Priming again

Hatch Idea

Aside from some dust on it the hatch looks great. One issue is the handle gets in the way. I want to move it to the top instead of the front. 

Fuel Tank Wrestling

It may not seem like much, but this was the corner I needed to turn and I have bruises to show for it. 

Here it is in the aft end nearly ready to drop in. And that will have to wait as I have something else important to do. 

Electrical Panels

AC panel: I took these photos to redefine the wiring labels based on upcoming changes.

Input power no longer needs polarity sensing since the isolation transformers were installed. This has been required to disable that function.

DC panels:

Cross connect Switch on the left, DC lighting panel on right.  I plan to chance the Aft, Main, and forward lights to control sub panels in this locations.  

This biggest change to the panels willbe the number of wires going to them will be dramatically reduced.  Only hot leads will be terminated here and the ground bus will be used for panel lights.  Wago terminals on a DIN Rail will be used for the ground terminations. I am not sure how those work for the AC neutral connections.  

Temporary Ladderr

I started building a temporary companionway ladder, but my battery charger seems to have died and taken with it 3 or 4 batteries.  

I used the old aft upper bunks to enclose the platform and railing to provide some protection for the dog-/so she won't fall off. 

Aft bulkhead. Last two pieces!

Ron brought over two pieces of 3/4 marine plywood and I made a template out of cardboard, trimmed the to fit the last to places--high up under the side deck I left space for wires in conduit and throttle and transmission cables. 

Here are two shots showing them cleared in place on the aft side.

Port side aft view:

Starboard side aft view:

Here is the Starboard side of this bulkhead viewed from the front and tabbed in place.  I need to pull the engine control wired inboard before tabbing the top. I will put some PVC conduit in here on case I need to pull wire aft later on. When the new panel goes in, most wire will feed through this side. 

Port side looking aft, and all tabbed in except for access to conduit which I will add soon. Control cables are visible. AC power enters the boat in front of this bulkhead. No need to pass that through. 

New Hatch is Done!

It still needs a little tweaking to make it slide like butter.  A huge accomplishment and a real step towards making a yacht out of a boat. 

Electrical Wiring Tear Out

My Ham Radio buddy Doug, helped me pull out my electrical panels and clearing wiring out of the chart table area and adjacent bulkhead. We also removed the two isolation transformers. The goal being to move these panels to a drier location behind the companionway. 

My electrical panels. 

Labeling this and re terminating will be a chore. 

This is where the electrical panels were located.  I was afraid that water intrusion at these deadlights would cause an electrical fire. Now the question is what to do in this area?

Deck Leak

I found a deck leak in a drain above the aft head. This drain is used to clear  water off the deck near the companionway. 

I cleaned it up with a Dremel al will glass over it again with cloth tape. 

Exhaust System

I finished double clamping the exhaust hoses. One final job remains: to secure the rear loop to the transom gusset to prevent any banging sounds. 

I took this opportunity to cap the old exhaust through hull. If I get a generator I may use this again. Or it could be an exhaust for a second manual bilge pump. 

Main Hatch

I am grateful to have a friend like Ron. Ron worked on my boat today while I was helping another friend Dawson--tiling his bathroom for him. It was after 4 when I finished and traffic was too heavy to travel northeast to ECHO.  

Ron put some vanish on the beautiful hatch he made for me. I still might need a storm hood of some sort to keep water from working its way into the boat.  Ron suggested a canvas cover.  I am in favor of a rigid cover that can be removed. 

This hatch and my large forward hatch are my two trouble areas.  Last week Ron and I discussed ideas for improving that other hatch to reduce the amount if water that finds its way in.  That other hatch lets in too much light. It needs a canvas sun screen to limit the light that comes it at times. 

Ericsson 46 Sail Specs

I have found a few interesting sails for sale locally. Three spinnakers and one genoa. 

I am particularly interested in finding a mainsail with a longer foot. I could possibly take one with a taller hoist and get it cut down.  Minnie's used sails is the largest use sail market in the US.  I check there often. 

My specs are the same with the exception of the mainsail foot which is adjustable between 15'5" and 17'2".  I would subtract 3" from the max foot and say the idea foot size would be 16'11".

Wiring Plans

Most electrical fires on boats happen at the electrical panels due to water intrusion. I happen to have a dead light next to my panels and also a chain plate. While these are not leaking now. I expect this to be a problem area.  The solution is to move the electrical panels aft behind the companionway--to the driest part of the boat.  I plan to put the AC panel on the port side passageway leading to the port aft cabin and the DC panel to the aft starboard cabin--which will be my cabin most of the time. 

Wednesday, my ham radio buddy Doug will be helping be disconnect my batteries, take my wiring panels out, and remove my isolation transformers.  

My plan is to remove the two companionway bulkheads (one shown above--the other is obscured on the left side of this frame). and later on replace these with new ones, and reinstall the two isolation transformers lower and alongside each other, leaving room for my 3000 Watt Inverter/Charger above.  I may mount my second charger next to it or else use that space for a wiring DIN rail. Hopefully, there will be space for both.  I will also be installing two circulation fans to provide cooling for this space and a divider to isolate it from the engine space below. 

Wednesday I will also start number labeling the circuits and making measurements for cable runs that need to be replaced. I do not want to splice any wire except to connect wire to devices like fans or lights. 

To simplify things, I have DC sub-panels for each cabin (Forward, Galley/Salon, aft Port, Aft Starboard to size fuses to exactly match loads and protect smaller gauge wires. I will have a small breaker panel for the navigation area.  The main panel will provide switching for larger loads and smaller inverters.  Grounds will be connected by DIN rail for a neatly organized wiring system.   

DC charging will be done by the motor/alternator, Heart 3000 Inverter three stage charger for the house bank, and a 20 A three stage charger for the starter battery.  Solar panel and wind generator charging will each have their own controller hooked to a DC breaker. Both battery banks can be cross connected for charging or emergencies. 

AC loads will be controlled directly from the AC panel which will actually be two separate panels each connected to it's own dedicated  isolation transformer. This provides for redundancy. For example failure of either battery charger can be by passed such that all batteries can be charged from one charger. Heavy loads that the house battery bank and inverter cannot support will not be accessible whilst shore or generator power is not available. 

I will also need to work out how to connect a generator to both AC panels.  I am not sure if I will have a generator at this point. I do not want to sacrifice any interior space for a generator, so I will only consider a small generator that will fit in my aft starboard lazarette.  I may consider a small Honda gas generator if I can find a suitable space to store it and its fuel. 

Auto-Pilot Tiller Arm

A few quick photos of my autopilot tiller arm being bored out. I will test fit it in a few days.

This bronze alloy was tough stuff and damaged the bit used to bore the second hole. Both mine bit and again at my friend Carls machine shop. 

The second hole is for the Clevis Pin, collar and cotter pin that connect this to the auto-pilot ram.   I am debating cutting the extra length off the tiller arm. First I will see how it works and if the extra length interferes with the rudder stop cables.

Two pieces of plate stainless steel that will become my aft winches adapter plates came in.  I need to bring over the old and new winches for the bolt pattern on these winches. 

Tomorrow is a rainy day. I will be tiling a friends bathroom and most likely will take a day off from the boat. 

Driving the Volvo

I have been driving the Volvo lately. It get a bit better fuel economy than the Silverado. Kokini in the foreground. 

Kokini is pretty comfortable moving about the deck and can climb up onto the boat on her own. 

Port Side Aft Bulkhead

Here is the forward side tabbed in, except for the inboard end. I want to plug the hole where I removed a shore telephone and cable connection. Multiple layers are the lighter spots. 

I added some tabbing to bond the shelf after tabbing the seam between the bulkhead panels. I still need to tab in the bottom and may wait until the bunks are in for that. 

This is the aft side cleared together for aligned purposes. Barely noticeable it the hole for the shore cable and telephone connector that needs to be plugged. 

Better view of where the bulkhead meets the shore power connection panel. All AC wiring is on the forward side. I'll move the cable and telephone connector aft, or perhaps I'll simply leave that off. 

 

Outside view of shore power connection panel. 

Loading the Fuel Tank

PI loaded the fuel tank in deck and got it into the V berth but can't seem to make the corner. I will have to remove some trim to make the turn. After that it should be no problem getting it aft and installed. 

I also removed the large air conditioner today to make it easier to move about the boat. 

New Fuel Tank

Picked up my new tank. More later!

Aft Cabin

Ron and I test fitted the upper bunks.  Ron marked up the old pieces for a pattern. Now that is done, I was able to start installing the third level of the bulkhead.  This is in two pieces already cut a few days ago. 

Looking forward from the lazarette to the starboard side. aft bulkhead. I used two cleats to hold this in place while I tabbed in the other side 

Here is a view aft of the area that I subsequently tabbed in. I tabbed the four sides and the top of the shelf. 

Note there is a bit of a gap on the hull edge so I laid most of that tabbing on the wood and will add another layer of stitched mat, mat and roving, in that order, on that edge. I will need more roving to do that. 

Bilge Cover

Here is a test fit of the bilge cover board. I will need to Dremel cut the edges of the opening and add more wood or fiberglass to make it match the floor surface. 

I scooped out the core and filled it yesterday so these edges need a bit more trimming. Also the top left edge needs a clear underneath to support that edge. 

Settee Tops

Photos of the settee tops all painted and secured. These still need to be tabbed it against the hull.

Exhaust System

Photo tour of back end of exhaust system 

I am probably the only person on the planet with a solid fiberglass exhaust section. Here is where it starts. This tube connects the hose coming from the bilge and bulkhead fitting to the exhaust tube which runs from the rudder post aft to the aft end of the cockpit. 

You can see how nice my tabbing job was. The tabbing still needs to be clean up with a Dremel tool. 

The transom front he inside and the engine exhaust port.

A couple of hose clamps. 

Anti backup loop.  This rise makes it harder for sea water to back up into the engine. I ran out of hose clamps. Each of these needs two hose clamp. It also needs to be secured to the gusset reinforcing the transom. I don't want this banging around as water is force up and out through this loop. 

. 

This is the aft end of the exhaust tube, just forward of the anti backup loop. 

Here is the exit port of the exhaust.  Note the old exhaust tube advance to it is being saved for use with a future generator.  It had a gate valve which I just removed.  I will cap it for now.