Many Projects.

Been a while since I posted but this is what I've been up to lately. Winter projects continued but even those were slow going.

I want to expand my battery capacity so I build a battery box to replace the one I had before. I took some 6oz. fiberglass cloth and lined the inside of the box. Still not done yet as I want to cut away a little near the top for the thick battery cables to make their way to the battery terminals. There's a few touch-ups that are still needed but overall, I don't think it's all too bad.

One day, while visiting the boat, I decided to grab the ships bell for cleaning. When I got the boat, the bell wasn't in the best of condition. Before I used Brasso. It made the bell look really good, or so I thought. This time, I was going to use the same thing but decided to use some Collinite Metal Wax. I used this metal wax on the bell and it bought it from dull to a really nice mirror shine.

In a previous post, I mentioned taking the rudder cheeks off the boat to refinish. Right now, they have 5 coats on and a few more before they would go on the boat. I also refreshed the varnish on the tiller too.

I bought a Sailrite sewing machine some time ago but haven't really tried putting it to use. I sewed the ends of a webbing strap that would be used to hold the battery box down once it's on the boat. I also have a buckle that will get sewn onto the webbing too but haven't gone that far yet with it. At the same time I got the sewing machine, I bought a yard of Sunbrella Linen marine grade fabric. I got only a yard so I could practice with it. So I tried making a cover for the forward hatch. I think it turned out pretty good but when I took it to the boat this weekend, it was a very close fit. It could work for now but I think it could be made better.

A week ago, I went to the boat and found out the bilge was full of water. I used the manual bilge pump and got it out of there but thought of how it got there. I opened up the floor boards and opened the panel towards the engine. The engine was very wet. Then I thought of the most recent snow we had that was immediately followed by a lot of rain. So what I think happened is with the snow in the cockpit, the drains were blocked. So, when it rained afterwards, it had no other place to go so it got into the boat through the engine instrument panel. Another reason why I think that is what happened is because one of the cockpit lockers was also full of water, which has never happened before. I had a sponge in there so I soaked up all that water to clean it out. So now, I hope for a dryer boat. To prevent future leaks through the engine panel, I'm going to get some 4200 and seal up around the edges. I was also given a suggestion to move the pull-stop to the inside of the boat. I think I'll take that suggestion. Anytime I pull it from the cockpit, the engine panel lifts up. with that, I'll look for a place I can move it to.

I've started removing some of the bottom paint to get it ready for paint later on down the road. I got the rudder cleaned off for the most part. Found a lot of spots that looked like it was damaged before, possibly from blisters. Needless to say, there's going to be quite a bit of work to fair it out for a smoother look. I also found a spot that is cracked that will need to be filled too. I'm planning to keep the bottom cleaned off until right before I can get the boat back in the water again, which might take some time but at least it would be ready to go.

And the latest is the trailer the boat is on. I found out there's a place for brake fluid. I hadn't thought of it before so I wasn't looking. Well, the reservoir the fluid goes into was empty and dry. I bought a pump to try bleeding the lines but so far hasn't worked out so well.

I'll be moving in the next couple months from Tennessee to Northern Virginia so I have some work to do to make sure the boat is ready to move. I'll travel there first to scout out the area until I find a place where I can move the boat to. Then projects will continue along the way.

So, until next time...

Winter slow down

No, I haven't gone anywhere. This time of year, things slow down and like most people, it's just a matter of staying warm. In the meantime, there are winter projects and project planning.

I've sold the Garmin 546s. Didn't take long for that to sell. I intend to upgrade to a nicer chartplotter and integrated radar.

I've been looking over where and how I'm going to mount the Pronautic charger.

Still working (slowly) on building a new battery box that will hold two Group 31's.

Varnishing the rudder cheeks and adding a few coats to the tiller.

And, I just made a few orders for supplies on other smaller projects that I'm waiting for a couple more things to come in but here's a picture to show what I have so far. Just not going to talk about what the projects are just yet, but I have some wires, a strap and hardware. :-)

Checked on the boat today. I thought I left something I needed on the boat, then realized what I was looking for was in the truck. I saw the pink anti-freeze was frozen in the water filter for the engine. From what I've seen, it does freeze, just doesn't expand (maybe when it gets even colder?). Decided to look in the bilge and saw it's frozen too. I really need to dry that out as soon as it warms up again. I'll keep a close watch on everything as this winter continues.

Not much but that's the latest I'm up to. Hopefully soon, I'll find out where I'll be moving too for work and will then have to sort out where the boat is going to be stored at later.

Stay warm out there!

Wasps

There seems to be quite a few wasps around. Last weekend, I took the mainsail cover off and found a couple mud clumps around, then raised the main sail and found more within the folds of the sail. Today, I went for just a short time and did some cleaning/organizing.

Today, like last week, there was a wasp that was flying in and out. Last week, I just sucked the thing in the vacuum and that was it. Today, I did something different. I wanted to keep things out of the boat. There's also a lot of spiders around too. It doesn't take long for them to build their webs either.

Just as I was wrapping up the cleaning, the wasp I saw today flew in as I was closing things up. I took some green tape I had on hand and used it around the opening of the companionway boards and hatch. This sealed things up pretty good, I think. The opening is about 1/4 inch so anything can fly/walk in as they please.

Here I taped it up on the inside of the cover and outside of the boards.

This wasp I mentioned isn't a small one either so I'm really not comfortable with them flying around me. The two holes in the front of the hatch is for the Nor'sea plate that came with the boat that I will attach after doing some finish work on the wood. So, those two holes are a little too small for the wasp to get through. I made sure to tape around side corners too.

The hatch as a clear (mostly) top that anyone could look down into. It didn't take long, but the thing was flying into the hatch. It really wasn't too happy. It was flying into it and walking around trying to find a way out.

I took some video trying to get a shot of it. it's about 1 1/2 inches long. This is a still picture of the flying visitor.

The few I've actually seen are all about the same size. When it starts getting colder, I plan on going through all over the boat to make sure there is no clumps of mud hiding anywhere. I did find it interesting that one of the clumps I found last week on one of the mast winches had dead spiders inside it. Saving for later?

Creepy little things. Now if only I could get rid of the spiders, that would be great too.

In hopes to at least keep the flying critters out, I'm thinking to make a couple hatch covers. One with Sunbrella canvas material to block some light and another made with a mosquito net I happened to have sitting around the house that will still allow airflow through the boat. I could use some sewing practice anyway.

The previous owner had the boat stored on its trailer in Arizona and it got infested with bees and now in mid Kentucky, I have wasps and spiders. How fun (sarcasm).

UPDATE: I just looked up some info on wasps. I found out that because of the mud clumps, this is actually classified as a "mud dauber".  I read stings are rare but I'm sure it's possible so I don't want to take any chances. I read that there are eggs inside the mud clumps so another good reason to look throughout the boat to get rid of them.

Sewing Machine

On a previous post, I was talking about wanting to do some canvas work. I researched sewing machines that were popular and went ahead and ordered a Sailrite LSZ-1 sewing machine. It came in yesterday. I ordered some other accessories to go along with it and everything came in large boxes. The black transport case and the machine itself came in to individual boxes within a single large box. It was pretty big and heavy. Another box had accessories that I ordered along with it. I ordered a yard of 60" Marine Grade Sunbrella, Linen color. I got only one yard to start off with smaller projects at the moment as I learn the machine. I got a white 1" binding strip to go along with it for the edge to give it a nice finished look. At least, that's the idea. In order to cut Sunbrella, I ordered one of Sailrite's hot knives too.

 

It's a heavy machine. In the accessory kit I ordered included the heavier balance wheel and that is pretty heavy itself. First impressions, it looks like a good solid machine that will last some time.

 



REFIT Plan: Canvas

I've been looking at the fabric on the boat and see that it is well worn and in some places, frayed too. Since many boats use Sunbrella brand fabrics on their boat, what I have appears to be Pacific Blue which seems to be a pretty popular color considering so many boats have it.

Forward Hatch Cover

Tiller Cover

What I've been looking at lately is to change out my fabrics on the exterior to Sunbrella's Linen color. It's a nice tan that will really lighten the deck space.

What to change.

Well, the forward hatch, shown in the picture above would be replaced, along with the mainsail cover, winch covers, tiller cover and looking to add covers for the deck handrails to protect the recent varnish work. There's also a dodger, which I haven't seen yet as it's stored in the head and just haven't pulled it out yet. I'm also looking to someday have a full boat cover.

Down below, the cushion fabrics, while decent condition, look to be a bit dated. I'm also looking at using a lighter color, whether linen like on deck or patterned, it's something I'll look into when I get to that project. I'd really like for everything below to match. I might change out the foam too which currently has a yellow foam with white batten.


The red cushions are for the quarterberths

How to do it.

Many people look at getting new fabrics and go to a professional. Personally, I like trying to figure things out on my own. I like the idea of learning all the systems on my boat and will help me when maintaining everything too. I've been looking around on Cruisers Forum and Sailnet to get ideas on sewing machines. I decided to get a LSZ-1 along with some accessories from Sailrite. I like the features of the machine and that it can also be used manually when power may not be available. What's really nice about Sailrite is that they have many how-to videos on their website. They will be helpful when learning sewing techniques and ideas for projects.

Another source I'll have for ideas will also come from a Sewing Group on Cruisers Forum. It's just getting started and will keep growing as interest continues.

While this will be part of my refit I hope to start in a few years, I may still do a few projects in the meantime.