Bilge Pump and Exhaust Hoses

I am short about 8' of hose to complete the bilge pump hose reinstall.   I need 8' for the aft bilge compartment drain and 8' to connect the manual bilge pump. 

The manual bilge pump is a replacement someone bought and they also glassed over the old mount because this one won't fit. I'll need a 90 deg elbow fitting to mount it where it belongs, or else a whole new pump. I'd rather have one with a removable handle. I'll investigate that. 

Here is the aft side of the bulkhead with the exhaust hose connected. I still need to fabricate mount for some glass tubing and a means to secure the other anti-siphon loop in the transom.  Plus I need a few more 3" diameter hose clamps. 

Here are the two electric bilge pump hoses securely connected.  The other side is temporarily attached. Ill need the bilge drain secured, then the exhaust hose, and then the three bilge pump hoses attached on the other side. 

This side needs one more hose and then I can install the upper half of the bulkhead panel.  Once that is in, these four hoses will be difficult to reach. 

The bolt sticking out needs to come off. It is a remnant of a prior steering system. 

This is a photo for the record of the steering system. The cable are removed at the moment and a lamp illuminates the bilge. 

Air Conditioning

It seems rigging those tarps was a smart move and today I stopped in a Home Depot and saw a pallet of air conditioners. I grabbed a 10,500 BTU into and used the box, a garbage bag and some shrink wrap tape for ducting. Temps dropped 2 degrees on a short time so I decided to take a break and hydrate. 

This is in addition to the 5,000 BTU already installed that was ineffective alone.

I also moved my power feed to a different pole to shorten the power run. 

Making space

I realized I needed to empty ECHO for two reasons:  1) access and 2) cleaning. Two may tools parts and materials just provide for places to collect dust.  I want to work on the middle if the boat next so I decided to start unloading things.

Before starting I put up two more tarps. My plan was to allow space to walk around while shielding the deck and arches from rain and sun. I installed one 9'x12'tarp forward evenly spaced over the  spinnaker pole with enough space to walk around the namaste.   I placed the other 9x12' tar aft overlapping the existing smaller tarp and leaving fiancé to walk down the starboard--less sunny side. It worked out well. 

From the cockpit looking forward 

Side view. 

From the mast looking aft. 

From the mast looking forward.

Aft quarter shows the tent effect better. 

I also noticed some other tabbing that is breaking loose. Of forgotten about this portion. I bumped it up on my list of things to do. His is the bulkhead adjacent to the aft head.

Here is my truck. I cut two new 2x12's for dividers and loaded up as much as I could from the boat. I threw out my plastic drop in bed liner last sunmer and sprayed in a U-Pol bedliner and pit a rubber mar on top--much easier on the knees. However my old divider boards are now too short. I cut up one of my two. Scaffolding boards since it looks like I'll be able to borrow some scaffolding. The weather looks good for painting lasted in the week. If I can find a helper it should go fast. 

Here is a picture of my truck loaded with thing i removed from the boat. I'll have to remove much of this at home and only carry what I really need.  Many if the tools will be needed soon for upcoming work, but I either have to store it here or else secure it under the boat some how.  I don't want it in the way. So perhaps ill build a workbench in the cockpit and get a water tight box for storing tools. 

It will be a lot more work getting this organized.  I am debating buying some steel lockers and possibly framing of my ladder platform for concealed storage for epoxy, paint, and fiberglass that will help. Then I can store only tools in my truck. 

I tossed some wooden pieces under the boat. 

With all this out of the way I was able to vacuum more of the interior. That is important as I want a dust free interior as much as possible. My new vacuum cleaner attachments are working well.  I have a spare filter but haven't needed it yet. I duo a full load of dust out yesterday. It felt like 20 lbs.  it felt good to be making ECHO a bit lighter. 

Prepping the cabin sole for priming and paint

Today I did some more grinding. As the floors are almost entirely done with respect to the structure, I am nearly ready to paint. I decided to grind off all the old layers of paint and do the final prep work for priming and painting the cabin sole.  I can do this the same time I paint the port and starboard settees and lockers. 

So on went the mask and goggles and I wet crazy grinding the floors. I also cleaned up, with the grinder, the rough edges on my recent tabbing work and while i was at it, hit the rough edges of the tabbing inside of the starboard settee lockers. I don't want to be reaching in their for something and cutting my fingers on sharp edges. 

Here is a view the port side bulkhead tabbing adjacent to the aft head.  This bulkhead had no tabbing at all prior to this!  It now has a layer of stitched mat, followed by a fillet and then a layer of mat and a layer of roving. To the right is the newly exposed floor--the tan colored bits.

The starboard side did have some tabbing originally, but it was broken and the 'repair' someone made was a thin layer of fiberglass cloth--completely useless except to prevent cuts.  I ground it all off and laid it up like the other side with a fillet to smooth the curve.

In the background here to, you can see the tan base layer of the floor exposed after all the paint was ground off.   The lines are breaks in the non skid for decoration. 

I may add one or two more layers of stitched mat tabbing to these two bulkheads. It would be easy to do now and add a bit more strength.  I will probably overlap them at the elbow so I can both go higher on the bulkhead side and add more thickness to the elbow area. I might have to grind off a little more paint to do this take the bond up higher. 

Back to the cabin sole (floors). There is only a tiny amount left to grind off in the forward cabin and forward passageway--15 minutes work.

I will also need to fill some areas of the floor to fair it some. These would be the areas I repaired which in a few spots are not as flat as is like.  A random orbital sander will identify those areas and some easy sand West 410 filler added to my epoxy mix will fix those. 

It makes sense to me to priming and painting the lockers, at the same time as the floor.  I can protect these from epoxy drips with wax and/or lay down some plastic sheeting covered with paper, which will also make clean up work faster. 

Once painted, I can also use a hose after vacuuming the inside of the boat to eliminate all dust.  One of my goals is to be able to keep the boat clean as time goes on.   It would be nice to overnight on it a few nights a week to save on my commuting and allow me to work longer hours. 

I started grinding the companionway bulkhead. 

There is Kokini wondering what all that noise was. I had this hatch shut while I was working.

I started countersinking the exposed bolt heads that are used to support my two isolation transformers and the engine anti-siphon loop.  I'd lake to cover this with either white laminate, white epoxy paint, or a nice wood veneer.  

The bulkhead on the right will be removed and replaced--probably with 3/4" plywood, and shortened to make the teak hand grip more comfortable. 

I spent a lot of time vacuuming also to control the dust.

My final job of the day was sanding the boards that drop in the floor.  Next I put a coat of epoxy on those I had not finished--the two water tank cover boards, and the two mast base access boards.  It is even more important for these to be sanded primed and painted along with the floor because wood is not as durable as fiberglass. 

Tomorrows plans include cutting one of my 2x12's into dividers for my pickup bed. My truck is full of rolls of wire, tools and boat parts. I want to organize it into three sections placing the things I won't need right away close to the cab, the things I need near the tail gate, and everything else, like tools, in bins in the middle. 

The idea being to get everything off the boat that I am not using so it is easy to keep clean and dust free. 

Also, the area where all the tools and things are stored, the aft upper berths may all be ripped out soon. Getting everything off the boat will make room to work. 

Once the aft bulkhead goes in, I will have to enter and leave that aft compartment from the lazarettes.  I'm thinking about setting up tarps for shade and to protect the deck.  I need a small work bench to allow me to mix epoxy on deck. 

Today I rigged one tarp for shade  I plan to rig a few more.  One forward for shade, and one aft for both shade and protection for my fiberglass materials and epoxy.

Another Hot One

I added a bit more tabbing on the galley and aft head tabbing.  I added a fillet to round the corner of this seam.  This time a layer of mat followed by a layer of roving. Both of these were done with slow harder and it was anything but a slow set up as the eploxuy and hardeneder was 95 degree when I started.  I began to set up immediately, so I worked very fast.  I used up the remaining hardener painting the new boards at the mast.  Even so I the epoxy started to cook off, so I quit.  I also painted the new support for those floorboards with epoxy--did that first. 

So I need one more session to complete the boards, and then I think about sanding, priming and painting them.  I am keen on painting the whole floor to make it look nice, but it is too soon for that. 

I'm heading over for another session today.  I'd like to run some hoses and attach these to the aft end of the bulkhead so I can start attaching the upper half of the aft bulkhead.

Today will be hot and things begin to cool off some soon.

Grinding, Tabbing, and Floor Boards

I ground away all the surfaces under the two lazarettes.  Each side had a thin board glassed to the hull that locks in a triangular vertical board which prevents things in the lazarette from falling into the steering gear.  One side was already broken out. The other side looked sloppy so I cut I out and cleaned up the surface in preparation for replacing these.   It is now ready for new wood strips to be tabbed in. Then I can decide how to secure new triangular boards--I may make a few changes on the port side which will have the auto pilot. 

I'd like to build some shelves, hooks for rope, mount for fire extinguisher, a shelf for deck gear, and place a fenders.  The starboard side is larger and should holld my dinghy when it is rolled up.  in any event, a few carefully placed pieces of marine plywood tabbed in will increase my storage capability tremendously and keep things organized.  I want to use the space under the cockpit directly behind the rudder post for things like motor oil.  I can box that in easily enough on two sides and a hinged flap for the access side.

I am giving thought to building a custom mount for my large Danforth anchor, although I may sell that and buy a Fortress--which is a awkward size, but lighter and has better holding.  It would make a good anchor if I can find a place  to mount it--either inside or locked tight on a stern rail. Inside would be best.  

I also noticed the tabbing had broken away on the bulkhead on the aft end of the galley. It was covered up with a thin piece of cloth tape that did nothing. I ground that out and tabbed in some stitched mat tape. I'll fillet and add roving on top next.  The opposite side had nothing holding it in place. I ground that out and taped it. It will get the same treatment with roving. 

This was brutal work in 96 deg temperatures when I started. Running fans brought the temperature down and since I started late in the day, temps continued to drop.  Fortunately it was dry.  Even so I was completely soaked when I pulled off my environmental suit. 

The last boat near me finally went in. I am thinking about spray painting or tip and rolling my topsides.   I have some 600 grit sand paper and I will start with wet sanding the hull soon. I would like some help with that. I may hire a helper. It is possible wet sanding and buffing might be all that is needed. There is one spot my helper repaired when he used the wrong color white paint. I might have given him the wrong color. That will need to be sanded smooth in preparation for painting. 

While I repaired all the fiberglass portion of my cabin sole, there were a few little things left to do around where the wooden boards drop in at the mast.  My friend Ron is making me new boards.  Those should be done Friday--tomorrow. 

I repaired the lip that supports those boards and Ron is also building a new underfloor support for this. 

Note the left side is a little low. I may have to space that up a bit as it does not want to come up, even with wedges.  The brown filler covers countersunk bolts on top and fills some gaps on bottom. I used bolt do clamp it together wen glued and for strength. It will need some grinding and another application of filler to finish.

I am mighty tempted to sand, prime and paint the cabin some (floors).  While dripping epoxy would ruin it again, I found a huge roll of 3' wide construction paper in the dumpster, so I could cover it easily enough to prevent drips. It would've very nice to have the floor completely done.  And it was be easier to sweep up.  I may start up forward and begin prepping it for paint. All this will be covered with synthetic teak flooring when the interior is completed. 

I've discovered that a powerful shop wet/dry vacuum with lots of attachments is my best friend. I made a huge mess grinding in the last few days and that tool removed most of the dust without stirring it up. I have a new filter for it and plani to go back to Home Depot for their best Hepta filter.  The narrow attachment with the brush on the end works fantastic.  I was able to vacuum the walls and get almost everything.   Only water and hose would work better. If I can finish the dirty work grinding fiberglass I can think about overnighting on the boat which would save fuel time, and speed things up.

Finally, I have been removing everything from the boat and that has helped in keeling things clean. 

Today I will be grinding the inside of a locker, vacuuming it and tabbing it up prepping it for priming and painting.  I look forward to the end of the fiberglassing and the beginning of priming and painting. 

Grinding Away

Starboard side settee bottom is pretty much done. I still have to paint this and it will be getting done teak trim. 

Meanwhile, I have been working aft grinding the lazarette and aft bulkhead area prepping for some tabbing. I ran out of sanding disks. I have more to do as I found a two bulkheads that need tabbing and the inside of one locker. I emptied more things off the boat to make it easier to clean and work.  I also need to grind the area under the port lazarette. 

I would dearly love to finish the grinding so I can overnight on the boat and save on the commuting.

I was unable to attach the hoses as I needed to heat them up to fit them over the tubes. That is my priority after I finish grinding tomorrow and vacuuming up the mess. 

I also need to stop by the machine shop to drill out my bronze tiller arm, and later this week the sheet metal guys to fabricate two galley counters, and a few other pieces.