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. 

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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. 

Simulated Teak Flooring

I am looking ahead a bit at covering my floors once the interior is finished. 

Here is one idea:

Aft Holding Tank

I picked out a holding tank yesterday. 

Here it is:

Aft Head Sole

Here is another gap in the sole. The aft edge--top, was not supported enough. I cut this piece of plywood and tabbed it in flush with the floor. I wanted the floor bearing on the full 3/4" of plywood.  

This picture shows several layers of fiberglass mat,  with the top layer at an angle waiting to be ground off. 

Tomorrow ill tab the other side and attach a cleat to support a floor panel.  

The near side, not shown, needs a cleat bolted into support the third side of the drop in board. And I'll need to cut a board and cover it in fiberglass cloth to complete this section of floor. 

Cabin Sole

I needed to fill this gap. I started by trimming the edges parallel with right angles. 

Next I cut this board and glassed both sides with fiberglass cloth. 

We'll see how it looks tomorrow after the edges are trimmed.  If it is not thick enough I'll add another layer or two 

Hull Sanding

Marco has been busy with a palm sander going over the port side of my hull. 

It looks like one more day for the starboard side. Then a bit of fairing. 

I was going to paint one more coat on my boards to finish them off, but it rained a bit today. So tomorrow I can finish that and Di some more painting after running errands. 

Exhaust Tube

Today I glassed in a 3' section of exhaust tubing. 

A common problem with sailboats on the ocean is wave action forces water into the exhaust system, all the way back into the engine. Trust me, if the sea conditions are this bad, you will be unable to work on a Diesel engine, to bleed out the water to get it running again. I've heard of this happening in Block Island Sound and back in 2000 or so on a boat named Miss Manhattan which was abandoned at sea and later broke up on Cape Hatteras. 

The cure, my cure anyway, is two riser loops. I have one at the engine, and another one aft.  I also have a flapper valve on my exhaust port. This is like wearing a belt and suspenders, plus tie wraps to hold your pants up--and give you confidence your pants won't fall down. These three methods should provide for a reliable engine start in any sea state. 

So, I still had a problem. My exhaust was banging around as the water built up at the after loop. Additionally it was laying against the side of the hull and if ECHO was heeled over, it could potentially allow water to back up into the motor. 

My solution is to move the second exhaust loop to the transom. When I passed the exhaust through the aft bulkhead, I had 3" fiberglass tubing left over. I decided to tab in a 3' section to lock it into place, and then add a short section aft to a gusset in the transom and then to the exhaust port--a job for later in this coming week.  

I elevated it on two pieces of 3/4" marine plywood cut on a bevel, and tabbed in the mount with a layer of mat and stocked mat, followed by the same layup around the tube at both ends. 

This is the aft end where three bilge pump hoses, the exhaust, and two cockpit drains run under the aft end of the cockpit.