A New Engine and Generator

 It was finally time for the heavy equipment, after completely stripping, cleaning, painting, rewiring and adding insulation. The prep work in the engine room consumed a vast amount of time compared with actually installing the engine and generator. But once the preparation was done, we got out the big forklift (see above) and started adding the two main components.

The generator went in first, and it was easy considering we spent a lot of prep time on the shelf/bed and location. The Engine turned out to be a bit more problematic. The mounting location for the engine was designed for a much larger engine. The engine we replaced it with is a new, much more efficient tier three design. So even though we significantly increased the horsepower, the new engine was substantially smaller than the old old. After having some new custom made stainless steel mounting beds made, the new engine fit right in.

As you can see from the pictures, the new engine leaves plenty of service access and almost seems lost in the large engine room. We added new shafting and a dripless shaft log. Now we are almost ready to launch.

Unfortunately the bottom prep and paint still looms ahead prior to launch date. And it seems I am up against a deadline, as my wife and grandson have already purchased airline tickets and I suspect they will not enjoy their vacation sitting on blocks in the boat yard.

Yes, The project is still underway

Back in February, I told you that next weeks project was the thruster, and then I promptly dropped off the face of the earth. The project has been continuing, although I have been working without easy access to the Internet. It is difficult getting wireless access aboard, and I am usually too lazy to pack up and go find a connection. But it is time to keep you updated, so here goes. Dave and Tony came back out to help put in the thruster and do some other work. As it turns out I think they just wanted to cut a couple of big holes in the boat. With Dave's guidance, we made a tool that allowed us to cut 2 massive holes (10"in diameter) in the hull below the waterline.

Then we glassed the tube into place, and cut it flush to the hull. I wanted to leave it long to give the boat that real bone-in-the-teeth look, but common sense prevailed. We then faired and finsihed the tube to the hull. The forward cabin had a great place for the thruster motor, and it fit just right. After installing the batterys and charger, the thruster install is finished,

Light at the end of the Tunnel

I have had a request for some interior pictures. Here they are.

I did not post last week because we had Bob on top of the mast to install the wind instrument. Here is a picture of Bob and a picture that he took from the top of the mast.

I do not know why the picture is so distorted, maybe it is because Bob was blowing around and swinging in the wind.

The Generator and Engine have arrived. The Generator is in the boat, although it is not hooked up yet. That is what I am working on now. We also have received the Thruster and the Air Conditioning. The thruster is next weeks project, I will keep you posted.

We actually have progress!

This week I had a few visitors, Ray DeMie and his wife Lisa came out to see the Shuttle Endeavour launch. My son Jaron also came out. Unfortunately the shuttle launch was delayed and Ray did not get to see it. but Jaron stayed all week so he was able to see 2 launches. The nighttime shuttle launch was awesome.

While I had Ray here I put him to work. And I also overworked Jaron. I had promised him relief from the cold back in Utah, but a cold front came through and Jaron experienced record cold in Florida, go figure.

While Ray was here we managed to get the Washer/Dryer in place and all the cutouts made. With Jaron's help, we got the Washer/Dryer into place and plumbed. Jaron also helped get all the plumbing into place and operational. After removing all the various methods of plumbing that came with the boat, It was a relief to get the boat plumbed with Pex. We managed to get this done and it all worked. We had a few minor leaks, but they were all in the conventional (pipe fittings) plumbing. We managed to get all the Pex run, crimped and hooked-up without a leak. All in all we had very good progress this week.

The engine room and machinery space is actually starting to come together and it looks good if I do say so myself.

Work Continues

The work on the engine room continues. Last week Dave and Tony showed up to help out, or just to see if I was really crazy enough to take on a project like this. We got a lot of work done in the days that they were here. The wiring is coming together. We also replaced all the thru-hulls in the boat with new upgraded, UL listed thru-hulls. So hopefully we will not have any leaks at launch time. The post is a short one this week because I failed to get the other pictures I needed. (Also we have a super bowl party to get to).

Upgrading the ER

After returning from Utah for Christmas/New Years (Cold, Wet and Snowy Wa, Wa, wa) it was time to start putting the thing in order. The first order of business was to paint the engine room white. I know you do not believe it Scott, but this
is in fact the same engine room. After a couple of days painting and living in the boat, I was starting to get a little (more) goofy. But, it sure looks a lot better. I have started installing Insulation, I am using the good foil/Noise barrier type to keep the powerful new engine noise down at acceptable levels. If I only had a powerful new engine, but Volvo is working on it. The generator is not here yet either, but I expect it any day. I picked up a combo Washer/Dryer and I am in the process of installing that now (pictures next week). I have started installing some of the electrical, the inverter you see in the picture will allow Suzy unlimited access the all the comforts

of home. As soon as the Washer goes in we will start installing all the misc. small components, and dig into the plumbing. Please send a comment if there is anything you would like to see.

The real work begins

After hauling the boat out, it was time to remove 30 years of paint and accumulated build-up. We had the bottom sand blasted removing most of the paint (and most of the gelcoat). Then the boat was blocked on stands and I moved aboard. Scott headed back to Salt lake, I don't think he could stand anymore fun. I started to evaluate what it was going to take to get this boat up to speed. I soon came to the realization that it would would be easier to rip it all out and start over. I started the "sidecut surgery". The engine had to be removed, but unfortunately there was no hatch above it. Not to let a little thing like that stand in my way, I got out the jigsaw and made the required hatch out of the cockpit floor. Then I proceeded to remove all the plumbing, components, and wiring from the engine room. Needless to say this was a dirty job, there had been an exhaust leak in the bilge for quite some time and everything was coated with a thick layer of soot. I looked like a chimney sweep after each day of work. As I removed the plumbing, I found that over the years, the previous owner had used a variety of plumbing repair methods (including duct tape). I removed, copper pipe, CPVC pipe, plastic tubing, galvanized pipe, black rubber hose, and a variety of fittings and adapters. All the batteries had to come out, thank god for the built-in crane (some people may call it a boom for the sail, but that is far off in my future). I stripped the engine room down to bare walls and removed all the insulation (does anyone know a good asbestos attorney). Then the cleaning began, draining the bilge water into the marinas waste oil tanks (it was almost all waste oil). I began at the top and started scrubbing down the entire engine room, after several days of this I could actually get in and out of the engine room without leaving a black trail in my wake. Suzy had determined that I was having way to much fun, and that I needed to come home for Christmas. I packed my clothes and flew home in late December. When I got home, my laundry went immediately into the trash. There was no way Suzy would even allow it in her washer/dryer.