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Maintenance, Modifications & Repairs

  As mentioned, coming through the Welland Canal we had one or two minor problems.  The wash down pump, raw water strainer , freshwater strainer, seized valves etc.  To list them all would take a book.  But I’ll try to list the main ones.

The wash down pump wasn’t a big deal.  The pressure switch housing was cracked so a simple replacement got that up and running again.  The shower sump pump had the valve closed because the strainer housing was cracked.  A new strainer resolved that issue.  The valve had been closed so long or so tightly that it had seized, so it was replaced with a new ball valve. Starvation in the fresh water system was cause by a dirty strainer.      

 I made a decision at haul out to change all the “non ball valves” on through-hulls to ball valves and get rid of the" gate” valves.  Hoses at this time were all closely examined and replaced if at all found wanting.       

 I re-routed the head hoses to make room under the sink in the bathroom and installed a new hand held shower.  The original shower was big and not “aesthetically” pleasing to Jan       

The survey made note of a smell of diesel in the engine compartment which I thought could have come from the loose secondary filter but I later discovered worn & weeping fuel hoses.  These were soon replaced.  A fuel/air separator was installed in the tank vent line to prevent spillage whilst refueling.    

The Rutland 913 wind generator was shipped out for overhaul as it was making rumbling noises (bad bearings) when running and I rebuilt the support mast for it.  I found the wiring inside the mast to be disconnected with not enough wire length to make a connection so I rewired that when I re-installed the generator. I’m toying with the idea of installing a dinghy motor lift on the post but that’s down the road a bit.

The radar antenna cover was found to be cracked and water had seeped in.  On inspection we discovered that the electronic board inside was burned out as well as the magnetron.  We couldn’t find a spare antenna or parts for it so decided to go without for the time being.

We were getting water in the cabin at the foot of the mast. I suspect water coming down inside the mast and wicking out with the wires.  With the mast off I pulled both foot and cap from the mast.  I tapped hole in the base casting and installed a hose barb and  led a hose to the bilge to try and get rid of the unwanted water. I also took this opportunity to fish wires up the internal conduits for a mast head anchor light.  How two of the previous owners had both gone to the Bahamas without one I don’t know.  I re-routed the halyards to the sheaves that the original spec drawings showed where they should have been.

While working on deck we discovered a broken stanchion base also one that was an oddball.  Removal was a royal pain in the @$$.  All the cabinetry had to be removed on the port side.  Six hours to get it out, ½ hr to change the base and 5 hours to put it all back.  While it was out, we decided to re-bed the other accessible ones at the same time.  Don’t want to do that again.....  Pulled the cave lockers out of the ‘v’ berth and re-bedded  those ones as well.  Might as well re-bed the for’d cleats while we’re at it.  (Gluttons for punishment).  This also gave a chance to get at and inspect the for’d wiring.  The 12 volt outlet in the anchor locker had all but disintegrated so this was a good time to replace and rewire it.

 From there onto the galley. The stove wasn’t working too too well so we pulled it out but couldn’t find anyone who wanted to or could fix it.  So a new Force 10, three burner stove went in next.  An easy install.  Tried to find a new 11lb propane tank that would fit in the propane locker What a pain!  Eventually found one in West Marine in the States.  Got their last one so next visit to the U.S. a second tank is high on the priority list especially since they wont fill Canadian tanks anymore.  They must now have an "overfill protection device" fitted in the fill valve.

Under the galley sink I tapped into a through-hull line and installed a “T” to accommodate a raw water hand pump for the sink. 

On deck we found a 7.5 kg Bruce anchor with 75' of 1/4" G4 chain, an 18lb Danforth type anchor with 30' of 3/8" G4 chain in the deck anchor locker with 200' of 1/2" double braid nylon stuffed into the port lazarette.  I replaced the 7.5kg Bruce with a 15kg Simpson Lawrence Bruce clone which will be our secondary anchor when I add an extra bow roller extended out on the port side.  Our primary will be a 35lb Delta which will be attached to 250' of 1/4" G4 chain.  The 75' of 1/4" G4 will remain with the SL “Bruce” along with 250' of 5/8" nylon double braid. I re-spliced the 1/2" rode with a new s.s. thimble

2004

Well, we’ve finally found out what they mean when they say, “set a deadline & go” or you could end up broke and not going at all. This year has been an absolute maintenance and modification nightmare both work wise and $$$$ wise.      

It started out stepping the mast in early May. I reran the halyards to their proper positions. Pulled new wire for an anchor light and installed one. While stepping the mast nobody noticed the coax cable for the VHF peeling its insulation off on the side of a locker on the way down to the keel. I decided to let it go for a while and replace it later. It was most likely the age of the boat anyway. The teak runners on deck to carry the liferaft were in a hideous state. We thought we’d take them off and refinish them. So off comes the “turtle board” that covers the companionway hatch that they were through bolted to. This we found was delaminating and the balsa core was mush. A job for the yard. More big $$$$. Everything we seem to touch on this @#$%&^* boat turns into marathon. No 5 minute jobs here.   

The stitching on the dodger & bimini has started to come apart.  Sitting at the helm I couldn’t see out the front of the dodger with the liferaft blocking the view. This was one low dodger, apparently standard for CS’s. To sail safely I had to lower the dodger any way. We decided to replace the whole thing.           

Next stop, the seals on the engine are leaking worse and worse. Made arrangements to have them done at haul – out. Then I discover they have to pull the engine to do the job.  Decided to have the secondary fuel filter changed to a spin on at the same time. (easier to change the filter – no gaskets to play with). While the engine is out I’ll have lots of room to work in the space and install a pair of primary fuel /water separator filters  and a dripless PSS shaft seal.  I can then get my wiring done for the Xantrex link 2000 battery monitoring system.           

We have a crack in the vented loop to the holding tank and possibly a crack in the holding tank itself. I’ll pull the tank in September and get a new one made we’re not taking any chances with it. The boat smells like @$#% as it is.  

On the brighter side I did get the aft batteries moved into the port lazarette. This makes them much more accessible to check. The wind generator is installed and running. Pulled the mast in August and rerun the coax, calibrated the Horizon ws45 wind speed instrument. Replaced the windex that was forgotten when the mast went up in May, then raised the boom 2 inches to make way for a higher dodger.

Summary:-

Had the engine hauled out at Erieau before the boat was hauled. scrapped all the batteries & will replace with all new. Had the new dodger, bimini & sailcover made before we left TRYC complete with screens all round. Screens on all the hatches so hopefully we'll be bug free. Will post pics to the site when were back in the water. (Just about ready to go)

All in all a lot of big $$$$’s If this doesn’t stop we might be to broke to go. 

We did manage to get the boat away from the dock about three times this year for a couple of overnight anchor outs. Now the hard part comes  - finding where everything stores and what doesn’t and has to be disposed off.

May 2005

We've now completed most of the work that we can do before launch. The second bow roller has been installed. I'm in the process of mounting an accumulator on our fresh potable water system but I've run out of fittings.  A bracket has been hung on the stern rail to accommodate the out board motor, 4 coats of bottom paint , A new boot stripe( the old one repainted) the transom repainted and new foam acquired for the "v" berth. Fire extinguishers  have been recertified. Life raft checked & recertified. New battery in the EPIRB prop shaft replaced and a PSS seal mounted in place of the old stuffing box packing gland. Just got to measure up and replace the halyards, swab the decks then we're ready to splash and have the engine re-installed.. 

May 25th - She's in. The engine goes in next. Once that's complete we'll clean the topsides bend on the sails. Reinstall the new cockpit table, dodger & bimini  then take few pics for the web site.

The engine went in and we found by the time we got to Ashtabula that it was still dropping 2oz of oil per running hour. We had the engine hauled again at Petersons yard in Nyack. They fixed the problem. Can't say I can recommend Barneys in Erieau after having the engine in the shop all winter and it came out almost as bad as it went in.

August 2005

Found our raw water cooling pump for the engine was leaking badly at the seals. It might have been leaking for some time but it only became noticeable because of the salt residue left on everything it splashed after the water evaporated. I tried to order parts only to find the pump was obsolete, so I ordered a (new and improved) replacement plus a spare part kit while in Rock Hall.

September 2005

We had quite a problem with our electrical system. First we found that we couldn't get our batteries to charge properly. Investigation showed our splitter diode was leaking back so we pulled that out and replaced it with a "Xantrex Pathmaker" relay. Next we discovered that our Balmor MC512 regulator was not controlling the alternator and we were getting spikes of up to 18.75 volts. Out came the regulator and alternator and sent them of for testing - bad regulator. Replaced it with a "Powereline  Aqualine Plus" solid state unit. This appears to have solved the problem as we can now get a charge into the batteries and hold it there.

The Rutland 913 Wind Generator which I sent out for servicing didn't get a very good service. It still rumbled and growled so I stripped it down to find the bearings which were supposed to be changed weren't and the housing which holds them was badly worn. To replace the housings (rotors) would have cost the best part of a new unit so we're going to deep six it and are seriously considering solar panels as an alternative.

November 2005