Today we had "Tango" surveyed by Capt. Dave Ghidoni of Key West Marine Surveyors. A very pleasant and , as expected, knowledgeable tugboat captain. We had no surprises. Everything I thought was wrong, he agreed with and we found very little that I did not know.
One minor new "thing" is that the wingnuts that come with marine batteries are no longer acceptable for permanent installations.
The other problem with "Tango" is a basically inaccessible diesel filter. I've already ordered the solution to that one. I'm going to install two Racor filters with diverter valves that allow rapid changeover from one to the other without having to bleed the system. I'm also adding a small boost pump that will allow me to prime and bleed without spinning the engine. I'll mount the whole affair on a board and put it on the aft engine bulkhead above the rear bunk with a cutout from a diesel can as a catch basin. Two absorbent "pigs" should handle any drips or leaks.
The boost pump will also allow me to "polish" the fuel by opening a valve to the return line.
The fuel cutoff cable is fixed. The problem was more than just a bad cable. The pillow block on the lever at the engine had the screw sheared off level with the block. I drilled and tapped a new bronze screw in to hold the cable.
The key switch was easy and getting rid of that wire-nutted rig laying loose in the aft locker was a relief.
As an example of the kind of problem I'm dealing with, the IPO installed a Norcold refrigerator holding plate in the ice box along with the evaporator/condenser in the starboard lazarette, but never removed the thoroughly broken Waeco unit. It took me all of 5 minutes to snatch it out. Now access to the lazarette is much easier and there's more room in the ice box.
One trick to keeping the ice box cold is to reduce the cubic feet the system needs to cool, or increase the insulation. I can't change the outer insulation, but I can get blocks of foam sized to go through the opening, seal them in plastic and fill the voids with these temporary fillers. That reduces the amount of air exchange from opening the lid and lowers the load on the system. When you provision for a trip, you fill the box with cold food and store the foamies in the lazarette.
I've made my mind up about batteries. When we come back down, four new GC-2 golf cart batteries are making the trip along with the watering system. All the batteries are going in the aft lazarette for access.
I'm cutting a manhole-sized access into the starboard lazarette rather than risk my sanity with wiggling into that insane top access hole. Not worth it. The manhole will be thoroughly reinforced and will not compromise structural integrity, but will allow rapid and convenient access to the diesel tank and even allow for other storage possibilities for necessary, but seldom used stuff like tools and even water cans (best kept out of the sun).
More when the mood strikes!
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Boca Chica Boogaloo!
To catch everyone up, Micky and I bought a well-used 1986 Hunter 34 named "Malana" ( Hawaiian for "buoyant") in January. We got a great deal, The boat includes a slip in the Boca Chica Marina (winged conch on the burgee) aboard the Naval Air Station in Key West. The boat is structurally sound and very well-equipped for cruising (solar and wind generators, radar, and good ground tackle. We also got a dinghy with 6 hp motor and even a 94 Firebird Keys Cruiser!
Now the reality check... The boat is 26 years old. The previous owners lived aboard for years with the wife being very sick for last few. As a result, boat maintenance was not the highest priority. Even though the marina has a great shower facility, she was hampered in her mobility and showered below decks.
Combine a lot of water and poor maintenance and you get wood rot. The rot is confined to the head and lavatory. My predecessors had tried to hide the problem with some cosmetic cover-up. They covered the walls with self-stick floor tiles. We stripped out the tiles and dismantled the furniture today.
It's amazing what you find when you dig around in older boats. There's a theory of mine that most boats have an IPO (Idiot Previous Owner). It seems harsh, but when you look at some of the things that are done to boats, you either chalk it up to ignorance or sheer stupidity.
"Malana" has her share of mental toe-stubs. One of the the scariest was the wiring to the inverter. Picture heavy battery cable routed direct across the top of an engine and in direct contact with the hot exhaust. If the insulation doesn't melt, it chafes through. The fresh water pump had a switch hidden under the settee. The water pressure switch seems to work well and the circuit breaker is a switch itself. WTF! Apparently, the engine key switch was vandalized. Instead of replacing it, a rig involving a switch, electrical tape ( a favorite splicing device for all serious electrical duffers) and scrap wire was devised and hid in the aft starboard lazarette. Exposed joints and all.
Today's whopper was a double whammy! Both safety and sanity are strained by this one! The purpose of a siphon breaker is to prevent water from siphoning back into and flooding the boat if the intake valve in the toilet pump should fail and the boat is heeled, placing the toilet valve below the waterline. It takes a lot of work to install a siphon breaker, since the inch-and-a-half hoses used are very stiff. It really wastes a lot of effort to put the breaker in the wrong lines. The last owner put the breaker inline with the overboard pump! He acknowledged the malodorous error by attempting to seal the anti-siphon valve with tape. The reason behind the tape was that with each stroke of the pump a small geyser of human effluvia erupted behind the head furniture! Yay!
All this awe-inspiring work is eminently do-able and not terribly exotic. In fact, I bought the boat knowing most of this and expecting all of it.
Now the reality check... The boat is 26 years old. The previous owners lived aboard for years with the wife being very sick for last few. As a result, boat maintenance was not the highest priority. Even though the marina has a great shower facility, she was hampered in her mobility and showered below decks.
Combine a lot of water and poor maintenance and you get wood rot. The rot is confined to the head and lavatory. My predecessors had tried to hide the problem with some cosmetic cover-up. They covered the walls with self-stick floor tiles. We stripped out the tiles and dismantled the furniture today.
It's amazing what you find when you dig around in older boats. There's a theory of mine that most boats have an IPO (Idiot Previous Owner). It seems harsh, but when you look at some of the things that are done to boats, you either chalk it up to ignorance or sheer stupidity.
"Malana" has her share of mental toe-stubs. One of the the scariest was the wiring to the inverter. Picture heavy battery cable routed direct across the top of an engine and in direct contact with the hot exhaust. If the insulation doesn't melt, it chafes through. The fresh water pump had a switch hidden under the settee. The water pressure switch seems to work well and the circuit breaker is a switch itself. WTF! Apparently, the engine key switch was vandalized. Instead of replacing it, a rig involving a switch, electrical tape ( a favorite splicing device for all serious electrical duffers) and scrap wire was devised and hid in the aft starboard lazarette. Exposed joints and all.
Today's whopper was a double whammy! Both safety and sanity are strained by this one! The purpose of a siphon breaker is to prevent water from siphoning back into and flooding the boat if the intake valve in the toilet pump should fail and the boat is heeled, placing the toilet valve below the waterline. It takes a lot of work to install a siphon breaker, since the inch-and-a-half hoses used are very stiff. It really wastes a lot of effort to put the breaker in the wrong lines. The last owner put the breaker inline with the overboard pump! He acknowledged the malodorous error by attempting to seal the anti-siphon valve with tape. The reason behind the tape was that with each stroke of the pump a small geyser of human effluvia erupted behind the head furniture! Yay!
All this awe-inspiring work is eminently do-able and not terribly exotic. In fact, I bought the boat knowing most of this and expecting all of it.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
What a gorgeous place to get hurt!(Late Entry!)
Pelican's Roost RV park on the Naval Station at Mayport is one of the best places to spend a little time that we've found. Originally, when the reservation was made, the staff said that we'd be "on the grass" between two regular spots and sharing a sewer hookup on the third row back from the water. The park stretches along the south jetty wall at the entrance to Mayport's naval basin on the St. John's River. Every ship and boat that uses Jacksonville has to pass right in front of us. We're not more than 75 yards from the edge of the channel itself. Close enough to see the expressions on the sailors' faces behind their M-60 machine guns as they leave. A quarter-mile out is the main commercial channel going to Jaxport and the Blount Island terminal. If your car or truck was shipped in to the East Coast it came through here or St. Mary's, Georgia', with the majority going here. And that includes Detroit "iron"! The "Green Bay" is US-flagged and hauls US production exports to Europe and South America.
But when we got here, they placed us right up on the front row under three palms facing north.
Micky and I enjoy riding our bikes. We bought two "Giant" 'comfort' mountain bikes a few years ago. Micky has a very short inseam so finding an adult, 14-inch frame, high-quality bike, cheap was a treat. We try to be careful and insist on helmets and proper reflective stuff. On military bases everywhere, pedestrians have right-of-way on even the main streets, and we take advantage of the crosswalks by dismounting and walking the bikes across. We were doing just that yesterday around noon. I went to mount the bike and pushed off with my right foot when I heard a distinct "pop" followed by pain severe enough to nauseate me. I mananged to get out of the street to the Navy Exchange gas station, pulled my helmet and backpack off and sat on the curb. A Navy Master-At-Arms (MP) had seen me go down and came over to ask if we needed help. I knew that I'd probaly torn or otherwise damaged the Achilles' tendon. Acceptance of help was willing and immediate. Two ambulances and two fire trucks later, Mayport loaded me into the ambulance. Micky assisted in carting the bike back to the motorhome and given a map to Baptist Beaches Hospital. "Beaches" is closer than the Naval Hospital and the clinic on-base doesn't have an emergency room. X-rays and a fiberglas splint, crutches and a painkillers. I didn't separate it from the bone so they call it a rupture.
The doctor didn't want to let me ride home and be seen Tuesday
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