glassed up

After a short trip to Foxes to fetch some fibreglass, and a bit more expoxy resin, I set too in finishing the bulkhead.

Actually, I was up early before Foxes opened, so spent a pleasant hour first, scraping some more blue gunk from the cockpit.... its an endless task.

Anyway.... 4 strips of 100mm woven cloth, and a top layer of 300gsm chopped strand to neaten it all up, and the wood is in place... just need to wait for it to cure now, which is always a nervous time, where you start to fret about whether you got the mix of resin and hardener right!.... particularly nervous this time, as the first pot started to exotherm (yep, straight back to O level chemistry), and smoked in the pot so much I threw it over the side.... fortunately, a thin layer on the glass doesn't get so hot, and will cure OK.

From aft

from forward

a few more tasks

I forgot to mention earlier the joy of removing the gearbox coupling from the prop shaft.... The flexible coupling came off easily enough, but I had to take the propshaft to the old gearbox on the floor outside  and bolt the flange on the coupling back to the one on the gearbox, but with a large nut inbetween... tightening the bolts then pressed the shaft out of the coupling... at least far enough to finish the job with a few 'gentle' applications of a hammer!

I have also put in the headlining in the forepeak this evening... I've tried drilling the trim out to 12mm for the new teak plugs to cover the screw heads, but its too soft and the drill bit grabs... so I need to yse my pillar drill at home which offers much more control... will get that done, along with the door handles and then the forepeak is pretty much finished. 

Headlining panels in place, without the wooden trim.

l

Finally, I spent another joyous couple of hours scraping the blue rubbery gunk off the cockpit floor... well on the way now with that awful task!

bulkhead

With the engine room painted up nicely, and the aquadrive having arrived, it was time to fit the bulkhead to mount it.

basically, it fixes to a new bulkhead to take the thrust from the prop, that is normally taken by the engine and gearbox and through the engine mounts into the hull. ait also has a constant velocity shaft so that engine alignment to the propshaft is less critical.

So.... I made up a bulkhead in cardboard, and after MUCH trimming and measuring to get it in the right  place, and to fit the gap neatly, I transferred the shape to 18mm ply and cut it out with a jig saw... as is expected in these cases, the wood didn't fit neatly, so more trimming until it was a good fit, the propshaft was central in the cutlass bearing and the distance for the engine/gearbox was right... this took several hours!

Finally, I sanded the hull where the wood fitted to ensure a good bond, and mixed up some epoxy and micro balloon filler... I've glued the wood in place roughly using this 'paste' and once its set, will remove the aquadrive that was fitted to ensure alignment, and glass the wood in properly.

before and after

It's just struck me that it would be good to do a before and after picture, to show how much the engine compartment has improved, and as some motivation for me!

Would it help to label them 'before' and 'after'? :)

engine bay done...

Final bit of engine bay now painted. It looks great, and is now ready for the bulkhead to be fitted to mount the aquadrive.

As the picture also shows, quite a bit of work needed tidying up the wiring and mounting it neatly to be done yet....

And finally, a bit of additional tidying up more generally around the boat... looks so much better when you've wandered around filling a bin bag!.... and then homeward bound.

some good progress

I've made some decent steps forward in the last 24 hours... after arriving last night, I got the sander out and finished the sole board in the forepeak, and then cleared the dust up.... 

This left me clear today for a feee run on finishing the engine room clean up.... connecting a hose pipe with a tap on the end allowed me to run water and clean without having to lug water up and down the ladder each time.... so a few hours work proved highly productive, with a clean compartment slowly emerging....  I still had a good quantity of gunk to remove from the very bottom by hand, but that was a lot easier than previous... and by lunchtime, the compartment was pretty clean.

So, I then finished the dust clean up and stuck the first coat of oil on the forepeak floor.... looks good.

I then started the job that I've been looking forward to getting behind me.... painting the engine compartment.... by 19:00, I stopped for the evening with the job nearly done, and it looks great.

Just the bits by the engine bearers to do tomorrow.

The forepeak has dried, and that too looks good.

It'll need sanding later and then the next coat on.... that's a job for later.

more bits ordered

I've ordered a few more bits to get towards the finish line!

Today, a nice shiny alloy expansion tank is on its way to me.

I need an expansion tank, as the addition of a calorifier to the colling circuit adds a lot of additional fluid into the system, so the risk of too much water being chucked out of the overflow is quite high as the system gets hot... so a simple expansion bottle is needed, so that the ejected water is retained and reharvested as the system cools. I'll also need a replacement radiator cap for the existing filler, that doesn't have a pressure spring in it...but they're a few quid from eBay.

I've also ordered a metre of Sapele dowel at 22mm diameter.... random. And not related to the engine!.... its for the doors.... the old handles and catches needed a second hole for the lock, and while the new catches cover this hole up, its right where the screws are, so I'll plug the hole with a length of this dowel.... belts and braces!

I've got a pile of other bits to order yet for the engine... besides the engine and gearbox themselves, I'll also need:

Antisiphon loop and pipework

heater hose and fittings

exhaust hose

water trap

Cooling water inlet filter

new prop

throttle and gearshift cable

air bleed valve for calorifier circuit

and bet i've forgotten things too!

I'm getting all excited about getting the engine in now.... the end is in sight... and once the engine is in, then the jobs list to be done before being able to leave the marina is getting quite short!

prop off

Yard have been in touch.... prop is off!

That means I can get the shaft out this weekend, and finish cleaning up.... I may even be able to get a little of the paint on, up to roughly where the new bulkhead will be for the aquadrive.

The shaft can be pulled out inside, as there is a lot of room forwards, certainly enough to clear the cutlass bearing... which is good, as the shaft coupling is still on at the gearbox end, and it wil be a LOT easier to remove out of situ. My plan is to bolt it back onto the gearbox with a large nut or similar in between the two and basically press the coupling off.

In the meantime, while I wait for the aquadrive to turn up so that I can locate the bulkhead, I'll finish sanding the forepeak sole and hopefully get a coat of hard wax oil on... I may also drill the holes in the headlining trim and get them fitted as well.... will be good to see what it looks like!.... that means I might drag the doors back down and fit them too... busy busy!

Aquadrive

I figured it would be of interest to some readers to discuss the aquadrive I've ordered, and why.

Firstly, what are the reasons?

I have a set of engine bearers in the engine bay that will certainly be in the wrong place... they were put in for a large and heavy old engine. They will be too far apart and too low for the new engine. I will address this via some new feet, but these will need careful measuring. The less I need to do this to an exact tolerance the better. The aquadrive reduces the need for millimetre accurate location.

Secondly, I can make the feet slightly shorter as the aquadrive can accomodate a misalignment, so shorter feet will face less leverage related loads.

Last, but not least, the engine compartment is virtually impossible to insulate against sound transmission as it, along with the gearboxand propshaft sits in a long a deep bilge that runs right under the aft cabin. So, the more that the shaft can be isolated, the lower the levels of sound transmission from it through the hull, especially as it also allows the use of softer engine mounts reducing vibration transmission from the engine too.

Next is the question of which aquadrive.

There were two choices, the 10.10 rated to 65Hp and its bigger brother the 15.10, which is rated to 100Hp.

I have chosen the latter. While the smaller one would be within tolerance, the vendor did some life time calculations for me, that rated the 10.10 at 1800hrs and the 15.10 at 8000hrs. It's a sensible decision for the extra £150. Furthermore, it allows more angular misalignment, so an no brainer.

All I need to do now is make up a bulkhead to mount the aquadrive to... I've bought a sheet of 18mm ply, thatI will shape and then glass completely to make it water tight, as well as obviously to fix securely to the hull.

I do have the luxury of being able to mount the bulkhead (within reason) where its easy to fit and then measure the feet to fit, unlike many owners who need to position it precisely to their existing engine installation.

More engine bay cleaning this weekend, before starting the paint up and glasswork!

10 years of drivel

Another weekend of cleaning the engine compartment behind me..... its getting closer.... which is good as I am sick of having filthy hands that won't come quite clean! :)

I've also taken the opportunity to start ordering the bits neccessary to finish the engine bay.... all bar the engine!... that's in hand, but not quite done yet... I have however, confirmed the gearbox type, so that I can order the correct aquadrive.... it'll be a ZF25 Hydraulic, with a 1.97 reduction.

I have actually ordered the aquadrive and shaft seal (I've gone for a PSS after the advice of Vyv Cox, who I trust a great deal).

I've also asked the yard to remove the prop. I have found that my own puller will never work, so need a plate style one... they aren't cheap, so better to get the yard to do it. I can then pull the shaft out and clean the rest of the engine bay.

I've also ordered the bilge paint. I have decided to go with floor paint after all, and have ordered 5L white.

And finally.....

I have noticed that a big milestone has been quietly passed with little fanfare.... I have been writing this blog for a remarkable ten years. Not remarkable in the quality of the content, but remarkable only in its endurance.... I have enjoyed writing it a great deal, and have loved the comments and messages from  around the world... I have also made some firm new friends in far flung places. Most of all, I now have a great record that I can look back on as I see fit. Priceless.

well, that was fun.

After removing the engine, the yard put the tarpaulin I had over the cockpit back. Only they didn't put it back very well. So with high winds and heavy rain forecast, I spent the first hour of this morning putting it only properly. 

Then, I got stuck back into the engine bay.

A further 3 hours of cleaning, and its looking a lot better.

Still lots of cleaning to be done though.

As I got further into the task, the water was just dirty, rather than oily, so I at least had the luxury if being able to use the bilge pump to pump the water straight over the side onto the gravel. This meant that I only had to lug water up the ladder, and not back down it!

Next visit, I will turn up with my hose pipe and a connector, so that I can use the yard hose, extend it, and hopefully it should reach the boat.... will make life a lot easier.

I also had another go at removing the prop, so that I can extract the shaft. This will be neccessary in orde to clean right to the back of the bilges, as there is no way I can reach it with the shaft in place. Sadly, no luck at all... the back of the prop boss is just too rounded for my three leg puller to work, so I need a plate style puller. I may well just make one.

So.., back to the task next visit... should see the bilges clean, and then I can start measuring up for the feet and have a better look at the space/options for an Aquadrive shaft bearing.

Filthy, filthy, filthy work!

I've spent 9 hours today cleaning the engine compartment, and still loads to go

It's been messy beyond belief.

The second photo shows the area behind the engine... This gets progressively narrower, down to about 3" at the end, and is the lowest point, so it's where all the crap gathers.

What I removed can only be described as like porridge, but made with old engine oil. Revolting.

I started the day by removing unwanted pipe work and wiring that had become accessible with the engine removed.

I found three, yes three bilge pumps on there!!!

One I knew about and had wired up... The other two, complete surprises!

Neither of them were electrically connected to anything!

So I chased back the pipes to their seacocks and cut them off... A few blanking plugs to deal with. Eventually I may well glass them up, but not know... Closed and blanked will do.

I also removed the engine and gearbox cables, the antisiphon and quite few bits of old wiring.

So now I could get at the space to remove the oil porridge.

I scraped tons of the stuff out... Enough to fill a bin liner when mixed with kitchen roll.

And thus the fun began. Everywhere was thick with oily greasy gunk... So I filled it with water and degreaser, agitated, and pumped out. This filling and emptying was done into and out of a 40ltr container... Which needed lugging down and up the ladder. I repeated 20 times. From now on, please refer to me as Popeye.

Towards the latter flushes, it was coming a lot cleaner, so I started scrubbing the hull down as well.. Much more to go!

On the positive front, the engine bearers have revealed themselves, and are robust and in good condition... They go all the way down to the bottom and are very substantial, so will be more than adequate if they can be made to fit the new engine.

Back to it tomorrow!

Engine's out

Just arrived onboard, and pleased to see engine has been removed... 

I'm 'looking forward' to cleaning that out' 8o)

it's going to look great!

After finishing the second of the two headlining panels in the forepeak, I couldn't resist laying them out, with the freshly varnished wooden trim pieces to see what it would look like...

Very nice is my opinion!

Besides getting the engine compartment sorted, I am now very keen to get the sole board in the forepeak finished, so that I can get the headlining up in there. I will also need to get the door fitted so that I can sand the rest of the sole boards without putting dust all over my nice new forepeak!

That also means fitting the new door handles and the lifting rungs in the sole boar access hatches... one job always creates a handful of others.

more panel work

The first panel is finished, and I'm rather pleased with the result, even if I do say so myself!

Motivated by the outcome, I've started the second.

Again, the material cut to size, the corners prepped, and then any foam not under the wood trimmed off.... its a slow and tedious job, but one that should be worthwhile

Here's what the prepared material looks like

That's now been glued to the wood panel... time for a coffee while it dries I feel!

brakes yesterday, clutch today

After the delight of a boom brake yesterday, I've maintained the automotive theme.... today, on the way to work, my clutch failed.

This has messed up my whole weekend's plans. Firstly, no car to get to the boat, and secondly, all my tools and boat bits are in the boot, at the garage waiting for a new clutch to be fitted.

Instead I'll tackle the headlining at home instead. This works well, as the contact adhensive used to stick the overlapping flaps down absolutely stinks, and so, with Debs at work, its a good chance to get some real progress without ending up divorced! :)

Its fair to say that the recent unseasonally pleasant weather has also caused the grass in the garden to grow healthily, so probably should take the opportunity to get that cut back too.

I also haven't heard from the yard that the engine is out. They don't usually communicate this kind of stuff anyway, so not overly concerned, but at least it reduces the risk of a wasted trip!

I can also get the door handles mounted, and if I'm feeling particularly ambitious, also dig out my pillar drill and enlarge the holes in the headlining fixing battens to 12mm for the wooden plugs that I've bought.

So, not a complete loss, just a little setback.

headlining and brakes

Material arrived safely... very happy with the colour we've chosen. Its Ivory, and is still very light, but with enough colour that it will contrast nicely with the varnished wood, yet not look too 'white'.

So, this evening, I've started the first panel to see how I get on.

The material is cut slightly larger than the wooden panel, and then (the tricky bit), the foam that isn't to be under the wood is carefully cut off. This is easier said than done, as you need to cut the foam, but not the material its fixed to.

You'll notice the odd patterns cut at the corners. This is the advised way of doing the corners by the company I got the headlining from, and I have to say, seems to work very well.

The glue has been applied and the panel laid down for the glue to set. Its a specialist glue for this specific task, that is waterproof once dry, so won't be softened by any dampness on board. It does however look a lot like PVA!

Once the glue is dry, then I'll start sticking the overlaps down, and then, the magic reveal!

I do have the luxury that the edges and corners of the panels are hidden beneath the wooden trim strips, so a little untidiness won't hurt. But that's not an excuse, so I'll still aim for a great finish!

On a separate note, I've been thinking for some time that I might fit a boom brake at some point, and just by luck, I found someone selling one cheap, so that's also on its way to me.... bonus!

scraping foam instead!

Bored of scraping paint, I thought i'd find something else to do instead.... so I have spent the morning scraping foam instead!

Its a mark that I am getting towards the end of this project, that I have just ordered the new headlining material. 10m of ivory, foam backed headlining material to stick onto the wooden panels that I removed as one of my first jobs upon buying Phoenix all that time ago. 

The panels are covered with foam backed plastic, which needed removing. Oh what a fun job.... sore fingers from peeling the bits turned over to the back, and then scraping with a plasterers trowel to remove the foam.

I must love scraping.

My plan is to get the forpeak panels done.... Just a final sand of the floor in their before putting the panels up, get the floor oiled, and I am done in there. With the handles on the way, I can fit the door, so that I can safely sand the floor in the main saloon without covering my lovely new headlining with dust.

The only thing I still need to work out is how to drill out the 12mm holes in the trim pieces that fit between the panels. The wood is soft, so needs careful drilling to avoid damaging it... I may have to un-bury my press drill from the garage, and buy a boring bit!

Engine still in the boat....

Despite my best efforts, the engine remains in the boat!

It's not however the end of the world, and it should be out on Monday.

Upin trying to lift the engine, it soon became very obvious that with the long Borg Warner gearbox, the engine would need to be tilted nearly on end to get it out of the engine compartment, let alone through the hole in the cockpit floor.

The yard, understandably weren't happy lifting such a heavy engine that way without a frame, as one bolt shearing on the engine mounts as they were used in an unintended direction and the engine would go straight through the bottom of the boat!

So, I spent until mid afternoon trying to separate the gearbox.... in the end I had to undo the bolts holding the bellhousing onto the block, as the gearbox mounting bolts themselves had rusted to unidentifiable blobs.... the bellhousing bolts were in pretty poor nick too, so it took me a long while to tease them all undone.... especially the ones under the gearbox, which were, frankly, nearly impossible to get at.... skin lost, and covered from head to foot in 38 years worth of accumlated engine grease and dirt...

Once the bolts were undone, it should have been easy.... should.

The splines on the output shaft had welded themselves to the drive plate....

So, two hours with a large screwdriver and a hammer, and I'd shifted the gearbox an eight of an inch back from the engine.

In frustration, I went to the yard to ask advice. They handed me two VERY large crowbars, and sent me packing!

As ever, ask a pro when you need advice.... half a dozen good aggressive pushes with a 3' long, one inch diameter crowbar, and pop... off it came!

Unfortunately, this success was too late for the yard, and the crane driver had departed for the weekend.... so the yard promised to pull the engine out on monday morning.

Instead, I started a new task, one i'd been putting off. The cockpit sole has been painted with a horrible blue rubberised paint... This  was not only nasty, but also, needed removing so that I can seal the access hatch back up properly... so it needed to come off. Easier said than done. So I have spent 3 hours with a chisel scraping. In 3 hours, I have probably removed 40% of the paint.... so a bit more to do yet.

I want to get it done before the new engine goes in, and ideally before the engine compartment is cleaned, as the scraping is messy, and I certainly don't want that muck all over the engine let alone the clean space!

Back next weekend with a huge pile of kitchen roll, washing up liquid, gunk de-greaser and scrubbing brushes to get that space cleaned.... its disgusting!

engine jig

This evening, following a good idea stolen from Myron and his own Explorer 45 rebuild (http://svdiscovery.blogspot.co.uk), I've started making up a jig for the engine, so that I can measure up the new engine mounts accurately.... Myron used plastic tubing, but I've gone with wooden dowel and plumbing fittings.... once its assembled, I'll brace it to make it secure.

measuring was challenging, as I needed to allow for the bits of dowel going into the fittings, but we got there!

The T fitting at the far end will eventually be fitted with appropriately sized bits to emulate the gearbox output plate, so that I can line the jig up with the propshaft. I may yet fit a false prop coupling on the end to ensure its 100% in the right place.

When its fitted in place, I can measure the gap between the bottom of the dowel legs (which are where the engine mounts finish)... I may make up some fittings to get an accurate measurement on the drop, spread and angles.... probably more accurate that way.

I can see myself with bits of rope and string holding the jig in the right place to make the measurements!

engine lift and shiny things

Engine lift confirmed for 08:30 Friday morning.... gulp!

Also, have ordered a full set of new door handles and catches.... 4 lots of them, for the two heads, the forepeak door and the door for the aft cabin.

I've ordered them from the USA, as that was the only place I could find that did the right sort.

They are just like ordinary door handles, but the catches themselves are much smaller, as the doors aren't as thick as the ones you'd find in your house

They fit in a door that is just 1" thick.... and I've chosen these ones particularly, as they are the exact model I've removed (rusty and corroded after years of neglect), so no redrilling, cutting etc.

The only downside of them, is that they all have locks.... which is fine for the heads, but I don't really want locks on the other doors (I don't think), so may well disable them on the two doors into the cabins.

I will have two more sets to sort out at some point, for the two doors into the boat from the cockpit, but will sort those as I get that far... I may well be able to keep the mechanisms there, as they've been used much more, and therefore ironically, have suffered from neglect far less.

you win some, you lose some

Prop shaft now suitably disconnected from the gearbox.

The shaft has a flexible coupling, and I ended up undoing the gearbox end.... so will have fun once I can get in the engine compartment undoing the other side..... it was a tough nut to crack... and ended up with a large adjustable on one side to wedge against the hull, and a spanner on the other side with 'substantial' application of a hammer... but undone they came!

I had a few other things to deal with along the way. I wanted to drain the engine oil in order to remove the filter (which is remotely located, so needed removing to get the engine out), but cold engine oil vs hand pump left the oil the winner... so in the end I just gave up and cut the flexible pipes to the oil filter and caught any leaking oil as best I could in a saucepan!

I also disconnected the gearbox cable, which was easy, and the earth strap, which was also easy... and finally, the engine oil pressure guage, which was an old fashioned tube type, rather than electrical sender, so that also got the hacksaw treatment!

So, now engine is absolutely ready to remove.... I keep looking at the gap its got to come out of and gulping.... but the measurements say it'll fit..... It will need tilting in order to get the gearbox through, but it went in, so must come out!

Next job, was to remove the prop. This needs doing, so that I can slide the shaft past the rudder.... on this I failed. My hub puller just wasn't man enough for the job.... the  nut came off easily enough with the big adjustable and a hammer, but the prop refused to budge. I will ask the yard, as they'll have a more robust puller. I even tried putting it under loads of tension with the puller and using the hamer trick to shock it off... but clearly the keyway has welded itself solid.

I need to work out what my strategy is for the shaft.... The prop won't easily go on the shaft unless its pushed right forward, and I may not have room to do that with the new engine in.... equally, I may well (read, its a racing certainty) need work on the prop shaft to fit the new engine... it'll either need shortening, or replacing with a longer one, so need to work out how to do all of this without having to lift the rudder off, which would be a big job.... the fittings holding it on are enormous and won't come off easily, and the rudder itself is VERY heavy, so will need lifting gear.

Finally, I removed the remains of the old shaft seal. Under the previous one, the stern tube hab been fitted with a length of old exhaust hose, obviously to increase the diameter for the bellows... and this needed cutting off... easier said than done. The hose is pretty tough stuff, and I was working with my arms two feet below me in a narrow slot by the keel.... but off it came. I was finally able to measure everything so that I can order a new shaft seal... the shaft is 1 1/4" and the stern tube is 2". The cutlass bearing looks good and there is no play, so that's one less job to worry about.

A riveting read

I was getting on with my jobs by 08:30... serves me right for going to bed the night before at 21:00!

I had been pleased to see the night before, as I drove into the marina, that my mast had been moved as requested, so I would be able to get on with the work.

It however, proved easier to think about doing the work, than actually doing it!

The rivets were bastards to remove.... most had still got the mandrel  in them (that's the bit in the middle that is supposed to snap off and be removed... but sometimes they just break level with the rivet head)... the mandrel is slightly proud, so hard to get the drill in the right place, and secondly, is quite hard material, so not easy to drill to start with.... so it took 'some' time to remove the previous rivets. They had been in pretty poor condition...

I don't know what material they were, but they're not supposed to rust like that!

However, once removed, the second challenge was getting the new rivets in.

I have a scissor style rivet gun, thanks to my mate Jim... not only did he buy me one a few weekends ago, but upon discovering that it wasn't big enough for the rivets, posted me his own.

Imagine my horror then, as I pumped the first rivet tight, to see the handle snap in two!

And then a bit of luck. I discovered that the bolt mounting patterns on my new, too small one, were exactly the same size.... so out of two bad, I got one good.... Jim... the handle on the one you bought me is much better quality, so you've had an upgrade!

Each rivet needed the centre punching out, for which I used an old screwdriver bit... and then, the hassle of trying to get the new rivets installed.. some just wouldn't be 'grabbed' by the rivet gun, so it took me almost as long to fit the new ones as it did to remove the old ones!

I did have to take a short trip out to ScrewFix along the way, as sharp drill bits proved neccessary, and mine weren't!

By 15:00, the job was done, and each spreader is now located firmly with fresh, good quality rivets.

The yellow gunk is Duralac paste, which is a corrosion inhibitor, to stop the aluminium mast reacting with the Monel rivets and the stainless steel brackets.

Next job was the steaming/deck light.... I had to pull through a length of 3 core cable, as the old bit was not in good nick, and then locate the fitting, wire it up, and rivet it to the mast, followed by a protector guard, to stop the foresail or halyard wiping the light off the mast... job done by 16:30.

Last, but not least, I had finally brought the repaired hatch back down, and set too in refitting it.... it was easy to mount the hatch... less easy to mount the hatch struts in the right place.... a fair bit of head scratching and contemplating, and finally, the job was done... looks great!

I'm rather pleased that I decided to keep the old hatch struts and restore them, as they are such good quality... really heavy duty stainless steel construction, and have come up nicely.

So, tomorrow, I'll set too on the engine again... remove the prop shaft, remove the prop, and detach the final few bits, ready for an engine lift out next week.

engine lift planned

Engine comes out in just over a weeks time.... then the big bilge clean up commences!

Must order the bilge paint soon.

I've been pointed at garage floor paint as much cheaper, and the same stuff!

sole boards

I've (after my usual amount of prevaricating) have settled on the finish for the sole boards.... I've ordered Liberon Hard Wax Oil, which is a simple satin finish oil that can brushed on, withe the brushes cleaned in just water..... and yet is designed for wet and hunid environments like kitchens and bathrooms... so should be pefect. Its also very strong and hardwearing, so shouldn't get scratched.

Its a much better option in my opinion than a varnish, as it is harder, and won't go milky like water based varnishes.

Also, I've found a decent source for the brass lifting rings at a price that can be afforded, so need to remove the old corroded and broken ones.... bet that'll be a drill out job... thank god they're fitted using brass screws, not stainless!

Finally, I've also been wondering about how to secure the soleboards for ocean passages... they are 2" thick, so the thought of them flying around in a knock down doesn't bare consideration... so, my solution?

i've found some 8mm brass ferules and holes that are normally used to locate the base boards for large model railways, so that they can be disassembled, yet keep the tracks aligned when put back together

So that's one end.... and the other?.... I reckon a french window flush mounting bolt should do it.... 

between the two things, there's a secure, yet flush fixing, with easy operation.

more birthday courtesy flags

Another year, supposedly a little wiser...

This years marker of the drift towards senility sees me getting a further three courtesy flags...

Add Jamaica, St Lucia and Galapagos to the list.... the collection grows!

plotter and radar

I've spent a long time contemplating what to do in terms of a plotter and radar... and tonight i've made my decision. I've chewed it over on here before, but have now reached an answer.

I don't want a huge plotter at the helm, although I do want the plotter at the helm!. I do however, also want one that can support a second station at the chart table.

So, a smallish plotter, for pilotage, and with a radar overlay, and networking for a second station.

This left several options, with the lead two being the Lowrance HDS7m Gen 2 and the Raymarine e7

The radar is a bit better on the Lowrance, but the Raymarine a bit cheaper... both of which support a second station on an iPad... an iPad upon which I am typing this blog entry!

However, the decision has been made by three factors... the first two technical.... the Raymarine has the correct networking ports, so wouldn't require an additional mux, and secondly, the Raymarine iPad app supports touchscreen and controls the device remotely, whereas the Lowrance one is a read only repeater...  and the third factor, Raymarine appear to have a special offer on, and the entire package issuddenly  a few hundred quid cheaper than I thought.... bargain... will order via the phone tomorrow.

I have also discovered that the Raymarine will control my iPhone as a music source via bluetooth... so can control any music being played from the helm!

oily hands

Well the engine is pretty much ready to come out...

I have spent the morning getting thoroughly oily.... firstly by attempting to separate the shaft from the gearbox... lots of tight bolts. I started by undoing the only bolts that I could move, those of the shaft clamp. These could be undone because they don't turn around the shaft, but instead along it, so force could be exerted.

With the clamp undone and bolts removed, I gave the shaft clamp a tap with a hammer to try and shock the shaft free, but no movement. I then realised that the shaft seal might be holding everything in place, so spent an hour or so removing that. Its not a seal that I've ever seen before. It seems well engineered, but I'll replace it anyway as part of the refit. It did mean however, that the process of removal was a bit of a voyage of discovery (for non sailing readers, the shaft seal is the fitting that makes the hole that the propellor shaft passes through to the outside of the boat watertight). It was an oil filled seal, so more oil, to go with the various grimy, oily fluids spilt yesterday while stripping the engine apart. The bottom of the engine compartment is going to be a horrible job to clean up!

However, the shaft seal, now loose and slid up the shaft, still didn't see the prop shaft free, dite a robust tap or two on the propellor boss,  so it is obvious that I will need to spilt the shaft flanges.... easier said than done with a hydraulic gearbox, which can't be locked off, so the shaft continues to rotate when you try and undo the bolts.

It didn't help that I didn't have the right spanner.... the bolts are 11/16th, and while I had an 11/16th spanner, it was a short stubby one, and with the coupling being in an awkward place that is a stretch to reach, I couldn't get a decent clout with a hammer.... so it was put aside as a task for the next visit, where I will turn up with a nice long spanner, and a long bar to try and lock/wedge the shaft in place using the bolt heads on the other part of the coupling...

Instead, I took the engine mount bolts off. I was expecting this to be a bit of a nightmare, as they are awkward to get at, and looked quite corroded.... but obviously, years of oil leaks had helped, as the supposed rust was actually just grime, so a decent wipe down, and a good long socket on a ratchet, and they came off quite easily... I have left the bolts dropped in their slots so that there is no chance of the engine vibrating off the bearers, but its a 30 second job now to reach down and pull the bolts out when she's ready to lift.

So, besides the shaft coupling, I only have two more jobs to do before the engine can be lifted... Firstly I need to disconnect the gearbox cable... won't be an issue, as if the fixings are seized, I'll just cut through the cable with a hacksaw, and secondly I need to detatch the remote oil filter... I haven't done that yet, as I need to drain the oil from the engine first, and ran out of time, but again, not a big job, and doubt the single bolt fixing will be troublesome, and if it is, i'll just cut the pipes once the oil is drained.

So, next visit, will see me ready for a lift out, and i'll use the same weekend to get the mast finished off...

I'll need to take a day off work for the engine removal, as the crane work is a LOT cheaper during midweek!

I'm really looking forward to a nice clean, painted engine compartment.

Holes and heights

I turned up at Shotley friday evening, so see with frustration, that my mast had been moved to the top of the rack, so there was no way I was going to be able to do any work on it... a quick check with the office confirmed that it couldn't be moved until monday... darn.

So instead, I have set too with taking bits off the engine to make it removable.... off has come the water tank header, the main water reservoir that houses the thermostat, the starter motor, the alternator, the various water and fuel pipes, the engine control cable, and the stop cable, the fuel filters and the air intake headers... its looking a lot smaller!

I then set too with removing the access panel in the cockpit sole, so that the engine can be pulled out... it has been in place a lot of years, and was firmly attached. The bolts that should hold it in place were either missing or rotted away, and it wasn't well sealed, the source of the leak into the engine compartment...

several hours of digging away with an old screwdriver and a chisel for several hours saw enough sealant removed that finally it let go of its 38 year old hold, and voila.... a hole in the cockpit floor big enough to remove an engine!

A little repair work to ensure that it is watertight and can be bolted down properly, and we'll have a nice watertight  engine room.

Tomorrow, i'll attempt to seperate the shaft coupling, and loosen the engine mount bolts... the engien will then be ready to remove, so that I can get on with tidying up the compartment before a new lump goes in... looking forward to that... a clean engine room is always a nice sight!

The final task of the day was to fit a tarpaulin over the cockpit, with lines tied under the boat to keep it secure... an important task, as now the cockpit hatch isn't watertight, so needs a little extra protection.

time to get on with it

OK.... time for a short update.

The short term employment issue has been resolved! (hooray!!!!!!)

So, now its time to get on with the engine.... prices have been gathered, and i'm pretty sure which way I am going now.... I just need to bite my tongue, and place the order.

The other challenge is time to fit it. While I could definitely save a few quid by doing it myself, I am seriously considering asking the yard to do it, as I am time poor.... It just depends upon how much, and whether I can still work it to get into the empty engine compartment to get it cleaned and painted between removal and refit.

Next however on my list, is finishing the mast work, so that it can be restepped.

More soon.

collecting courtesy flags

For a couple of Christmas's and birthdays, we've been buying courtesy flags for each other as a bit of fun... they make ideal stocking presents... we're starting to build up quite a collection now, so today printed off a list and marked the ones we have, and the ones we want, to avoid repeat or dual purchases.... the list of ones still needed is very long, and we've identified at least another 30, plus quite a few that we'll probably add once that list is exhausted!

(For the landlubbers, when you enter the territorial waters of a nation state, you fly a quarantine flag - a plain yellow - until you are cleared by immigrations, and then you fly their national maritame flag - or ensign as it is properly known - from your mast, the whole time you are in their waters)

Its a fun way of dreaming about the trip we'll make in a few years time, and keeps the enthusiasm up... plus it also encourages you to think about routes and options, which is nice daydreaming!

less progress

An earlier start than yesterday, with plans to get the job completed.... but as is all too often the case with boats, the task ended up beating us, and we retired to try again another day.

Firstly, the bit of 3 core wire aimed for the steaming and deck light, appeared upon close inspection to be somewhat more corroded than we'd thought, so that'll need replacing... and I didn't have any... so instead we set about removing the old rusty rivets, and putting new ones in.... all good in terms of removing the old rivets, albeit a little hard, and requiring a combination of drills, and brute force with a hammer and punch, to then discover that the large rivets replacing them were larger than the largest mandrel on the new rivet gun... bugger... game over.

So, instead, we packed up and set off home.

Jim, upon getting home has discovered that his rivet gun does have the correct sized mandrel, so that's in the post to me, and i'll have another go next week.

You win some, you lose some.

masthead done!

A most productive day. 

My friend Jim came over to give me a hand with the masthead stuff... its really a two person job, with one pulling wires at one end of the mast, and one feeding at the other... it can be done alone, but its hard work.... so I was very grateful for the assistance.

My expectation was for trouble, so I am pleased to report that it has gone pretty much perfectly, and proved to be far more straightforward than I expected.

As we started the masthead was a bit of a mess..

With fittings from all the old equipment in varying states of decay, so this needed removing... but with care, as the old wiring becomes critical in pulling through the new wiring.

Usually, this task is a nightmare, and so, it was  pleasant surprise to find that the new wiring was pulled through without too much trouble.

We then mounted the new equipment, and suddenly the masthead looks ok again, and we are one step further to being ready to leave the marina for a sail.

I am particularly pleased with the combined windex/VHF aerial, which not only looks neat, but is nicely out of the way of the wind instrument sender.

We've still got the steaming light and deck light to fit and wire up, but the wiring is in place, so not the biggest of jobs, and then the rivets to drill out and replace, which should be too bad a job either... as Jim has treated me to a 'lazy tong' rivet gun, which make the job a LOT easier.... a giid few jobs off the to-do list today.... and given Jim's generosity, it is only fitting that he has the closing picture.... :)

which engine

This is the other big question.....

I've discounted the new, extremely cheap, engines coming in from China.... there are just too many quality issues yet.... we need an engine that we can utterly rely on for our long term plans. Maybe in a few years time, when they've got a track record, they will be viable alternatives.

In the meantime, I will look for pricing from the main three, Nanni and Beta, and Vetus... I've also come across Craftsman marine, which look very interesting... its a new-ish company set up by ex Vetus management, and their engine looks very very similar to the Vetus, and is based on the same block, which is widely used in commercial applucations globally, so availability of spares isn't a problem... I suspect they'll be quite competitive price wise... lets see.

new engine

Looks like Phoenix will be getting her new engine soon.....

I've got to work out the logistics of doing it now... there are a few challenges to consider.

1] Timing in getting the old one out... i'll need crane assistance from the yard, so that'll be a mid week job... and will require me to remove the access hatch in the cockpit floor.

2] Maintaining the waterproof-ness of the cockpit while the hatch is removed, without having to do the whole job of out and in over a couple of days

3] Sorting out the engine compartment, and timing the paint job for decent weather, so that it will actually dry!

4] Working out how to deal with the engine feet... will I need to put new bearers in, or can I use modified feet?.".. or something like a bar across the existing bearers?

5] Fitting a thrust bearing, or facing an alignment challenge...

6] Storing the new engine until it is fitted... will the yard hold it for me in their shed?... or will they be unhappy that i'm not buying through them?....

7] Lead time on the engine... will it be weeks and weeks?

So many questions to deal with.... it's going to be fun!

breezy

I've been down to the boat to check she's OK.... all's well with her....

Slso, while there, I collected the new starter motor, which i've sold on to another owner of a Lehman engine... so its not going to go to waste!

While I was there, I also snapped  few pics of the rusty rivets on the mast that will getting replaced shortly...

Bet they take some drilling out!

The boat seems quite dry below, bar the leak in the engine compartment from the access hatch... I'm not that concerned about it, as the hatch will be removed shortly, when we put a new engine in, and that's the opportunity to get it water tight, and in the meantime, the leak is only slight, and can't do the engine any more harm than has already been done!

I have however, ordered a heavy duty tarpaulin, that I will be putting over the whole cockpit area once it arrives... so that fixes the problem in the interim....

Hopefully progress to report soon, on the mast, and a few other jobs that need completing.