a real pain. I need two more hands that I had. Fred was able to help with one but the other was all mine.
I caulked the exterior of the secondary hatch in the aft cabin as it showed signs of leaking too. Usually a puddle on the floor! While doing that, I decided to take down the ceiling in the aft cabin as it was laking back there some where too. It turns out that two of the aft stanchions had flexed over the years and allowed water to get beneath them and damage the wood into which they were affixed. They are set on the aft deck which is a piece of marine plywood laid over the fiberglass of the deck and painted. Once the paint cracked, water got into the wood and the rest is history. I am going to leave the actual re-beding of the stanchions until next spring as I just know they won't be the only two that have to come out. So I dug out the rot, put in some wood strengthener, filled it with marine epoxy filler, and will caulk the hell out of it today.
There is also a seam that runs around this aft deck that I suspect in leaking in places so today I will go through the process of striping and caulking that. There is a similar seem in a place in the cockpit and it will get the same treatment. And for the heck of it, I will also do the main hatch in the aft cabin. Might as well as I am on a roll!
I also painted the bottom and now ABISHAG looks ready to go. There are several small projects yet but none of them effect whether or no to launch her or her seaworthiness. I will do as many as possible until launch date which is . . . I am not sure. It depends on whether or not I can pay the remainder of the yard bill. I am off to a convenience store to "remedy" that issue!
Thursday, May 3, 2012
The Never-Ending Search
SHIP'S LOG:
Tuesday's search for wires ended up with me dismantling the cabin ceiling in search of wires and, since it was raining, leaks. I have had two leaks that have driven me crazy since I have had ABISHAG for though I have often been able to staunch them they would always begin again. These two are far end of the main cabin hatch and the one that shows through the seams of the rear ceiling panels in the salon. Find the first shouldn't be that hard as it has to beat the main hatch somewhere, though just where is what is the mystery. Fred was around ( he is getting no work done on his boat working one mine) and joined in the hunt ( after he knocked out 3 of the four thru-hulls). It required taking down two very large and unwieldy ceiling panels where we eventually discovered that the leaks were come through the joints of pipe drains. ABISHAG has two drains behind the cockpit dashboard and two at the front end of the cockpit seating. Over the years, the piping has rusted a bit and this loosened the painted fiberglass holding the two ends, allowing rain, waves and other forms of wetness to seep between the fiberglass and the pipe and drip on the ceiling and eventually through the ceiling into the cabin. It would be a simple fix in that re-sealing the pipes/ fiberglass joint with epoxy is a five minute task ( especially if you are using Five Minute epoxy), but nothing is as simple as it seems. Taking down the ceiling revealed black mold , not a lot but enough, which had to be dealt with before the repairs could be made.
O by the way, taking down the ceiling also means taking down whatever is attached to the ceiling, such things a lighting fixtures, which would eventually have to be re-attached . . . in working order. I also discovered that there was a leak around the wood trim of the cockpit cabin hatch. On further inspection the wood backing it was found to have the consistency of wet cardboard. It wasn't a case of it having to go but rather a case of it already being gone. It had been glued in place and the wood trim glue to it when set in place but with the terrible condition of the wood, the trim separated easily was was salvageable. Rather than gluing, I screwed it in place and re-caulked it. It looks just fine.
With the ceiling down, it was a chance to see where the wires I was tracing went ( off into another space of course) and to fix any bad connections that existed( of which there were several). Someone had a love affair with connecting two wires by the expedient of stripping a little insulation, wrapping the wire to be connected around the bare spot and then sealing it with friction tape, the per-cursor to electrical tape. It is not a good or safe way to make an electrical connection and they all had to be disassembled, cleaned and connected with connectors. More Fun!
Wednesday saw the attack on the black mold. My friend, Skip, a home contractor by trade, had this chemical that could be sprayed on the mold to make it go away. Mixed with bleach and water, and sprayed on with a garden sprayer, it really did the job. Of course it was not quite that simple. First you had to mix the ingredients. Next you had to cover all of the areas of the boat around the sight where the stuff would be sprayed as it would do a job on more than just mold. The I had to spray the stuff, wearing my rain gear, goggles, and safety mask. One application did the job but then I had to wash down the surfaces sprayed to get rid of the chemical. Then I had to dry the cabin and remove all of the surface covering and trash them.
The mold was gone and next on the list was the leaky drain pipes. I first had to scrape off all the loose rust, scale and paint. Next I had to clean the pipe with bronze wool so that it was shiny. Having down that, I had to rough it and the fiberglass up with an abrasive so that the epoxy with adhere well to both. Having down that, I had to mix up a batch of five-minute epoxy for each joint and spread it on the joints in question. The stink of the epoxy and the stink of the mold killer and bleach was enough to gag a maggot. You should also realize that getting to the joints required, as most projects on boat do, physical contortions that would earn me a 10 in any gymnastic competition. And in that I had 5 minutes at most to epoxy each joint, I consider it a major accomplishment that I didn't permanently affix myself to the interior of the boat! But, case closed! In addition, I re-opened that block drains that some had plugged in the cockpit. I flushed water through them and discovered that if the "blocker" had done so to stop a leak, he actually plugged the wrong pipe. Those drains were no the source of the cabin leaks. In point of fact, the drains down work too terribly well to begin with, but at least now they have a chance to "sort of do their intended job."
There was one thru-hull that I was unable to remove. There was no way to get a screw driver into the area above the screws holding the gland in place. It was probably the reason why this particular thru-hull hadn't been serviced in years. In my case, I didn't even know it was there. I found it mere by extrapolation - hole in the hull equals thru-hull inside the boat. I have 10 holes and knew the whereabouts of only 9 thru-hulls which set of a search. But how to extract it. I was simply not able to get a screw drive where I needed it to go. So in desperation, having hit the thru - hull with almost a whole can of PB Blaster to eliminate the corrosion, I used a trick I picked up on the ICW. I griped a quarter in a pair of vice grips and was able to get it into the slot in the screw head. After the PB Blaster had done its thing, and getting myself into another "10" position, I was able to slow, and with great care, remove the machine screws and the gland and the plug of the thru-hull! Success, and with no banging! Of course, after cleaning and lubing, it was a bit of a chore to get it all back in place but I did and it works, so what more could I want.
I siliconed the gasket on one on the ports where I had discovered another leak and I hope that it does the job as I don't have the time or the money nor the energy to pop out the ports and re-bed them all. I also cleaned a grove on the main cabin hatch and laid in a bead of silicone. I am hoping that this will handle the leak without popping that hatch. Popping a main hatch of that size is a long and labor intensive process and now is not the time. Perhaps during the summer when I have a day or so, but not now. Hopefully the silicone will do the job for now.
Tuesday's search for wires ended up with me dismantling the cabin ceiling in search of wires and, since it was raining, leaks. I have had two leaks that have driven me crazy since I have had ABISHAG for though I have often been able to staunch them they would always begin again. These two are far end of the main cabin hatch and the one that shows through the seams of the rear ceiling panels in the salon. Find the first shouldn't be that hard as it has to beat the main hatch somewhere, though just where is what is the mystery. Fred was around ( he is getting no work done on his boat working one mine) and joined in the hunt ( after he knocked out 3 of the four thru-hulls). It required taking down two very large and unwieldy ceiling panels where we eventually discovered that the leaks were come through the joints of pipe drains. ABISHAG has two drains behind the cockpit dashboard and two at the front end of the cockpit seating. Over the years, the piping has rusted a bit and this loosened the painted fiberglass holding the two ends, allowing rain, waves and other forms of wetness to seep between the fiberglass and the pipe and drip on the ceiling and eventually through the ceiling into the cabin. It would be a simple fix in that re-sealing the pipes/ fiberglass joint with epoxy is a five minute task ( especially if you are using Five Minute epoxy), but nothing is as simple as it seems. Taking down the ceiling revealed black mold , not a lot but enough, which had to be dealt with before the repairs could be made.
O by the way, taking down the ceiling also means taking down whatever is attached to the ceiling, such things a lighting fixtures, which would eventually have to be re-attached . . . in working order. I also discovered that there was a leak around the wood trim of the cockpit cabin hatch. On further inspection the wood backing it was found to have the consistency of wet cardboard. It wasn't a case of it having to go but rather a case of it already being gone. It had been glued in place and the wood trim glue to it when set in place but with the terrible condition of the wood, the trim separated easily was was salvageable. Rather than gluing, I screwed it in place and re-caulked it. It looks just fine.
With the ceiling down, it was a chance to see where the wires I was tracing went ( off into another space of course) and to fix any bad connections that existed( of which there were several). Someone had a love affair with connecting two wires by the expedient of stripping a little insulation, wrapping the wire to be connected around the bare spot and then sealing it with friction tape, the per-cursor to electrical tape. It is not a good or safe way to make an electrical connection and they all had to be disassembled, cleaned and connected with connectors. More Fun!
Wednesday saw the attack on the black mold. My friend, Skip, a home contractor by trade, had this chemical that could be sprayed on the mold to make it go away. Mixed with bleach and water, and sprayed on with a garden sprayer, it really did the job. Of course it was not quite that simple. First you had to mix the ingredients. Next you had to cover all of the areas of the boat around the sight where the stuff would be sprayed as it would do a job on more than just mold. The I had to spray the stuff, wearing my rain gear, goggles, and safety mask. One application did the job but then I had to wash down the surfaces sprayed to get rid of the chemical. Then I had to dry the cabin and remove all of the surface covering and trash them.
The mold was gone and next on the list was the leaky drain pipes. I first had to scrape off all the loose rust, scale and paint. Next I had to clean the pipe with bronze wool so that it was shiny. Having down that, I had to rough it and the fiberglass up with an abrasive so that the epoxy with adhere well to both. Having down that, I had to mix up a batch of five-minute epoxy for each joint and spread it on the joints in question. The stink of the epoxy and the stink of the mold killer and bleach was enough to gag a maggot. You should also realize that getting to the joints required, as most projects on boat do, physical contortions that would earn me a 10 in any gymnastic competition. And in that I had 5 minutes at most to epoxy each joint, I consider it a major accomplishment that I didn't permanently affix myself to the interior of the boat! But, case closed! In addition, I re-opened that block drains that some had plugged in the cockpit. I flushed water through them and discovered that if the "blocker" had done so to stop a leak, he actually plugged the wrong pipe. Those drains were no the source of the cabin leaks. In point of fact, the drains down work too terribly well to begin with, but at least now they have a chance to "sort of do their intended job."
There was one thru-hull that I was unable to remove. There was no way to get a screw driver into the area above the screws holding the gland in place. It was probably the reason why this particular thru-hull hadn't been serviced in years. In my case, I didn't even know it was there. I found it mere by extrapolation - hole in the hull equals thru-hull inside the boat. I have 10 holes and knew the whereabouts of only 9 thru-hulls which set of a search. But how to extract it. I was simply not able to get a screw drive where I needed it to go. So in desperation, having hit the thru - hull with almost a whole can of PB Blaster to eliminate the corrosion, I used a trick I picked up on the ICW. I griped a quarter in a pair of vice grips and was able to get it into the slot in the screw head. After the PB Blaster had done its thing, and getting myself into another "10" position, I was able to slow, and with great care, remove the machine screws and the gland and the plug of the thru-hull! Success, and with no banging! Of course, after cleaning and lubing, it was a bit of a chore to get it all back in place but I did and it works, so what more could I want.
I siliconed the gasket on one on the ports where I had discovered another leak and I hope that it does the job as I don't have the time or the money nor the energy to pop out the ports and re-bed them all. I also cleaned a grove on the main cabin hatch and laid in a bead of silicone. I am hoping that this will handle the leak without popping that hatch. Popping a main hatch of that size is a long and labor intensive process and now is not the time. Perhaps during the summer when I have a day or so, but not now. Hopefully the silicone will do the job for now.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Picture If You Will A Bowl Of Spaghetti . . . . .
SHIP'S LOG:
Yesterday was to be the day I finally knocked out the plugs in the thru-hulls so that I could clean 'em, grease 'em and replace 'em but unfortunately Fred was unable to make it to the boat yard. The procedure is rather simple but I find it a bit "frightening" in the sense that I worry about what might happen when I whack a steel drift(rod) with a 2lb hammer up through the bottom opening of the thru-hulls to loosen the plugs. I am just afraid that:
1.) it won't work;
2.) I'll do some damage I can't fix;
3.) I have to buy and install one or more new thru-hull and i don't have the money and that will delay my departure and then I'll get charge for summer storage . . . . . . .
So I didn't do it and will await Fred's arrival. I could just as easily screw it up when he is there but it is always nice to have someone you deem more competent that yourself telling you that it is alright yo hit that drift with the dead-blow hammer.
Instead, I pressurize the boat to check for leaks. I duct taped every opening that I couldn't seal shut with the exception of two: A port to which I taped a plastic bag and an unused deck fill connection into which I inserted the shop vac hose, set on blow. I turned the shop-vac on and it blew air into the boat's interior. When the plastic bag in the port inflated, I knew the boat was pressurize and I went about with a bucket of very soapy water, wetting down everything that penetrated the deck, stanchions, hatches, cleats, etc, and looked to see if bubbles appeared. If they did, there was a leak at that location. Well, that's the theory. No bubbles were in evidence but all that proved was that there was no leaks on any of the places that got soaped down. I know there are leaks that show up around the main hatch in the saloon and in the secondary hatch in the aft cabin. Using the Sherlock Holmes theory that when you eliminate all the answers the one remaining answer, no matter how weird, is the right one. The only openings near the two hatches are the vent opening for the diesel engine and I suspect that there are holes in the hoses. To find out for sure means taking down the ceiling panels, a project fill with fun and ease to check it out. But before I make that attempt, there is one last place to check - the dashboard!
On the forward combing of the cockpit, there is " a dashboard." It is an area into which are set the controls for the Wind Indicator(non-functioning), the Speedo ( functioning sped-thru-the-water- indicator), the original NECO Auto-pilot (non-functioning), A Depth Sounder(function), and a Auto-Helm Auto Pilot (functioning but missing the a part that actually steers the boat). They are set into two pieces of smoked plexiglass and basically sit over the sliding portion of the main cockpit hatchway. It is possible that perhaps the leak in there so out they came and off came the plexiglass and . . . . . "Picture if you will a bowl of spaghetti . . . ." A great deal of marine electronics is "supposedly" calibrate to the extent that you are told not to cut any excess length you find in the wires . . . EVER! Well, whoever did the installation pf the various pieces of electronics in the cockpit dashboard followed that injunction with religious fanaticism! Now it would be bad enough if it were all gathered together and held in place with wire-ties or tape, but it was all just "stuffed" into the space behind the dashboard. In addition, no effort was made by succeeding installers to route the wires to keep them clear so that as a result wires were wrapped and knotted around each other. In addition, the space include "wires to nowhere!", cables that had one en connect to a bus-bar or in some cases, nothing, just held in place by the graces of being twist and knotted around some other wire.
Obviously this could remain as it was so I began the laborious process of tracing wires. I removed a half-dozen five foot lengths of wire that were connect to nothing. I bundled and wire-tied the wires running from each electronic control display display. I began, but did not have the time to finish, repairing the bad, faulty and missing connections. There were a number of connections where I found 3 different sized wires knotted together in a connection that was covered with "friction Tape." (Do they make that stuff anymore?) I had to carefully, one at a time disconnect them, remove the corroded sections, install new and appropriately sized connector and re-attach them to the switches. I got several done but there are more to do. Some of the connections are really bad, very corroded, and I wonder if the reason that the Wind Indicator doesn't work might not be these corroded connections.
But like I said, I didn't get them all done, but I did make a start. I would also have to say that the "dashboard" in not the site of the leak. The back is sealed and there is no indication of "serious water entry" so that should rule it out. I am betting on the vents.
This is a perfect example of how projects work on boats. Looking to find the source of a leak turns into an electrical project and you just know that tracing and repairing those wires is somehow going to turn into another project. At the very least, getting rid of the non-function auto-pilot controls and the (for now) non-functioning Wind Indicator, means a "new " dashboard has to be created and fitted. It is never ending! Ah, the fun o boat ownership!
Yesterday was to be the day I finally knocked out the plugs in the thru-hulls so that I could clean 'em, grease 'em and replace 'em but unfortunately Fred was unable to make it to the boat yard. The procedure is rather simple but I find it a bit "frightening" in the sense that I worry about what might happen when I whack a steel drift(rod) with a 2lb hammer up through the bottom opening of the thru-hulls to loosen the plugs. I am just afraid that:
1.) it won't work;
2.) I'll do some damage I can't fix;
3.) I have to buy and install one or more new thru-hull and i don't have the money and that will delay my departure and then I'll get charge for summer storage . . . . . . .
So I didn't do it and will await Fred's arrival. I could just as easily screw it up when he is there but it is always nice to have someone you deem more competent that yourself telling you that it is alright yo hit that drift with the dead-blow hammer.
Instead, I pressurize the boat to check for leaks. I duct taped every opening that I couldn't seal shut with the exception of two: A port to which I taped a plastic bag and an unused deck fill connection into which I inserted the shop vac hose, set on blow. I turned the shop-vac on and it blew air into the boat's interior. When the plastic bag in the port inflated, I knew the boat was pressurize and I went about with a bucket of very soapy water, wetting down everything that penetrated the deck, stanchions, hatches, cleats, etc, and looked to see if bubbles appeared. If they did, there was a leak at that location. Well, that's the theory. No bubbles were in evidence but all that proved was that there was no leaks on any of the places that got soaped down. I know there are leaks that show up around the main hatch in the saloon and in the secondary hatch in the aft cabin. Using the Sherlock Holmes theory that when you eliminate all the answers the one remaining answer, no matter how weird, is the right one. The only openings near the two hatches are the vent opening for the diesel engine and I suspect that there are holes in the hoses. To find out for sure means taking down the ceiling panels, a project fill with fun and ease to check it out. But before I make that attempt, there is one last place to check - the dashboard!
On the forward combing of the cockpit, there is " a dashboard." It is an area into which are set the controls for the Wind Indicator(non-functioning), the Speedo ( functioning sped-thru-the-water- indicator), the original NECO Auto-pilot (non-functioning), A Depth Sounder(function), and a Auto-Helm Auto Pilot (functioning but missing the a part that actually steers the boat). They are set into two pieces of smoked plexiglass and basically sit over the sliding portion of the main cockpit hatchway. It is possible that perhaps the leak in there so out they came and off came the plexiglass and . . . . . "Picture if you will a bowl of spaghetti . . . ." A great deal of marine electronics is "supposedly" calibrate to the extent that you are told not to cut any excess length you find in the wires . . . EVER! Well, whoever did the installation pf the various pieces of electronics in the cockpit dashboard followed that injunction with religious fanaticism! Now it would be bad enough if it were all gathered together and held in place with wire-ties or tape, but it was all just "stuffed" into the space behind the dashboard. In addition, no effort was made by succeeding installers to route the wires to keep them clear so that as a result wires were wrapped and knotted around each other. In addition, the space include "wires to nowhere!", cables that had one en connect to a bus-bar or in some cases, nothing, just held in place by the graces of being twist and knotted around some other wire.
Obviously this could remain as it was so I began the laborious process of tracing wires. I removed a half-dozen five foot lengths of wire that were connect to nothing. I bundled and wire-tied the wires running from each electronic control display display. I began, but did not have the time to finish, repairing the bad, faulty and missing connections. There were a number of connections where I found 3 different sized wires knotted together in a connection that was covered with "friction Tape." (Do they make that stuff anymore?) I had to carefully, one at a time disconnect them, remove the corroded sections, install new and appropriately sized connector and re-attach them to the switches. I got several done but there are more to do. Some of the connections are really bad, very corroded, and I wonder if the reason that the Wind Indicator doesn't work might not be these corroded connections.
But like I said, I didn't get them all done, but I did make a start. I would also have to say that the "dashboard" in not the site of the leak. The back is sealed and there is no indication of "serious water entry" so that should rule it out. I am betting on the vents.
This is a perfect example of how projects work on boats. Looking to find the source of a leak turns into an electrical project and you just know that tracing and repairing those wires is somehow going to turn into another project. At the very least, getting rid of the non-function auto-pilot controls and the (for now) non-functioning Wind Indicator, means a "new " dashboard has to be created and fitted. It is never ending! Ah, the fun o boat ownership!
Saturday, April 28, 2012
It's All Those Little Things That Drive You Crazy
SHIP'S LOG:
The only major project that needs still to be done is the painting of the bottom but that doesn't mean that thee isn't a whole host of other smaller projects that still need doing.A couple of examples:
- The Deck: Even though I re-caulked the entire deck two summers ago, there are/were still a couple of places where the re-caulking "didn't take." This meant find thing them first. Wen a teak deck gets wet after a rain or if you hose it down, it will dry out but the places where the water is getting through the caulking and under the deck stay wet longer. They stay dark while the est of the deck lightens as it dries out. SO I went around marking the "wet" spots and hit them with "Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure." This is great stuff, wetter than water, you simply drip it on a spot. If the puddles, it is leak-free, if it disappears, you have a leak.With enough applications, it will actually seal the leak but a little 6 oz. bottle is very expensive. If it were cheap, I'd just spray the whole boat but then , if it were cheap, it probably wouldn't work. When the spots were all identified, it was dig out the old caulk, a spritz of Capt. Tolley's, border it with masking tape, forced in the caulking and work it in, scrape off the excess and let it set. Then remove the masking tape and Voila! leak proof decking . . . hopefully!
- Electrical Bus Bars: There are five of these secreted around the boat, all in not easily accessible places, to which all electrical items are connected. They are all subject to corrosion, being on a boat and all, and need to be cleaned of said corrosion as the corrosion will limit, even block the the passage of electrical current and you end up with all sorts of things that don't work or work poorly. So putting yourself into a contorted position in order to reach the bus bar, you carefully remove each connector one at a time, clean it off with bronze wool and/ or sand paper, clean the connection on the bus bar with bronze wool and/ or sandpaper, spray both with an electronic cleaner spray, re-connect and then spray the whole mess with with a corrosion inhibitor. It can take an uncomfortable hour to do each one and a half hour to re-align you spine once you are done with each one. Doing one of the bus bars, the one that "controls all of the wires going up the mainmast, I was faced with a dilemma. Two wires, one brown and one blue, insulated together, where hanging loose. There were five or six free "spots" on the bus bar and so I was unsure which wire should go to what connector. Luckily friend Fred was aboard at the time and was able to figure it out with amazing rapidity. He tried to explain it all to me but electricity is still voodoo as far as I am concerned.
- Hinges: I had to replace the hinges on the fold-out supports for the b\double berth in the salon. The two platforms had originally been attached with piano hinges but in that the platforms were plywood and the hinges had been screwed into the edges with 30 tiny, tiny screws, after years of swinging back and forth they had ripped out and I just could get any bite in the wood any more. So out with the piano hinges and the 30 screws and in with door hinges and more substantial screws which went into the sides. The two platforms fold in on one another and I made a mistake in putting in the bottom one in that I forgot to make sure that there was enough clearance so that it could open and slide out from under the top. I only discovered my error after the entire project was done and is I had to dismantle the whole thing, reposition the bottom and screw everything back in place.
AH! Owning a boat is a true learning experience. You learn about engine mechanics, plumbing, electricity, metallurgy, painting, wood working, and most especially humility, patience and anger management!
The only major project that needs still to be done is the painting of the bottom but that doesn't mean that thee isn't a whole host of other smaller projects that still need doing.A couple of examples:
- The Deck: Even though I re-caulked the entire deck two summers ago, there are/were still a couple of places where the re-caulking "didn't take." This meant find thing them first. Wen a teak deck gets wet after a rain or if you hose it down, it will dry out but the places where the water is getting through the caulking and under the deck stay wet longer. They stay dark while the est of the deck lightens as it dries out. SO I went around marking the "wet" spots and hit them with "Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure." This is great stuff, wetter than water, you simply drip it on a spot. If the puddles, it is leak-free, if it disappears, you have a leak.With enough applications, it will actually seal the leak but a little 6 oz. bottle is very expensive. If it were cheap, I'd just spray the whole boat but then , if it were cheap, it probably wouldn't work. When the spots were all identified, it was dig out the old caulk, a spritz of Capt. Tolley's, border it with masking tape, forced in the caulking and work it in, scrape off the excess and let it set. Then remove the masking tape and Voila! leak proof decking . . . hopefully!
- Electrical Bus Bars: There are five of these secreted around the boat, all in not easily accessible places, to which all electrical items are connected. They are all subject to corrosion, being on a boat and all, and need to be cleaned of said corrosion as the corrosion will limit, even block the the passage of electrical current and you end up with all sorts of things that don't work or work poorly. So putting yourself into a contorted position in order to reach the bus bar, you carefully remove each connector one at a time, clean it off with bronze wool and/ or sand paper, clean the connection on the bus bar with bronze wool and/ or sandpaper, spray both with an electronic cleaner spray, re-connect and then spray the whole mess with with a corrosion inhibitor. It can take an uncomfortable hour to do each one and a half hour to re-align you spine once you are done with each one. Doing one of the bus bars, the one that "controls all of the wires going up the mainmast, I was faced with a dilemma. Two wires, one brown and one blue, insulated together, where hanging loose. There were five or six free "spots" on the bus bar and so I was unsure which wire should go to what connector. Luckily friend Fred was aboard at the time and was able to figure it out with amazing rapidity. He tried to explain it all to me but electricity is still voodoo as far as I am concerned.
- Hinges: I had to replace the hinges on the fold-out supports for the b\double berth in the salon. The two platforms had originally been attached with piano hinges but in that the platforms were plywood and the hinges had been screwed into the edges with 30 tiny, tiny screws, after years of swinging back and forth they had ripped out and I just could get any bite in the wood any more. So out with the piano hinges and the 30 screws and in with door hinges and more substantial screws which went into the sides. The two platforms fold in on one another and I made a mistake in putting in the bottom one in that I forgot to make sure that there was enough clearance so that it could open and slide out from under the top. I only discovered my error after the entire project was done and is I had to dismantle the whole thing, reposition the bottom and screw everything back in place.
AH! Owning a boat is a true learning experience. You learn about engine mechanics, plumbing, electricity, metallurgy, painting, wood working, and most especially humility, patience and anger management!
Sunday, April 22, 2012
It's The Little Things
SHIP'S LOG:
Friday was pretty much repeat of Thursday - paint, move the ladder,paint, move the ladder, paint, move the ladder, varnish, move the ladder, varnish, move the ladder - though I did get through the day without stepping on the newly varnished rail. . . a major step forward.
Unfortunately, I have come to realize that I have a gremlin aboard and this one has a thing for paint scrapers. I have, or I should say, had three of them, very necessary tools when doing paint and/or varnish work. I am now down to ONE! I have no idea where the other two got off to. They are not in the tool box. They are not on the table in the salon with the other tools currently being used. They are not in any pockets, or on deck, or in the car. Even doing a total storage of all items in the boat into their proper places failed to turn up the missing paint scrapers. I am sure that they will show up either when I no longer have a need for them or they'll just appear on the table or the desk or back in the tool box. The gremlin's got'em!
Saturday was wood working day. All of the wood work had to be Tung Oil-ed. Rung oil creates a finish and protects the wood and inside of ABISHAG there is a whole lots wood. First it all had to be cleaned which meant scrubbing with Murphy's Oil Soap. Any old varnish had to be sanded away or removed with a paint scraper. Obviously, I was sanding! Then I was required to wedge myself into odd positions in order to be able to apply the Tung Oil for you must apply the oil to all the surfaces of the wood, not just what can be seen. You paint it on and wipe it off, trying to hold onto a cup containing the Tung Oil without spilling it. What makes it challenging is that you can't really set it down anywhere or you will, trying to move or change position, knock it over. In addition, the Tung oil starts of "oily" - slippery if you get it on your hands which really can't be avoided. Strangely though, it eventually becomes sticky and you can't put the brush and/or polishing cloth down. Aside from all that, it is not a bad project with the sole exception of knowing that it takes several coats for the oil to properly do its job.
On the deck through on the inside of ABISHAG, there are wooden hatches that allow you access to the bilge and various important pieces of equipment . . . like the engine. These all had to be poly- urethaned to protect the thin veneer of teak and holly on their surface. Doing this job requires patience and a good sense of direction or one can literally paint oneself into a corner. It requires that you start at either end and work toward the middle, stop begin again at the other end and work toward the middle and paint the last one as you exit the interior. Care must be taken hat you put back into the boat all the stuff you took out and take out all the items, like car keys , you need to get home. I was able to accomplish this successfully, but with the fumes a from the poly-urethane and the Tung Oil, the interior will need an airing when next I return.
Friday was pretty much repeat of Thursday - paint, move the ladder,paint, move the ladder, paint, move the ladder, varnish, move the ladder, varnish, move the ladder - though I did get through the day without stepping on the newly varnished rail. . . a major step forward.
Unfortunately, I have come to realize that I have a gremlin aboard and this one has a thing for paint scrapers. I have, or I should say, had three of them, very necessary tools when doing paint and/or varnish work. I am now down to ONE! I have no idea where the other two got off to. They are not in the tool box. They are not on the table in the salon with the other tools currently being used. They are not in any pockets, or on deck, or in the car. Even doing a total storage of all items in the boat into their proper places failed to turn up the missing paint scrapers. I am sure that they will show up either when I no longer have a need for them or they'll just appear on the table or the desk or back in the tool box. The gremlin's got'em!
Saturday was wood working day. All of the wood work had to be Tung Oil-ed. Rung oil creates a finish and protects the wood and inside of ABISHAG there is a whole lots wood. First it all had to be cleaned which meant scrubbing with Murphy's Oil Soap. Any old varnish had to be sanded away or removed with a paint scraper. Obviously, I was sanding! Then I was required to wedge myself into odd positions in order to be able to apply the Tung Oil for you must apply the oil to all the surfaces of the wood, not just what can be seen. You paint it on and wipe it off, trying to hold onto a cup containing the Tung Oil without spilling it. What makes it challenging is that you can't really set it down anywhere or you will, trying to move or change position, knock it over. In addition, the Tung oil starts of "oily" - slippery if you get it on your hands which really can't be avoided. Strangely though, it eventually becomes sticky and you can't put the brush and/or polishing cloth down. Aside from all that, it is not a bad project with the sole exception of knowing that it takes several coats for the oil to properly do its job.
On the deck through on the inside of ABISHAG, there are wooden hatches that allow you access to the bilge and various important pieces of equipment . . . like the engine. These all had to be poly- urethaned to protect the thin veneer of teak and holly on their surface. Doing this job requires patience and a good sense of direction or one can literally paint oneself into a corner. It requires that you start at either end and work toward the middle, stop begin again at the other end and work toward the middle and paint the last one as you exit the interior. Care must be taken hat you put back into the boat all the stuff you took out and take out all the items, like car keys , you need to get home. I was able to accomplish this successfully, but with the fumes a from the poly-urethane and the Tung Oil, the interior will need an airing when next I return.
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