Head (mostly) primed

   
     Today started out with a bunch of sanding.  I got the epoxy securing the head backing sanded smooth as well as the patches on the bulkheads I did earlier.  After cleaning it all up I gave it a coat of primer.  Starting to look pretty good in there I think.  I bought a piece of PVC to connect the bottom of what is there to another piece to hide more of the sanitation hose when it runs through.  I think I'm going to have to cut out the back part of the pipe in order to get it installed, but you shouldn't be able to tell that from the front.

     The next step in here is to set the toilet in place and work on running some of the many lines needed to install it.  I will need a hose coming from the head to the holding tank, one from the tank discharge to a split, one from there to the discharge up top, and one from the split to the discharge seacock with a pump installed in line.  I also need a vent hose from the holding tank to up top and a line from the water inlet to the toilet.  At some point I'm going to need to get a holding tank, but for now I just plan on running all these lines to their general location and leaving them long.

     Once I have all of the holes cut out that I need I will sand down, prime, and paint the floor of this area.  Not sure what I'm going to use for this yet, but I don't think it is a decision that needs to be rushed.  Not a whole lot of sailing going on for the next couple of months.

     I also finished constructing the front of the locker box.  The picture is upside down, but you get the idea.  The piece of wood in the middle sits on the bottom piece already in place, and the piece on top helps to stiffen it up as well as giving the top a place to sit.  The bottom angle matches up with the floor in this area, and the corner that is cut out matches up with a drainage hole already in place.  After sanding everything down for a good fit I threw a coat of primer on it, as well as a couple other pieces I hadn't gotten to earlier.  Next time I am out I plan on painting this with white BilgeKote to match the rest of the box interior.  After the paint, the only things left in the locker will be the final paint (still need to pick a color), the trim for the shelves, and a bar to hang jackets and cold weather gear on.

Epoxy in the head

     Yesterday I installed the back piece for the head.  It took some sanding to get everything to fit just perfect before screwing it in place, but not much.  I also cut out a spot on the bottom for the sanitation hose to run through on its way from the pump out connection to the holding tank.  Once I got everything screwed in place I was a little disappointed with how flimsy it seemed, mostly where the three pieces joined each other.  Enter the epoxy.  If you look at the picture you can see wetness where the pieces join up and along the edges.  I also did along the bottom edge because I had a little left over and figured why not.  The spot with the most epoxy is on the bottom left corner near the seacock.  I tried to make this a smooth of a seam as possible when I did the cut out, but...

     The plan for today was to cut out a replacement piece for the front of the hanging locker box, but it is pretty miserable out right now.  The rain is holding me back from getting the saw out of the barn for now.  Hopefully it will clear out later this afternoon and I get a chance to make the cuts.  I was also hoping to get a coat of primer in the head, but I think the chilly temperatures are slowing down the cure rate on the epoxy.  I should give it another day or two to finish curing.

     The good part about not going outside today is it allows time to cook up Thanksgiving dinner part 2.  While at the grocery store the other day we picked up a bunch of on sale items, including a 12 pound turkey for $0.54/lb.  Not too shabby.  It has spent the last couple of days in the fridge thawing and is finishing up in the sink right now.  Guess I need to get off this site and figure out how to cook a turkey.  Happy Thansgiving (2) everyone!

Second Coat

     The wife took a work from home day today and I had a appointment with my oral surgeon, so my time was pretty limited today.  I did manage to sneak out for a little bit though, and put a second coat of primer on the backs of the pieces for the head shelving area.  That was my compromise between leaving it as is (was) and painting it with the Bilgekote.

     Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.  I'll be at work, but it looks like it will be quite the feast.

Head progress

     Not the best of pictures, but hopefully it gets the point across.  This was taken while I was sanding down the pieces trying to get them to fit properly.  The gap on top of the frame looks a little weird, but it is level; the boat is acually crooked, not the frame.  As you can probably imagine, all the wood on the inside of the frame is going to be cut out to leave a nice pretty hole.  I actually already did that, but can't seem to find the picture, so you get one mid work.  I also had to cut out little blocks of wood for the screws because it doesn't take much to go through 1/4" of plywood.

     After getting the fit good enough to satisfy me, I removed everything and cut out the inside scrap.  After that I sanded down all the edges and primed the back side of everything, including my little wood "washers".  I haven't decided if I am going to paint the backs with the BilgeKote or just leave them primed.  You won't be able to see it anyways, and that stuff is expensive!

     Before putting it all back together I still need to figure out where the sanitation hose is going to run through and make a cut out for it.  I'm thinking about getting more 2" PVC to hide it on the outside over to the forward bulkhead.  That should keep everything looking cleaner and a little more professional.  Once everything is permanently installed I will be adding fiddles to the front edge of both shelves that match the frame and priming/painting the bare wood.

Painted shelves

     I started off the day by making more cardboard templates for the front of the shelves in the head and the front piece of the hanging locker "box".  After that I tackled the second coat of paint in these areas.  I cheated a little bit and skipped the bottom of the shelves.  They looked pretty good already, they won't be getting a lot of wear, and I am running low on paint.  Everything looks pretty good, now it's time to close 'em up.

     There wasn't much I could do with the wet paint without messing it up, so I headed home.  I cut out the pieces I need.  I used 1/4" plywood for the head, and 3/8" for the locker to add a little extra strength.  Unfortunately I didn't have a large enough piece of 1/4" so I had to split it into three pieces that I will put together in place.  I'm not sure if I could have fit one large piece in there anyways, so it wasn't something I am upset about.

Gloomy Day

     Today is a pretty gloomy day.  Grey and raining non stop.  Between that and my jaw still aching it doesn't feel much like a day to work on the boat, so I'm not going to.  Instead I'm making some ale braised short ribs for dinner and curling up with a book.  If only I had a fireplace and a bear skin rug.

     Tomorrow I will go out and put on the second coat of paint and if you are lucky I'll take a couple of pictures.

Back at it

     It's been over a week since I did any work on the boat and i was starting to feel antsy.  Life has been a little hectic lately but today I ignored my swollen face and carved out some time.  I didn't get a whole lot done, but it felt good to do something.  I got the first coat of white BilgeKote on the shelving in the locker and the head.  It is going to need at least two coats, but I'm off to a good start.

No news

     No news as far as working on the boat goes.  Monday I didn't do anything because I had (I thought) an appointment to get a wisdom tooth pulled.  The wife took the day off work to drive me, but it turned out the appointment was only for a consult.  Sigh...another week of putting up with this tooth crap is going to suck.  I'm too old for this.  Anyways, because the wife was home we spent the day together doing non boat stuff.

     Today and Friday are both being spent at the academy taking my EMT refresher course.  Not exactly fun, but at least I'm getting paid for it.  Pretty easy overtime.

     Wednesday and Saturday are both work days, so nothing is going to happen then.  Thursday is my only available time, but I never seem to get much done the day after a 24 hour shift, especially at my new station.

     If I do get out there the plan is to get a coat of paint on the shelves and areas I won't be able to reach later in the head and the hanging locker.  Not very exciting, but it should be an easy enough day that I'll be able to work myself up to getting out there and doing it before coming home and taking a nice long nap.

Shelving, still

     I started off today at the hardware store looking for the pieces I wanted to run the sanitation hose through.  I found what I needed, but it was more expensive than I thought it should be and it got me thinking.  The hose is pretty ugly and seems to accumulate grime pretty easy, so why not hide the whole thing?  It turns out that it fits very nicely in 2" PVC pipe.  It was a pain in the butt to get everything lined up properly and cut out but I think it turned out pretty well.  It is just sitting in place in the picture held up with the friction from the well sized holes in the shelves.  Once I have the hose run through I will figure out a way to semi-permanently hold it up.

     Before cutting the holes for the PVC I stepped back to admire my handy work when I discovered the two shelves were uneven by about 3/4".  It sucked having to adjust everything to get it in line, but I sure am glad I figured it out before cutting anything to install the pipe.

     The shelves in the head area as well as the hanging locker are all screwed in place and primed up.  The next step is to get a couple of coats of bilgecoat paint on everything before working on the front covers.  Much easier to do now with so much open space.  Hopefully it will be warm enough next week to make that possible.

     At some point I am also going to need to drill a couple of smaller holes in the shelves to run the holding tank vent hose through.  I wish I would have thought of this before putting everything together.  It is such a tight fit that I actually have to remove the cleats in order to get the shelves in place.  I'm not sure if I am going to take it all apart and do this before painting or figure out a way to do it later.

Shelving

     I got all five of the shelves cut out this morning before running some errands.  When I got out to the boat I was surprised at how well the ones for the hanging locker fit, and how poorly the ones for the head fit.  With the grinder and sander I got everything to fit and cleaned up.  I primed all the bare wood I wouldn't be able to reach later and then installed the ones in the locker.  The picture looks a little distorted, but i think that is because of the angle I took the picture from.  The bottom area will eventually have a front piece but I haven't worked on that yet. I'm planning on using some 1/4" hardwood plywood so I can stain it up nice and pretty.  The front of the two top shelves will have a fiddle installed as well as the rear of the bottom one.  I am waiting to get everything painted before installing them though.

     I also got the two shelves for the head fitted and primed, but I didn't install them yet.  I need to size out and cut a circular hole in the middle of them to run the sanitation hose through.  I took a little piece of the hose home with me so I can take it to the hardware store later.  I want to try to find a PVC fitting or something similar that I can install for the hose to run through.  This should clean it up as far as looks go and also provide a bit of chafe protection.  I will have to see what I can find.

More cardboard

     I started off today with the icebox.  I sanded down the second coat of fairing and got the cover to almost fit.  It is going to need a bit more sanding on the lid and just a couple touch up spots with the epoxy, but it is getting close.  I ran out of latex gloves so I decided to move on to another project for now.

   

     I moved up to the head area to start with.  I cut out and installed the side supports for the two shelves I positioned earlier.  I think they will need a support in the back as well, but those will need to be epoxied in place.  The no glove situation strikes again!  These will be easier to position properly once the shelf is installed anyway, so no biggie.  Next came the seemingly never ending cardboard templates.  It is hard to believe how time consuming it is getting them cut out for the shelves.  The words straight and even just don't apply to this boat.  I brought some plywood with me to cut these out, but I under estimated how big they would end up and didn't have big enough pieces.  It seems that will have to wait for another day.

   


     I decided how I am going to do the hanging locker today and started working on that as well.  The back part was originally storage shelves and I am going to keep those, with a bit of a remodel.  They used to be walled off with access holes but I am going to leave them open with a large fiddle on the front of each shelf to keep stuff from sliding out.  I am planning on using some of the scrap teak I pulled off earlier to make these.  I found appropriate pieces in my pile, I just need to cut them down to size, sand the nasty purple and green paint off, and varnish them before installing.  It looks good in my head; hopefully it will turn out the way I envision it.  I cleaned up the old shelf supports and cut out more cardboard to fit.  Thankfully this side was much easier because I still have the old ones that don't fit very well to work off of.

     The part closest to the head is where the clothes hanger used to be that I want to change up a bit.  The bottom of it angles pretty steeply making it hard to use.  This is also a good spot for the depth/fish finder to be installed and I would rather not be banging this around with other stuff.  The solution was to make a box of sorts in the bottom.  This leaves me room for the depth finder and a little bit of storage I will figure out later as well as a flat area.  It almost looks like a seat across from where the toilet will be.  The plan is to leave this open but have eye hooks up both sides.  This will allow me to stretch some bungee material across and leave a large storage area for the unused sails.  I installed the cleats to support the "bench" and cut out template for the top of it as well.  It seems I forgot to get a picture of this.  I'll be sure to take one once I get the wood cut out and installed.

     Looks like I am going to need more plywood.

Last couple of days

     So I have been lax in my posting, but I have been making progress at the boat.  No long days, but just picking away,

     I have sanded down the first coat of filling epoxy on the icebox entrance and have put down a second.  I'm pretty sure this will do it, and once it is sanded smooth I will paint it to match the inside. Still not sure if I want to paint the cover or leave it the way it is.

     I have also been picking away at the head and hanging locker areas.  In the hanging locker I made some cardboard templates for the shelves that will be towards the back.  I have also been thinking about changes to the front.  It was supposed to have a bar for hanging jackets and such, but I'm not sure I'm going to do that.  It would be nice, but this isn't going to be a boat I'm living on, just using for day trips and maybe an occasional overnighter.  I'm thinking about making it into a storage area for the unused sails and sail bags, but I haven't figured out how to do it yet.  Anyone have any suggestions?

     In the head I finished removing stuff I didn't get around to finishing earlier.  I also decided to put a couple of shelves back where the holding tank used to be rather than wasting the space.  If I put in another holding tank it is going to be in the V berth so this opened up quite a bit of space.  To trim it out I will use a nice teak frame that used to be back here that was painted a garish purple color.  Who would do that?  I sanded it down today using 60 grit just to get the majority of the old paint off. I will be going over this with progressively finer grits before varnishing it.  The before and after pictures are below.

Another day

     I spent a couple of hours at the boat today playing with the electrical system and the icebox.  I got the colored lights on both sides and the white one on the stern working, but struck out on the mast light.  The two sides had corroded connectors on the bulbs and the stern light just didn't have a bulb. Pretty easy fixes there.  

     The mast has two light on it, one up top that looks like an all around red/green/white light and another light further down the mast which points down and I believe to be the spreader light.  There are two wires coming out at the base of the mast, one a 3 conductor and the other a 2 conductor.  I'm pretty sure the three is for the top one.  If I'm guessing right, one is a ground, one is power for the red/green, and the other is for the white (to be used as an anchor light).  Earlier I wired from the 3 conductor through a connection by the base of the mast and back to the panel.  I was hoping to be able to figure out what wire is what through trial and error.  The first try led to sparks shooting all over.  Not what I had expected.

     It turns out that the wires I used in the connector going through the boat was too big.  Because of this the screws holding the wire in the pins stuck out too much and were making contact with the outer casing.  After fixing this problem it seemed I was back to where I started a couple of hours earlier.  This time when I tried different combinations of wires I got nothing.  Either the bulbs up top are burned out or it isn't even hooked up.  Neither would surprise me.  Now I'm going to figure out how to use the bosuns chair left with the boat and see if I can get up top to check it out.

     The two conductor still needs to be run through the boat and back to the panel, but I am in no hurry with this one.  The one on top would allow me to be out of the slip at night, and with the days ending so early this time of year that would be helpful.  There has been more than one time that I have been hurrying for the marina right around sundown. 

     I also did a little work on the icebox trying to finish it off.  The part where the lid fits in place was still just roughed in and while it worked, it left a lot to be desired.  I filled in around the foam with some 1/4" plywood and used some epoxy mixed with filler to smooth it out.  After it dries I will sand it down and more than likely have to do at least a second coat before painting it white to match the inside.

     When I left I was met with a car that wouldn't start because of a dead battery.  It has sounded like it was getting harder to start lately but I was hoping it was just my imagination.  Apparently not.  Thankfully the marina is close to home so I just walked.  It will be easier to deal with once the wife gets home from work.  Tomorrow I will bring the battery to a shop to get tested.  It is only about 2 years old, so I am thinking it isn't the problem.  Might be time for an alternator replacement boys and girls.  As much as that sucks, the car does have 130K + miles on it and I have gotten off very easy so far on repairs.  Other than routine maintenance, the only thing I have had to do was replace an O2 sensor and a clutch.  Hopefully this isn't the beginning of the end for the mustang.  I was hoping to get another couple of years out of it.

 

Thoughts

     I spent some time out at the boat yesterday, but didn't get much actual work done.  Most of it was spent sitting and staring at the head area and engine box.  I did replace my light that didn't work with a (I thought) new one of the same type I found, but that one doesn't work either.

     Staring at the head was actually productive even if I didn't get anything built.  I was trying to figure out how/where to build shelves.  This is complicated by the fact that I am going to need multiple hoses running through everything and the stuff is far from flexible or forgiving.  I may end up trying to make most of it out of solid PVC with "buffers" for movement being made with the sanitation hose.  I'm going to need to research this and see how plausible it is.  I also need to come up with a new holding tank before doing a whole lot.

     On to the engine box.  I am currently using an outboard to get me in and out of the marina, but have always had a desire to put an inboard back in.  Cost made me think this would never happen, or at least not happen for years to come.  I tried to build the engine box big enough to eventually put one in.  It turns out eventually might be a lot closer than I imagined.

      Not having any idea what I am doing with this boat, I often turn to The Plastic Classic Forum for answers and ideas.  One day I half joked to a guy trying to sell an Atomic 4 (the original engine type) in Kentucky that I would come and pick it up if he couldn't sell it.  Well, the other day he sent me a message saying it was mine if I could come get it.  Holy crap!  I immediately began trying to figure out how I could get it.  I was comparing shipping costs vs. renting a truck (the Mustang just wouldn't cut it) and driving out to get it.  Neither was looking very good money wise.  Putting this on hold for the weekend, I flew up to Michigan for a cousin's wedding.  Congratulations "L" & "J".

     While I was there i found out my brother is driving down to Cincinnati this coming weekend.  Quickly pulling up a map we found out this is only two hours away from where the engine is.  He agreed to go pick it up for me when we talked about it if he can get a hitch hooked up to his car using our other brother's small little trailer.  I don't want to celebrate prematurely, but it looks like it is going to work.

     Thank you "M" and  Surveyor, this is appreciated more than you know.  I guess I know what my winter project is now.

Sailing

     Spent a couple hours out on the bay doing some sailing with the Mrs yesterday.  While we still have a long ways to go before I would consider us good sailors, we are definitely making progress.  No pictures because we forgot the camera, but it was wonderful.

Engine repair 2

     So it turns out I didn't have the pieces put back together properly.  There are way too many pieces that fit in way too many places.  It took me a couple of hours but it is finally back together and working properly.  I should really look for a manual for this thing, it would have made my job so much easier.

     It is pretty dreary out right now but I am heading out to the marina now to plug away for a little bit.  Not sure what is on the agenda for today, but I'm sure I can figure something out.

Engine repair

     So it is the middle of the night and I am awake standing watch because the station alerting is down.  While this is going to completely ruin my day tomorrow it did allow for some time to work on the engine (glad I brought the pieces with me).  I bought a new pull cord earlier today and took everything apart and have gotten it back together, hopefully correctly.  I won't know for sure until I try to reinstall it and give it a shot.  Hopefully that happens sometime tomorrow, after my very long nap.  Wish me luck.

Almost sail

     Beautiful weather today so the wife and I decided to go for a sail.  After getting everything ready to go I pulled the cord to start the engine and it came apart in my hand.  Lovely.  After taking it apart I figured out I had no idea what I was doing so I threw it all in a bag and moved on to plan B.

     We went and got a couple of kayaks from the marina and went for a wonderful trip.  Blue herons, turtles, deer, and a bald eagle were the sights for the day.  Plus we didn't get shot at this time.  Bonus!

     After wearing ourselves out we went and had a well deserved appetizer and a beer (or three) at our favorite local watering hole.  Cheers!

Sailing

     Yesterday I had the joy of going sailing for a couple of hours.  My boss' kid is a sailing instructor, and it wasn't a difficult task to get him to do a little work on the side.  I had a great time, and more importantly, learned a lot.  Sadly I forgot to bring the camera.

     I also primed most of the starboard interior.  I didn't get around the windows done because I haven't sanded there yet, but the rest is done.  What a difference.

Nice long day

     I spent a nice amount of time out at the boat today.  I took the day off work because I have some vacation I need to burn, so why not?  The first thing I did was hook up the wires coming from the mast light to the small jumper bar mounted inside the boat.  I still need to run wire from here to the panel, but that is going to hold off until I have a little money to spend.

     Next I moved back to the engine box.  I had it roughed in from earlier, but wanted to get it at least closer to the way I envisioned it working.  It took a lot of sanding and trial fits, but I have it close to where I want it.  The top piece was cut in half and a hinge installed.  The back part  was screwed down to the supports, and the front piece just rests in place when down and is supported in place by a little latch I had laying around when it is lifted up.  I need to come up with another latch of some type to hold it in place when it is in the down position.  I added a couple pieces of 1x2s to act as a guide and anchor for the front piece.  Now it will slide up and out of the way when thetop is lifted.  On the left you can see it in the lifted (top) and closed positions.   Somehow the piece making up the top seems to have warped a little bit at the corners.  I'm hoping that I can wet it down and weigh it down to bring it back.  If not I may have to install 2 latches, one on each side, just to hold it in place.  The plan is to have the top covered in some sort of material that will run all the way across the galley area and make the "counter" part of the galley.  Maybe something to step on when entering the cabin too, that way you don't put your nasty shoes on the food preparation area.  The front I hope to cover with some 1/4" hardwood and stain and varnish it up nice and pretty.   





              .

     I also cut out and installed the piece around the radio. It still needs a couple of ventilation holes, but I haven't decide how to do that yet.  I am going to fill all the lines and screw holes in so that it will be seamless from the panel over.  I am also planning on running a line of caulk on top to fill in that gap and make a nice transition, and it will all be painted the same color.  Some day.

     Now I'm at home getting ready for dinner.  The basil in the garden is starting to go to seed, so that means it is time for some pesto.  If you look close you can also see a bunch of cherry tomatoes and some peppers I am going to roast.  The tub in the background is the sponge for the sourdough that is going to me baked.  I started the little yeasty guys growing about a week ago and am excited to give it a shot.  If you don't hear from me soon it means I did a poor job and my science experiment killed me.  That or I have relatives in town to entertain for a couple of days.

Tunes!

     It isn't much to look at, but I have tunes!  I finished the rough in of the radio box and hooked up the old speaker wires coming from the cockpit.  One of them is either bad or not hooked up anymore because I am only getting sound from one of them.  Still, better than none.

      I also made a cardboard mock up of the piece that will cover the front and line up with the electrical panel.  I didn't get it cut out because I had to go home and study, but at least I made a little bit of progress today.

More wiring

     I started off today by wiring up the radio.  I figured I had worked in silence long enough and it is time for some tunes.  I didn't get the speakers mounted or speaker wire run, but I did get all the connections from the radio to the panel done.  You know the drill, crimped connections, solder, and heat shrink.  Unfortunately, I forgot to check to make sure the radio actually worked before I hooked everything up, and I couldn't get it to turn on.  I didn't have my meter with me to see if it was a power problem, but the marine radio is on the same circuit and it works fine.  Not looking good.  Thankfully I have another radio I pulled out of the wife's car after she met a deer up close and personal.  I will have to splice in a new connector for the speakers or redo them.  Also, I need an antenna.  No tunes yet it seems.

     While I was wiring, I installed a new connector for the wiring running up the mast to the running lights.  There is a 2 conductor with an old connector and a 3 wire coming from the bottom of the mast, so I decided to try the 3.  I bought a water proof, through deck, 4 conductor connection and wired it in.  I installed a small junction bar on the inside were the wires run in but didn't get around to hooking it up.  I still need to buy the wire to run from here back to the panel, so no hurry.  The pictures below show the inside and outside view.

Cutting More Holes!

     I didn't have a whole lot of time yesterday to work on the boat because my brother was coming in to town to visit, but I did stop by for a little bit.

    I added a small junction bar in the electrical panel for the CD player and started wiring it up, but couldn't get too far because I need some more connectors and shrink wrap for the wiring.

     I also cut out a new hole in the galley area and installed a hatch to be able to access the bottom of the sink and the seacock attached to it.  The old one got mostly covered when I redid the engine box and I realized I needed a way to get my hand in there after I re install the sink.

Aftermath

     Both boats made it through the storm fine, but the house is still without power.  No electricity means no hot water, which means don't expect a lot of work to get done in the next couple of days.

Irene

     I tied up the boat as well as I could this morning in preparation of the hurricane heading up our way.  Cross your fingers.  I'll let you know in the next day or two how it made it through.

Still more electrical

     Today consisted of more wiring.  I put in a 12V outlet, wired in the side marker lights, the stern white light, and installed/wired the marine radio.  This stuff is stupid time consuming, but it has to be done and I'm trying to get it all done correctly the first time so I don't have to come back to it.

A little wiring

     Did a little wiring today.  Crimped connections, soldered, heat shrinked, you get the idea.

More electrical

     Kind of a late entry.  The following relates to the work I did last Friday.

      I bought some 3" bolts and nuts to put on the back protective piece of the battery disconnect and after hooking up the positive leads I secured it in place.  I also hooked up the cables to the battery and the one smaller line for constant power for the bilge pump.  The only thing left I have to do down here is finish up the drain for the icebox, clean everything up, and give it all a final coat of paint.

     I have some rough cut outs on the panel for a couple of the things that will be mounted here and I installed the panel with a hinge that runs the length of the bottom.  I need to figure out how to lock it in place at some point, but no hurry right now.  If you look close you can see how poor of a job I did cutting the hinge to size.  I have plenty more of it to fix this if I ever decide to.  The rough edges from where I cut out the cover will be covered with some pieces of trim eventually.  I installed two bus bars inside for the positive and negative leads coming from the battery and hooked them up.  I also started the permanent wiring for the bilge pump.  All the wires are terminated with "O" ring crimp connectors, soldered in place, and covered with heat shrink.  This is pretty time consuming, but I would rather take a little longer and only have to do it once rather than having to redo it later.

     The day ended early with a trip to the pool to cool off.  Once that happens it is a little difficult to get back to work.  Such is life.

   

Electrical Work

     I spent today working on the electrical system.  I started by testing my GFI outlet to make sure it was wired up correctly.  Yay!  It works!  I then finally pulled out the long ass extension cord and ran the shore power to my new connection in the cockpit.

     Next I moved down to the bilge.  Joy.  I installed a connector bar in the bilge right up under the sole and connected the bilge pump and float switch up.  I ran a 3 conductor wire specifically made for the bilge up to the panel location.  While I was doing that I also ran a red and a black wire up through the conduit from near the battery to the panel.  The red will be for constant power for the bilge pump switch so I don't have to turn everything else on for it to work and the black is an extra for later.  I started hooking up the auto/manual switch but I didn't have a small enough screwdriver with me.  I also could use a wiring diagram for the switch.  It should be easy to wire, but I want to make sure I do it all correctly.

     I also started installing the cut off switch for the battery.  I put it on the panel in front of the battery, in the upper right hand corner.  As of now, the only thing I am planning on having wired around this is the bilge switch.  Right now it is held in place with two screws.  I need to take the back cover with me to the hardware store so I can get some bolts and nuts to install it correctly.  I also need to buy some lugs for the lines to run from the battery and switch up to the bus bars in the panel.  I used a short wire with connectors already installed from the old broken switch to hook up the switch to the battery so that leaves me with four to buy and install.

     While I was at the store I also bought a float switch and auto/manual switch for it for the fishing boat.  The amount of water that can collect in that thing after one good rain is pretty amazing.  I'm pretty sure this is why I keep getting water in the fuel and have a hard time with the motor.  I'm going to have to add a fuel/water separator sometime in the future as well.

     First sail!  The Mrs & I actually went out and did a little sailing yesterday.  Getting in and out of the marina and raising/lowering the sail were a little more stressful and involved than we expected, but I think they will get easier each time we go out.  We also discovered that we need to get someone who knows how to sail to come out and give us some pointers.  While we did manage to sail, we were far from efficient.  At one point while trying to tack we ended up actually spinning around and facing the opposite direction.  Oh well.  All in all it was a fun outing.  If only the weather would cooperate today to allow us to try again.

Electrical

      I broke out the hole saw today and cut out a 2" hole in the back of the boat to install a connection for shore power, shown above inside and out.  Right now it is hooked up with an extension cord and I hate the way it looks.  Thanks to the local sailing consignment shop it didn't set me back too much either.  The wire (yes it is marine rated, and yes that means it is stupid expensive) runs down through the conduit to the engine box where I installed a GFI outlet for the battery charger to plug in.  I'm not sure if I will run anything else from here or not, but it is in a very convenient location if I do.  I also cut out holes for some of the panel components to fit in but I need to get some smaller screws to put them in place.  I'm hoping to get the electrical system at least far enough along to have the lights needed to go sailing but of course there seems to be a million things that need to get first.  Today was one of those days where I was wondering if I bit off more than I can chew.

More painting

     I went it out to the boat today just to make sure everything was OK and clean up a bit and got sucked in.  Probably a good thing seeing as i want to get this project to a point where I can enjoy the boat.  I cleaned out the engine box and put the outboard in there to give me some room.  This reinforced my idea about making the covers easily removable because it was a pain to wiggle it in there.  I marked up the covers where they need to be sanded and measured for the hinge I will need.  While I had it all opened I hooked up the battery charger that is installed on the side of the galley and hooked it up to the battery to charge.  Free electricity at the new marina so why not?  Then it was time to start some real work.

     I started by measuring, making, and installing the supports to hold the cut outs in the backrest.  After they were installed I figured I should finish them so I removed the whole backrest and sanded the corners of them down and primed them.  Seeing as I had the backrest out I swept out all the dust from making the cuts and cleaned it all up.  Then I went ahead and put the second (and last) coat of paint on the inside.  Nothing holding me back from re installing the backrest now, so back in place it went.  Then I went ahead and painted the above mentioned supports and cutouts because the primer was already dry and I already had a brush used with primer.  My justification for that was not having to buy another $1 brush.  Weak.

     At this point I was so disgustingly sweaty I couldn't bear the thought of doing anymore for the day.  My hat was actually so saturated by sweat that it was dripping pretty steadily from the brim.  I didn't think to take any pictures, but you can look at pictures earlier of the other side to get an idea if you want.  It is pretty similar, except in the aft the backrest goes down instead of up.

Back from our trip

     Well, we made it through the 8 day, multi-state, family vacation alive but a little beat down.  I got a little sailing instruction while in Newport, got to taste almost 100 different types of cheese and a bunch of local beer at the Vermont Cheesemakers Festival, and I also stuffed my face with a couple of lobsters while in Boston.  Food wise it was a pretty damn good trip.

     I know I said in the last post that we were going to wait until today to move the boat over, but we decided at the last moment that we should do it before leaving.  That way if there was a problem we would still have today to take care of it.  It was insanely hot so we didn't attempt any sailing, we just ran straight to the new marina.  Thankfully it went very smoothly and the boat now sits in its new home within sight of the local tiki bar.  That is sure to get in the way of at least a little progress this year.

     Today I probably won't get a lot of time out there because of house cleaning, laundry, and an assortment of other chores that need to be taken care of after a week of slacking off but I am hoping to stop out there just to make sure everything is OK and that I don't have any notices or anything hanging on the boat. Then tomorrow it is back to work.  Joy.

New Marina

     Well, I took the plunge and rented out a slip at a new marina today.  It is nicer, larger, has more amenities, and most importantly, is cheaper.  I went to the boat a little while ago to tidy up and was driven back home by the heat.  The temperature right now is 101 with a heat index of 113.  I'm not sure we're going to make it out tonight to move or if it will just wait until the 1st.

     I still have to mow the yard before leaving in the morning and that is looking like an insurmountable chore right now.  I'm not even sure I will be able to get myself back outside to go to the pool.

Backrest

     The photo pretty much sums up today's work.  I got the backrest sanded to fit correctly, temporarily installed, and the hatches cut out.  The cuts need to be sanded around all the edges and then primed/painted to match the inside.  I also need to install a couple of pieces of wood to act as stops so the bottom pieces don't fall back inside the storage area.  They won't fall out because the cushion will be in front of them.  The top cut outs will remain open like the port side with something across the center to help keep items from falling out.

     I also spent some time at the marina office today trying to get the price of my slip lower so I don't have to move.  They did come down, but only to match the price of the next marina over (which is much nicer).  I guess that means we are going to be moving.  The plan is to do it either on Friday or when we get back from our trip.  I can only imagine how out of place our boat is going to look at the chi chi marina.

Paint & phone work

     The little bit of time I spent at the boat today was filled with painting.  I got the first coat of paint on the area that will be behind the starboard side backrest, the shelves in there, and the backside of the actual backrest itself.   Unfortunately, I think it is going to need two, if not three, coats to cover well.  Bah.  Even with everything opened up the smell got to be horrific.  Between that and the fact that I couldn't do a whole lot working around wet paint I decided to call it a day out there. That and it is just plain out hot this week!  Tomorrow I am going to have to temporarily install the backrest.  It will be easy enough to pull back off for the next coat of paint and it will make what is coming up that much easier.  It will also allow me to mark out the cutouts to access the storage areas.

     I came home and spent a while on the phone with different marinas.  My slip fee is up at the end of the month and I really don't feel like paying what they want.  I have a bunch of different quotes from other places in the area, some of which are much nicer, that I plan on taking to the office tomorrow to see if they will work with me.  Cross your fingers for me.  I would really like to stay where I am because of the location and people I have met there, but if I have to move to save a grand I will.

     Come this weekend the wife and I are making a week long trip up north to visit family.  While I'm looking forward to getting out of this heat for a week it means all this marina fun is on a bit more of an accelerated pace than it should be.  If I have to move in the next couple of days I have a lot of work to be done.  Not only do I have to clean out a whole bunch of tools, plywood, and other assorted building materials, I also have to get a bunch of stuff back on the boat.

     That means it is time to go out to the barn and start digging through all the junk I pulled off the boat at the beginning of this thing and find some stuff I will need.  Flares, life jackets, anchor, chain, etc.  Well, maybe after this beer.  It is still hot out there!

Weekend

     I had the whole weekend off with the wife so very little got done on the boat.  Actually, only one thing was done.  We took the outboard over and put it in place.  Then we used the marina's pool for the rest of the afternoon.  Pretty productive eh?

Busy Day..

...but no pictures.  Forgot my phone and the camera.  Oh well.

     I got the new backrest sized and cut out.  It will need a little bit of sanding on the top to line it up correctly with the edge of the shelf, but that was done on purpose.  I also got the shelves cut out, sanded them to fit, and installed them.  Once this was done I got a coat of primer on the hull, the supports, the shelves, and the back side of the backrest.  I was hoping to go out tomorrow and get the first coat of paint on it all, but as I typed this I realized that I am going to need to caulk off the edges of the shelves and let it dry before I can do any painting.  Going to make a short day at the boat tomorrow unless I can come up with something else to work on.  Something tells me that isn't going to be a problem.  

     Today, with the help of a few marina friends, I installed the main sail and cover for it.  One step closer to sailing!  The genoa is next, but I figured one sail was good enough for today.  Plus I need someone to explain the roller furling to me before I attempt it.  I did discover a couple of broken pieces in the rigging that will need to be fixed as well.  One thing always leads to another doesn't it?

     Working  inside the boat didn't last as long as I was hoping for today.  It is too damn hot to be stuck inside that cabin for very long.  I was sweating bullets.  I did get a little bit of work accomplished though.  I got the bottom half of the two backrest supports epoxied in place as well as getting the shelf supports cut and put in place.  A couple pieces of cardboard were used to make the shelf templates but I didn't actually get those cut out yet.  I am planning on using the old backrest, but first I am going to be using it as a template for the new backrest so I didn't want to cut it up yet.  I need to prime everything before putting them in place as well so no biggie.  I  want to use the part that has 234 engraved in it; I figure it would be kind of nice to leave it.  Who knows, maybe in 20 years or so someone else will be redoing the boat and get as excited to find these numbers as I did.

Organizing Sails

     This post actually should have been up yesterday but the wife decided we should go swimming and have strawberry daiquiris instead.  Who am I to argue with that kind of logic?

     Earlier in the day we started going through all the sails trying to figure out what we had, what was good, was wasn't, and what goes where.  There is a brand new genoa and main sail in the black bags on the right of the picture.  I  brought those and three separate jibs out to the boat along with the main sail cover.  All the other stuff I tried to organize a bit and put back in the barn.  I know some of it is trash and should be thrown out, but I am a little leery of doing so right now.  I don't want to get rid of something I might need in the future.

     One of the neat things I found was the old main sail.  It seems to be pretty beat up and in pretty rough shape but I love the additions on it.  It has the #234 on it as well as the Triton logo up above it.  I would love to remove these and have them put on the new sail.  I have no idea if that it feasible or not but I think I'm going to look in to having it done.  Either that or maybe new copies.

     The wife and I took all this stuff out to the boat and then used the marinas pool.  I hate the thought of having to re up the contract here because of the price but I sure do like having the boat and a pool so close to home.  The slip fee is due the first of the month if I want to keep it here.  Time to make some decisions or win the lotto.

Backrest supports

     Today was spent cutting out, shaping, and starting to install the backrest supports for the starboard side seating area.  I'm getting pretty good at this cardboard template to plywood thing; I only had to make a couple of minor sanding adjustments before they fit in place.  I used the old back rest to hold them in place while I epoxied the top of them to the hull.  Once that cures I can do the bottom half that I couldn't reach today and start working on the shelves.

Odds & Ends

     This is where the picture of my work would go if my phone would cooperate and upload the photo.  Oh well, it wasn't too exciting anyways.

     I started off today by finishing the track replacement.  It turns out all I needed to hold the goose neck in place was a machine screw with a rounded head instead of the flat.  Nothing like something so obvious to make you feel a little stupid.

     The second job done today was sealing off the drain in the icebox with some silicone.  Now it should be waterproof, but I don't want to test it until I finish the shut off valve on the drain.  That shouldn't be too hard to do, I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

     I then moved over to the starboard side seating area.  I have tried so many things to get the left over funk off the side and nothing has worked.  Today I broke down and bought a 80 grit sanding disk thingy that attaches to my grinder.  Messy as hell, but it sure took that funk off.  Now I have a bare slate to stick stuff to and paint.

     With that done I laid the old backrest in place to use as a template and worked on sizing out the supports and shelving that will fit behind it.  Back to cutting cardboard.  The whole thing will be similar to the port side, but instead of having a piece coming up for the electronics, there will be a cutout in the rear that will allow use of a trash bag or small trash can without having to open any hatches.  That is the plan anyways, we'll see how it works out.

Gooseneck track

I found a 7/8" piece of track to replace the one I removed at a local consignment shop for $2.00.  Sold!  It is a different style but the dimensions are correct.  Of course the holes didn't line up so I had to drill and tap new holes.  A little sealant, a little lock tight, a couple of new screws and it is back on.

Now for some reason though the boom just slides right off the bottom of the track.  I can't remember what used to hold it in place.  I walked around the marina looking for anything similar but couldn't find anything remotely like mine.  All newer and flashier boats.  Not many 50 year old boats around here it seems.

I was hoping on getting a bit more done today but it is just too damn hot.  I decided to go home and find something to do in the AC.  I'll leave you with the pictures of old vs new.

One of those weeks

     Last weekend was taken up with the 2nd annual Crab-B-Que at the house.  It was a smashing success, but no work on the sailboat.

     Yesterday was supposed to be spent on the boat, but life got in the way.  It seems my dog got sick the day before, leaving presents all over the house for us. Unfortunately the wife and I were both at work all day.  Great timing dog.  So instead of working on the sailboat I spent the day renting a carpet cleaner, moving furniture, and cleaning all day.  It was so much fun.  Ask me about it sometime if you want to hear me vent for a bit.

     The plan for today was to fix where the boom attaches to the mast so we could attempt to go sailing this coming weekend.  I'm sure you can guess how well this simple repair went.  Here are the before and after pictures in case you lack sufficient imagination.  There is also a broken off screw in the mast that I need to figure out how to remove.

     I went to all the nearby marinas to buy a replacement.  After many false leads and lots of running around I came to the conclusion that my life sucks.  It turns out that this is a 7/8" wide piece, and all anyone can order (let alone has in stock) is a 1".  Time to scour the internet.  If I can't find one I can replace it with a 1", but then I have to replace the part that slides onto it as well.  No, I have no idea what that piece is called.  I'm a fireman, not a sailor, so leave me be.

     Seeing as that wasn't going to get fixed today I moved to the inside for a bit.  I got the drain for the icebox installed after much cutting and fitting.  I didn't get the area around it filled with foam because the top of the can of good stuff broke off when I tried to use it.  Notice a theme for my day?  Lovely.  I also did some finish sanding on the top pieces and got them (temporarily) in place.  Next time I have need for some 4200 or something similar I will glue them down.  They aren't going anywhere for now anyways.  They fit so tightly in place that I had to use a little persuasion with my hammer to get them installed.  The two lids don't fit like I want yet, but thankfully the are a little too big rather than too small.  I can work with that.  Right about them is when my phone died, so no pictures.  Use your imagination, it is a top on a box.

     Not ready to go home yet I moved on to the starboard side seating area.  I tried to sand off the sticky fuzzy crap but it just gummed up the paper in a matter of seconds.  Instead I used some natural paint thinner on it, let it sit for a while, then went to town with a scrapper.  I can't say I got it all off, but I did get most of it.

     Now I have moved my work to the air conditioning to look for parts on the net.  That and have a well deserved beer.  I also had an idea for a name today.  The previous owner was going to name her "Firefly" from a TV show; sticking with the theme I am thinking about "Serenity".  That is the name of the ship from the same show and has a much better ring to me.  Let me know what you think.

Back at it

     I know I have been absent from this for a while.  Life seems to have been pretty busy in the last couple of weeks.  We had a visit from the wife's dad, had to unexpectedly replace a car, and went on a week long trip to visit my family in Michigan.  Yesterday I did absolutely nothing, but today I jumped back in to the boat.

     I put the third and final coat of paint on the inside of the icebox and the bottoms of the top pieces.  After getting the drain installed I will be able to seal it up and give it a test run.  It's hot out there and  it would sure be nice to keep some cold beverages on hand for when I'm "working".

     After painting I decided to see if I could get the drain in place.  Of course I couldn't.  The first problem was the drain tube.  During all my fiberglass work I seemed to have filled it with fairing epoxy.  I tried to chisel it out, but that wasn't happening.  I ended up having to cut it out from the side leaving a nice big hole in the insulation.  After I get it back together I will fill it with some filling foam.  Once I had the whole piece out it cleaned out quickly and easily.  I then tried to install it only to figure out that the hole where the top piece of the drain fits had grown smaller with all the epoxy work.  It shouldn't be a big deal to widen it out a little bit but I didn't want to do it while the paint was still tacky.  I guess it will just have to wait a bit.

     I wasn't ready to go home yet so I started doing some picking up and organizing.  I had put it off for a while now and it was starting to look pretty bad.  While picking up I started moving my supplies and tools over so I can start working on the seating area on the starboard side. With this done I had a nice big open area in to start with.  The first step will be to sand everything down and fill the multitude of old holes created by who knows what.  Then comes the priming, and then I can move on to building out the backrest and dividers.  I'm actually looking forward to that part.  Crazy huh?

     Before I can start sanding I had to remove an old covering of some sort from the side.  Most of it seems to have been cut off at some point in the past, leaving only a piece running behind the backrest from the galley to the forward wall.  It seemed to peel off pretty easily, but left a nasty residue of some sort.  I'm sure it is from the adhesive origionally used to hold it in place.  I'm hoping that it will come off with the sander, but I ran out of time for the day so I will have to wait to find out.

I know...

I know it's been awhile since the last post.  Life has been pretty hectic with not much time for the boat.  I have done a little bit of work though.  Tomorrow I will try to remember to take a picture or two and update my non-existent readers.

And another coat...

     Sometime in the last couple of days I sanded down my first coat op fairing and applied a second.  Today I sanded down the second and applied the third.  Hopefully that will be the last.  If all goes well I will sand it down tomorrow and know for sure.  I leave you with a very exciting picture of my progress.

Not as good

     Yesterday I went and finished putting down the first layer of fiberglass.  It should surprise no one that it didn't go as smoothly as the day before.  I did manage to get the whole icebox covered, but it was messier and much harder than the day before.  I also got the first coat of epoxy mixed with fairing compound put on to try and smooth out some of the flaws.  I'm sure it will need (at least) another coat or two, but it is still progressing in the right direction.

Finally Fiberglassing

     I have been slacking lately when it comes to the sailboat.  I have lots of excuses for this.  Fishing, boating, gardening, mowing the yard every three hours (or so it seems), trips to the vet, working OT.  All good reasons, but today I felt like I had to make some progress.

     I bought some 8 oz cloth for fiberglassing the inside of the icebox, but this just didn't seem like it was going to be as solid as I wanted for the bottom part.  I tend to be a bit clumsy, and sooner or later I know I'm going to drop something in here.  This called for a little but more thickness.  Thankfully I found a big roll of some really thick glass out in the barn left by the previous tenant.  Score!  I'm not sure what it is, other than thick, but the price is right.  It isn't like the typical glass you think of, it isn't matting, and I don't think it is roving.  Its fibers all run in one direction, on an angle, and it has what seem to be little strings running through it holding it together.  It likes to fall apart when you handle it at all, but it seems like it will be much tougher than what I have.

     The inside of the icebox was already sanded, so I just had to clean it up before attempting this.  I used a damp rag to get out the remainder of the dust, and after that dried I used a rag with some acetone to make sure it was all clean and good to go.  I cut out a piece a little bit larger than what I needed and laid it in place and then went at it.

     The picture on the left shows the view from the top out in the cockpit, and the one to its right shows a view from an angle inside the boat.  They were taken before I finished up the edges while I was mixing up some more epoxy.  In the picture on the right you can see up top where there is some overlap.  The thicker stuff is on the bottom and the 8 oz cloth is up towards the top.  I got all the edges wet down and in place as well as glassing the little cut-out on top where the cooler hatch will fit in to place.  Tomorrow I will be going back out ( I hope ) and finishing up the rest of the uncovered areas with the 8 oz cloth.  I will cut pieces to fit on the sides and wet them down.

      All in all this went smoother than I was anticipating.  The corners worked out much better than I had even hoped for.  I'm not going to say I had an easy time, but for my first attempt I am pretty pleased.  I don't think I swore even once, so that has to be a good sign.  After the side pieces are in place and semi-cured I am going to cover all of it with another layer of resin with some sort of sandable filling agent mixed in so I can fair it out nice and smooth to make cleaning easier.  Another thing to buy.  Once that is sanded out ( and I do my second coat to fix my screw ups ) I can paint it and then seal the lid in place.  I'm sure that will involve some more sanding and fitting because of changes the fiberglass is making, but I'm getting closer.

Epoxy work

     I spent most of this lovely day out and about on the water with my wife and dog, but I did manage to do a little sailboat work as well.  I got the top piece to fit a little bit better and then I busted out the epoxy.  I refinished the little cutout I had to put in for the larger hatch and covered the bottoms and sides of the lids and the far right top piece.  This would make more sense if I bothered to take a picture, but my hands were so disgusting that I figured I should wait until later to touch the camera.  Maybe if you are lucky I will put up a picture tomorrow.

Foiled again, and again, and....

     I was hoping to get to the sailboat and spend a couple of hours sanding and fitting on the icebox, but it was just not meant to be.  As I was eating my breakfast this morning the neighbor backed in to the yard and started hooking up the trailer.  I guess today is the day to put the fishing boat in the water.

     Knowing this day was coming I had prepared everything to make sure it went smoothly.  You can guess how well that turned out.  The first problem was that I couldn't find the drain plug.  Aggravating, but easily fixed.  We'll just swing by WM on the way to the launch.  Turns out they only sell them in packs of two.  Sigh...

     We backed the boat in smoothly, but when I turned the key I got nothing.  Couldn't even turn the radio on.  I just charged the battery up over the weekend and it is already shot.  I knew this day was coming so I had thoughtfully charged up the second battery as well.  Hook that one up and nothing.  My day isn't looking so good so far.  How can two just charged batteries be bad?  Thinking it might be the wiring I checked the voltage on it....4V. 

     Thankfully my neighbor has two new batteries he will be installing, so he ran home to get one of those.  After breaking a lug removing the second battery I finally got his in place.  Success!  I putted up the creek to the dock without anything else going wrong.  Amazing.  I took his battery out, went and bought a new one, and put it in.  Of course this involved new connectors and heat shrink because of all the stuff I ripped up during my little adventure.  Never as easy as it could be, is it?

     Once that I got that chore taken care of I figured I would head to the marina.  On the way my friend called and said him and his girlfriend were on their way down.  Guess I need to clean out the cooler and bring it out to the boat.  I needed a nice relaxing rest of the day anyway.  The sailboat is just going to have to wait a bit longer.  This is how I will be spending the rest of my day.  Have I ever mentioned how  much I love my work schedule?