Things That Are Driving Me Crazy

In lieu of an actual, complete update on our progress, I thought I'd post a list of some of the things about this boat that are driving me completely mad. In no particular order:

1. The factory wiring. I can't go back in time to watch them build our little boat, but it is becoming apparent that they did a lot of the work before the boat was put together. The wiring for the cabin lights for example, was obviously run along the top of the cabin liner BEFORE it was put in the boat and BEFORE the top half of the hull was put on. The result? The wires are trapped between two layers of fiberglass, with no way to get them out without cutting the hell out of the boat. Awesome? Or super-fantastic? You decide. On top of that, the "electrician" who wired our boat used duct tape to bundle the wires and to hold them in place behind fixtures. So that's great. The result is that any wires I can't pull through are just being cut back to the surface and left there. I have to figure out how to run new wires in a better fashion.
2. The bonding system. A random combination of solid wire and twisted copper wire zig zagging around the hull, connecting every piece of metal to be found? That's super fun! Getting it out? Next to impossible.
   
3. Cheap refit jobs. The previous owner was a sweet old guy, but from what I can tell, he didn't know a damn thing about boats. There are more mild steel screws and weird clamps and hooks on this boat than I can count. And I keep finding more everywhere I look. Like the little cup hook on the INSIDE of the starboard locker, which I found today by dragging my wrist across its nice, sharp tip. What the hell is that doing in there?
4. The Yanmar. The Yanmar Santa hasn't delivered a new engine yet, but no matter, because the old beast is still sitting there, mocking me. Today I started imagining how to get it out of the there, and I don't think I can do it. I don't see how it will fit through the opening it is supposed to fit through. Again, I have a strong suspicion that they installed that little sucker BEFORE they put the boat together. I see some serious destruction of the cabin in our future.
5. Propane parts. Why are these so hard to find? And why does no one know anything about where to find parts? And why do they sell propane lockers with hose seals that hoses don't fit through? And why don't they make a 90 degree 3/8" flare to 3/8 female fitting? And why is it that even though they don't recommend solid copper tubing for use on boats, all of the books explaining onboard propane systems show them made with solid copper?
   

Galley Progress

Here are some photos of the just-about-completed galley. First, the section roughed in with the fiddle rails in place and the propane burner installed:

Next, a little detail photo showing the drawer system and storage bin:

And finally, my Dad's latest creation. The storage system that completes the look. The top is white Formica and the wood is marine-grade birch plywood with mahogany for the details and fiddles. Once we stain the plywood and put the cabinet hardware on, it will match the rest of the interior wood (all of which is getting stripped and refinished, so matching should be pretty easy:

Just a Quick Update

The Yanmar Santa hasn't magically delivered and installed a new engine yet (what gives, Santa?), so we are moving ahead with other projects. Actually, I should say that Dad is moving ahead with other projects, because the Admiral and I have been traveling so much this summer that we haven't been able to devote as much time to the boat as we should.

But I found a few minutes to get over to the Boat Yard this week to check things out and get a little bit of work done. I arrived to find that the empty white space where there was once a badly designed galley has already gone from this:

To this:
It really is amazing! Dad has outdone himself here. You can see that the propane hose is run, and the power is also roughed in for the electronic igniter on the stove, which is a single burner built-in model. Here are a couple other shots of the galley construction.

This shows the drawer detail:

Check out all the added storage! Before there was almost no storage to be found, but with Dad's design we have two good sized drawers and a lot of dry storage for food and the like.

This next picture shows the view from forward:

We have sacrificed the port-side single berth in favor of a more functional galley, and in the process gained two huge storage spaces. A swing down cupboard door will give us access to the space you see here, and access to the space beneath that will be from the side through another swing down door.

Giving up the berth on that side of the boat was a hard choice because we didn't want to make too many big changes to the boat's layout. She is a classic, after all. But we still have the starboard side settee as a good sea berth and the four-foot wide settee we are left with on the port side will be a great spot to sit and read, play games, and eat. The increased galley space and storage make it all worth it.

Next up? It's time to start wiring. We know where the panels are going to go, but need to sit down and really plan out the AC system and the rest of the DC wiring. All of the old fixtures are coming out and all of the old wire is going in the trash with them.

Given my experience with our last boat's wiring scheme, I really want to take the time to do this part of the refit correctly. But that ain't gonna be cheap.

Also, we're still waiting for that Yanmar to magically appear.

-g

Some Photos to Back Up the Words

Here are some quick photos that can serve as proof of Hayden's narrative claims of actual progress on the boat.

Tearing Out the V-Berth

BEFORE Hayden's Epic Adventure: AFTER (Not pictured, Hayden's Chemical High):
Looks pretty good, eh? And for the record, those splotches that remain are original (messy resin work by the boat builders.) That ain't coming off.

The Galley

BEFORE Destruction:

AFTER destruction (but clearly BEFORE cleaning):
Dad is on the job of designing the new space, and has been green-lighted to have at it. Can't wait to see how it comes together!

A Proper Propane Place

Aft Lazarette (future propane locker) BEFORE:

Aft Lazarette DURING (patched, sanded, cleaned, and painted):

Aft Lazarette Becoming Closer to Useful (I know those slats don't look straight in the photo, but trust me, they are):

Aft Lazarette Acting Like a Proper Propane Locker:

The V-Berth, Power Tools and Nasty Habits

Since Cap'n Ron, given this post's title, is likely to misunderstand me... let me explain.

First, you should know that apart from harvesting the garden and the sea for our daily edibles, my primary job this week has been to transform the v-berth into a stripped-down, gleaming cave awaiting its extreme make-over. You should also know that the v-berth as we inherited it was a filthy, toxic mess! Even without the water tank, Perry Como and Jack Daniels, the v-berth offered up such delectables as sawdust, mold, insect carcasses and generally unidentifiable odors. All that and no air circulation? Perfect!

Since I managed to escape my v-berth time last week by declaring that the record heat wave made it positively dangerous to trap myself there, and since Greg had already made the Home Depot trip to buy me my very own dainty Ryobi mini-drill, I knew I had no choice but to dive in.

I dismantled the decorative wooden slats lining the hull, and I even managed to label each one for ease of reconstruction later. P = port. S = starboard. And the slats are numbered from 1 to 15. The thing is, I discovered that there's one more slat above what I called 1. Oops. I guess we start counting from zero from now on. Slats are now successfully off loaded and bundled in the garage... sanding and refinishing to come.

The only truly disturbing part of this slat-removal process was what I discovered later in the evening as I felt the uncontrollable urge to pick my nose (see? that's the "nasty habits" part). Last month, when we were in the toxic choke of Nairobi traffic, I experienced the same phenomenon: the nagging, itchy black crust that my mucus membranes had become. I'm sure my lungs are fine, though. Right?

Anyway, the interior of the v-berth has been vacuumed and scrubbed and scrubbed again... and is now as gleaming as it's going to get. Not as blemish-free as it was on its virgin cruise, but definitely better than anything it's been in recent decades. If I do say so myself.

It's not as good as installing a propane locker, I realize. But we all work with our own skill sets.
For what it's worth, I can also throw together a fantastic crab salad.
-H

Perry Como, Jack Daniels, and Power Tools

Power Tools
One of the "problems" with well-built boats is that they aren't meant to be taken apart. The upside is that they probably won't break up and sink in a storm at sea. The downside is that when you do want to remove something, the job can be rather epic in scope.

If the previous owner of said old boat was neglectful (or worse, a little kooky) any repair or removal job will climb the scales in difficulty.

Take the thru-hulls and seacocks on our lovely old boat. This week I started getting ready for our little galley remodel by stripping down the port side of the cabin interior. I removed the holding tank (everyone's favorite job...in this case made even better by the fact that the only thing the previous owner apparently put in the tank was that blue chemical concoction that is supposed to make things smell "better"), I removed some of the wood, and pulled some of the wire and hoses that ran through the locker. So then I was left with this:

That seacock is looking pretty good, no? Big surprise that it was permanently corroded in the closed position. The hose was completely clogged and the handle had obviously not been exercised in a decade. No matter, all of the seacocks and thru-hulls are being replaced anyway.

So now I just had to pull the thing out. Once I confirmed that the flange wasn't bolted to anything, I grabbed the trusty pipe wrench and gave it a few (million) tugs. I pounded on it with the hammer. I torqued it. I hammered it more. Nothing.

It's then that I notice the seacock is not only threaded onto the thru-hull like normal, it is EPOXIED to the hull. Epoxy. Not sealant. Not glue. Epoxy. Are you kidding me with this?

There is no way it is coming out. Ideas anyone?

Calling Dennis confirmed my idea: figure out how to cut the damn thing out of there.

Bring in the 4" angle grinder! I decided to grind the flange off the outside of the thru-hull in hopes that I could pull the whole apparatus through the inside of the boat.

(insert grinding sound and flying metal shavings here)

No dice.

Bring in the Sawzall. I love the Sawzall, if only because that is really what it is called. I cut through the inside of the thru-hull until it was in quarters, pried it out with a screwdriver, and there you have it: after 5 hours of heavy labor, we have removed ONE of the thru-hulls from the boat.



At least now I know what I'm up against. I hope to pull the rest of them this week and order the Maleron replacements soon...This is why you don't want to pay boat yard prices for labor, by the way. 5 hours at $45 an hour? Plus one saw blade and one grinding disc? Plus one dust mask? It adds up. All this job cost me was a little bit of skin (though the next job would cost me a toenail...)

The Cape Dory Time Capsule
I knew that when Hayden got here she would want to do some work on the interior wood work, so I decided to take a break from my destruction of the underwater metals and do some prep for her. I pulled the bunk top boards out of the v-berth, exposing the water tank and its plumbing. Then I figure, what the hell? We have to clean and inspect it anyway, let's take it out and do it on the ground!

Piece of cake. Easiest job yet. The tank lifts out (note to self, build straps to hold the tank in place when we put it back). I set in on the driveway and rinse it out.

This is when the tank decides to attack me. As it filled with water, it rolled onto one of its sides right onto my flip-flop protected big toe. Instant purple toenail. Awesome. The good news is I am only supposed to run a HALF marathon this weekend, not a full 26.2. Crap.

Anyway, back to the boat. I have no doubt that the bunk top boards have not been removed since the boat was built. So the mess underneath them is pretty epic. Dust, dirt, grime, mold, pennies, paper clips. Perry Como and Jack Daniels.

Yep. There under the water tank was a mint condition Perry Como 8-Track tape and an unopened airline-sized bottle of Jack Daniels. Jackpot. I can't help but imagine the tee-totalling former owner of the boat sneaking mini-liquor bottles onboard when his wife isn't looking, getting a good buzz on and grooving to some Perry Como. Sweet.

Next Up
As I post this I am heading back out into the heat (record heat here in Seattle this week, with temps climbing above 100 degrees for the first time in history) to get back to work on those thru-hulls. First the head has to come out. Which, after the holding tank, is everyone's favorite job.

Let's Get Something Done

Your heroes have been on something of an extended vacation that definitely did not include sailing or sailing related activities (unless you consider taking pictures of the dhows in Lamu a sailing-related activity...
Or unless you consider the kids swarming all over the inflatable kayak at the lake a sailing-related activity...
But now we're planning to be home for a week or so before heading out for another round of land-locked vacationing, so we want to get some work done on The Project while we can. Since it doesn't look like the Yanmar Fairy is going to deliver a new 2-cylinder diesel engine any time soon, we're thinking of starting with two pretty major upgrade projects: electrical and propane.

The propane system will be a simple one:

• New propane stove in the galley (final selection not yet made, but we're leaning toward a single-burner drop in model after debating the merits of a double-burner gimbaled version)
• Propane fireplace in the cabin (in the nook where the standard bookshelves were)
• New propane locker and 1-gallon tank in the aft lazarette (we're getting a pre-built model with the solenoid and everything already done
  
• Gas sniffer and control panel

The electrical system will be a little more complex since we are adding an AC circuit and battery charger where there wasn't one before, but for now we need to get the new panels so that we can start wiring things like the propane switch and the fireplace blower.

At the same time we will start pulling all of the interior wood and refinishing it in the garage before reinstalling it.

And scouring Craigslist for a new engine. Anyone have a good lead on a new Yanmar?

So that's where we'll be next week. Updates to come.