Portlight Plastic Replacement

Thistle just celebrated her 28th birthday and the plastic in the hatches and portlights was really showing its age, so when we were in California we cut new plastic for all the openings. The Captain was graciously allowed to use the CNC router at our old sign shop which made the job super easy.

The process of replacing the plastic is quick and easy too, but messy. And potentially VERY messy if you don't mask thoroughly and carefully contain the silicone adhesive.

First we removed the old plastic by cutting out the adhesive. Then we scraped the aluminum frames with a dull chisel to remove all the old silicone. We also masked off the outer edge of the aluminum frame.

To protect the plastic we left the masking paper on both sides, but trimmed it where the glue had to go. To do that, we prefit the plastic, drew a line around the framework from the bottom, and cut away the masking paper where the silicone needed to go. (In the photo above, the plastic is upside down, but you can see the black strips where the masking paper has been removed.) Then we applied the silicone and set the plastic in place, pressing it down firmly. On this large Bomar hatch, we also had to reinstall the four latches.

 On the portlights, there was only a 1/2" strip around each edge, and on the smaller hatches there was only the edge and one piece of framework to trim around. Only after the silicone dried did we peel off the masking paper.

The difference is amazing! Before, the plastic was so cloudy we couldn't see anything, but now we can actually see out. The plastic is tinted, but they look so clear and bright that I sometimes think they're open when they're closed. This was a very worthwhile project.

The Looong Haulout

We put Thistle on the hard November 26th, emptied the fridge, cleaned her up, made lists of things to bring back from California, and flew home for the holidays. When we returned on February 6th, we started our project list in earnest.

The first project was to get a car, which was in itself quite a story. Then we began stripping and varnishing the cap rails. We wanted to redefine the caprail-to-hull edge before the Captain started sanding the hull for the repaint. We also ordered lots of supplies and materials and new refrigeration units.

On March 25th we moved into our first house sitting job and started the refrigeration project. It was a huge mess and I don't know how we could have done it while living aboard. During this time we also touched up a bunch of varnish inside the boat.

By April 12th we were back on the boat, enjoying our new refrigeration, and planning a little vacation to New Orleans. We were in New Orleans from April 19th-25th.

Painting commenced when we got back and by May 7th, the transom and starboard side were all done including the name and the gold cove stripe. Then we had to fly back to California again for Malcolm's mother's funeral from May 8th-23rd.

Another house sitting job gave us the comforts of home from May 28th-June 13th. The air conditioning was certainly appreciated, because the heat and humidity were starting to get bad in Georgia.

Between thunderstorms, paint drying, and waiting for supplies, the Captain managed to replace all the cloudy plastic in the portholes and small hatches, repaint the helm, repair some cosmetic damage on the keel, remove the hydraulic centerboard cylinder and boom bang for servicing, adjust the stuffing box, paint the waterline stripe, and make a new panel for the nav station. Just yesterday he painted the port side of the hull, and he is polishing it now.

So, while I sometimes think we've been here forever and will probably be here the rest of our lives, we've only really been on the job for 110 days. And we've accomplished quite a lot in that time.

Refrigeration Recap

Ta-Dah! The galley project is finished.

On the left is the Vitrifrigo DW70 freezer with a cupboard below for its small Danfoss compressor and a trash bin. The Captain made the cabinet doors match the others on the boat.

The trash bin is attached to the door by a little bracket and a bungie. It's a very small bin and we use shopping bags for liners. The door can be secured open at anchor or while preparing a meal, then closed while underway.

In the center, below the stove, is the original pan storage area; a small, dark, difficult-to-access cave. That's one thing that bugs me about the cabinet design on the Aldens; large storage spaces are limited by small access doors. I understand there must be faceframes, but they should be narrower to make the doors as large as possible.

On the right is the new Vitrifrigo DW100 refrigerator with a cupboard below for its compressor and more pan storage.

Ventilation is a big issue with refrigeration units, so each compressor area has a 6" diameter hole to the bilges to bring in cool air, and another 6" hole up high, behind the stove, to exhaust the warm air. There is about 3" of airspace on the side of each box, 4" on the top, and 8" behind, so I think we have good airflow.

Another important requirement is proper wire size. The Vitrifrigo manual suggested 9ga wire for our length run, but we used 8ga. Heck, the wire cost more than the cherry wood!

Vitrifrigo has several sizes of drawer units. The smaller units can be either freezer only, refrigerator only, or a combination. They have two types of latches: traditional flush or bowed designer style. They all have lights inside, one sliding top rack, plenty of stainless steel dividers, and sturdy Blum drawer guides.

http://www.vitrifrigo.com/ww/en/drawer_refrigerator_and_freezers

At only 3.3 cubic feet, our refrigerator is a little small, but we just couldn't fit a larger unit into our boat. The freezer, at 2.6 cubic feet is a little large, but we have plenty of room to make ice and I'm experimenting to find out what can be stored in the freezer without getting ruined.

When perusing the Vitrifrigo website, keep in mind the number after the "DW" refers to cubic liters which you can easily translate into cubic feet.

If you need help, the folks at Vitrifrigo are easy to talk to. The Vitrifrigo warehouse is located in Florida, so purchasing from Hanson Marine in St. Augustine meant quick delivery, and he was cheaper than Defender.

Now, let's drink that champagne!

During the Refrigeration Installation

Here's a photo of the boat during the installation of the new refrigeration system - and this is why you can't live aboard during a project like this.

As you can see, there's barely room to walk through the boat because the stove, floorboards, and the new freezer drawer are on the port settee, and the temporary refrigerator and new refrigerator are on the starboard settee.

The electrical panel had to be opened up to run the new circuits. The Captain is also redoing the navigation panel because some of our instruments were fried in the lightning strike two years ago and the new ones are a little different.

Floorboards had to be removed and the generator area had to be opened to run the wires. Tools are scattered everywhere. Someone is trying to stain and varnish while the other someone is trying to run wires and fit doors. It's chaos!

We were able to slip the freezer unit in without too much trouble, but we had to lower the refrigerator down from above before the countertop was put on because the space was just too tight. We also had to remove the drawer front to get the drawer into the unit.

I'll bet you didn't know that you had to be authorized to purchase or install Corian solid suface countertop material. But with persistence, we found a countertop installer in Jacksonville who would sell us the eight square feet that we needed. We took a scrap of the old top and found the perfect match. We re-used the old fiddle rails. With lots of sanding, and fresh stain and varnish, they look like new.

This little panel next to the sink had a controller for the old refrigeration system, so we had to make a new one since we removed that controller. With more space we were able to move the generator instruments down a bit which makes them easier to see.

The compressor for each unit is mounted directly below but only uses half the space, so we are utilizing that extra space for storage. On the right we will store large pots and pans, and on the left we found space for a trash bin. The Captain made the new doors match the old ones exactly. We think its very important to match existing details in any remodel.

So far we love the new refrigerators and the new storage space that we created. We'll do an update on power consumption after we've lived with them for a few weeks.

SOURCES:

Refrigerators - Hanson Marine, St. Augustine, 904 825-7448

Cherry - Florida Southern Plywood, Jacksonville, 904 786-4382

Corian - Wellcraft Fabrication, Jacksonville, 904 880-6921 wellcraftfab.com

Hardware - Fisheries Supply fisheriessupplies.com

Fingerbreakers aka Fingerpulls - LaLuna ♡

New Refrigeration

This will be a long post detailing a long project.

If you want to replace your refrigeration I would recommend you first empty all the galley lockers, put tape over all the seams in the floor so gunk doesn't fall into the bilge, protect the floor with towels or rugs, get a Sawzall, a pry bar, lots of big garbage bags.....and get at least a case of beer, or, better yet, a big bottle of vodka. Next take everything else out of all the other lockers and throw it on the floor because that's where it will end up eventually. Then pour yourself a drink and start sawing.

This is how the galley looked before we started. We are hoping it looks this good again soon. The two doors on either side of the stove access the original boxes; freezer on the left, refrigerator on the right.

First we removed the stove and the refrigerator doors. Then the Captain started sawing chunks of wood and fiberglass out like this:

It took us two days to cut all that stuff out and pry out all the insulation. Tillotson Pearson did a great job on these boxes. There was 4" of insulation on the sides, front, and bottom. There was 8" of insulation against the hull, and 6" on top.

The old Grunert cold plate system had a remote compressor under the cockpit, so there were several copper tubes running back and forth through lockers. We used cable cutters to cut those, then pulled all the pieces out.

Somewhere along the way we decided that the counter tops had to come out too, so we carefully removed the fiddle rails and saved them, then removed the countertops. About here is where I was reminded of that time we Sawzalled 2/3 of our house down for the big remodel. Through the haze of sawdust, you just have to keep the faith, baby!

By the third day we had cleaned out both holes, and gotten the new freezer box up onto the boat. Because the doors in our boat are only 16" wide and the galley is not in the aft cabin, the new freezer had to come down the large overhead hatch in the main cabin.

To make the freezer smaller and lighter, we removed the drawer and mounting flange, and taped the remote compressor to the side. With it arranged this way, we were able to lower it all down into the galley area through the large hatch that you see beneath the Captain's feet.

After figuring out the height of each unit, we installed shelves for them to sit on and started working on the new cabinetry. Our boat's interior is all cherry, so after calling several places we found Florida Southern Plywood in Jacksonville. They sell not only plywood, but solid cherry, walnut, oak, and maple for cabinet makers. We selected two small pieces of cherry and a sheet of 1/4" cherry plywood and got out the door for about $120.00.

Now the Captain cut the cherry to make the faceframes and doors, and I started staining and varnishing. Today, after almost two weeks of solid work, we set the two units in place to see how it will all look. The freezer, on the left, is a little smaller than the refrigerator. That gave us room for a garbage bin underneath. We've cruised all this time with the bin wedged in the corner. Yes, sometimes it tips over or slides around; this will be so much better!

Of course, the compressors will be installed below the refrigerator units, there will be cabinets doors below, and there will be new Corian countertops, but it's actually moving along!

House Sitting

Some of our boat projects are messy interior things which would have made living aboard difficult, so we asked around (through Women Who Sail and the St. Marys Yacht Club) and found a house sitting gig.

So about two weeks ago we removed all the cushions and clothes from the boat and moved into a palace. We have a remote to access the huge garage. There are three bedrooms, four baths, a huge living/dining area, two decks facing the ICW, and a big modern kitchen. It's pretty cushie.

From what we can see, it's a typical Georgia tidewater home: garages on the bottom level, living areas on the second level, and bedrooms on the third level. It's a beautiful plan, but this flatlander is having trouble adjusting to the stairs! I'm forever wanting something that's on a different level. However, if I get really lazy, I can use the elevator! Yes, it has an elevator.

Not our house, but typical for this area.

Meanwhile, back at the boat, I continue to sand and varnish interior bits, and the Captain is cleaning the engine compartment and removing the old refrigeration components. We bought new drawer refrigeration units because the old Grunert system was getting tired, and required daily generator use. Also, we couldn't run it on the hard because it uses salt water for cooling.

BTW, this cup holder for the cockpit table is making me crazy. I'm on the fourth coat of varnish now, but seriously, who designed this thing?! It's almost impossible to sand.

Boat Yard Blues

We've got the boat yard blues....

You may wonder what we've been doing in the three weeks since we've been back to the boat. Above is a clue. It looks sort of like worms, but it's actually little ground out spots where there were cracks in the gelcoat.

If we'd just painted over them, they would have merely reappeared in the new paint so the Captain is grinding them out with a Dremel tool. Then he's filling them and sanding, sanding, sanding.

Here's how the starboard side looks; it's almost ready for primer. Thank goodness our boat is only 44' long. A project like this makes you wish you had a smaller boat!

While the Captain works on the hull, I've been sanding, sanding, sanding too, and applying varnish to various parts. Here are the Dorade  boxes and cockpit table parts.

Aside from the relentless bugs, the conditions are pretty nice here. We have a great view out across the marsh, the temperatures are moderate, it doesn't rain much, and we have a car for quick runs to the grocery store and Home Depot.

So maybe the only boat yard blues are Malcolm's pants!

What a Difference a Day Makes

Yesterday there were whitecaps in the harbor even though the wind was coming from the NNE and the breakwater offers protection from that direction, but today is beautiful. We've been hunkered down here in Rockland since last Friday waiting to see what Irma, José, Maria were going to do. We haven't been idle though; we've been checking chores off that list that every cruiser has. If you're a cruiser you'll know what I'm talking about.

Ours had things like change generator oil, empty and clean aft fuel tank, change fuel filters, figure out why toilet isn't bringing in water, replace masthead light bulb, install radar reflector, and fix broken flag halyard.

A new blogger told me that even these mundane things might be interesting to my readers, so I'm going to tell you a little about the fuel tank and the toilet. Thrilling, I know.

After removing the toilet intake pump and determining that it was clean, we checked the thru-hull next.

(not my picture, but similar to our thru-hull)

Sure enough, the thru-hull was clogged, because when we removed the hose and opened the thru-hull, water DID NOT gush into the boat. Something or someone had taken up residence in the grate.

Our boat has these grates outside on most of the intake thru-hulls and critters like to live in them. So now we had to take the elbow off the thru-hull and wiggle a piece of coat hanger around in there to dislodge the squatter. Keep in mind the thru-hull has to be open to do this.

About a minute of poking and pushing is all it took and suddenly water was gushing in like it was supposed to. We closed the valve, fit the elbow and the hose back on and tested the toilet. Perfect.

Oh, and don't worry about all that seawater in the bilge. The bilge pump is one of the things that's working fine.

Our aft fuel tank has a history of contamination problems. We cleaned it two years ago when we were in Grenada, but then we kept putting dirty fuel in it and the pick-up is in the lowest corner where all the gunk collects, so we use a lot of filters and the generator balks when we draw off that tank.

First we pumped 17 gallons of diesel out into jerry jugs using our dinghy bailer pump and a Baja filter. (Of course this project is taking place in one of the more difficult places to reach: through a 5"x10" access plate, under the generator and kitchen sink.) Then we used those bilge pad things to sop out the last of it. Finally we scooped and wiped all of the brown gunk out, put the lid back on and put the fuel back in the tank. And the generator runs happily now.

See folks, it's not all sandy beaches, palm trees, and rum drinks out here. There are hurricanes to watch out for, repairs to be made, and hitch hikers to evict.

Added later: We also cleaned the windings and brushes on the bow thruster and it's working at full speed now.

Drive Saver Replaced

In our last post we told you about being towed into the Connecticut River. We are happy to report that the Drive Saver has been replaced!

After telling the tech the age (we figure 27 years) of our Drive Saver he was amazed that it had lasted that long. He told us they should be changed every 10 years.

So we got the new one ordered early Monday morning, spent the day being tourists with the crew of Bentaña, and made a run to Walmart. (Don't judge, cruisers can find nearly everything they need at Walmart.)

The part arrived around noon today, the Captain installed it, we had lunch, and got on our way to Fishers Island. We should arrive about 6pm.

Technical stuff: We have a Hurth transmission with a V-drive, and the Drive Saver is part #404 A. Below is the 27 year old part.

New Shaft Seal & Cutless Bearing

Here is the new shaft seal above the old one. The new seal is a traditional type that uses four rings of oakum (flax impregnated with wax and lubricants) to keep the water out. Theoretically it can be adjusted and/or repacked without hauling the boat. It would be messy, but doable.

Above you can see the score that may have contributed to the "dripless" seal's leak. However, after much head scratching, we think maybe it was more of an adjustment problem.

Our V drive has a large rubber flex coupling that we think may have allowed the shaft to move/pull forward just enough to let water in. There was a hose clamp just forward of the PSS seal, but maybe it should have been tighter. We might have been able to adjust it, but we are happy replace the cutless bearing and shaft seal especially after talking with the yard manager about dripless seals.

He told us a story about a fishing boat that quickly sunk because of a shaft seal failure. Ask around at any repair facility; nearly everyone will tell you a story about this; failure is usually catastrophic.

Here's the old bearing and the new Morse bearing. We cut the old bearing out with a Sawzall. The new bearing will be chilled to make it smaller before pressing it into place. Set screws will hold it there.

And The Fun Never Ends

Soooooooo, when we were coming up the Chesapeake towards Washington DC, the dripless shaft seal wasn't dripping, it was gushing! A little disconcerting to say the least, but we lowered our RPMs, adjusted our heading, checked the bilges more often, and continued on our way.

We found a yard that allows DIYers and we hauled out yesterday here at the Dennis Point Marina & Campground. It's in a lovely, quiet spot on the St. Mary's River, far from the big city. The view from our cockpit is idyllic. The staff is laid back, yet friendly and helpful. Folks come here to relax, camp, fish, and maybe do a little crabbing.

We come here to work.

First we removed the propeller. 

And the propeller hub.

Then this flange thing.

And finally the shaft.

And the cutless bearing.

All to get to the leaky shaft seal you saw in the first photo.

It has taken us 8 hours to get this far. Now to decide which type of shaft seal will fit (dripless again, or traditional), order the new parts, and re-install everything. And paint the bottom again and install new anodes.

I'm telling you, the fun never ends here on Thistle!