One of the sources of water leaks appeared to be worn out bedding under the stanchion bases near the port and starboard galley/dinette areas. Solution? You bet! Beth and I could tackle the simple task of unbolting, rebedding, and rebolting the 4 stanchions.
It should be so easy with me on the inside with a wrench and Beth on the outside with a wrench. After 26 plus years of marriage, we have certainly learned to communicate effectively: right!
OK, let's not remember when we were building our first boat and we partnered in the sewing of foam sheets onto the mold of the hull with a big needle and mono filament line: me on the inside and she on the outside. No, also don't remember that our efforts degenerated into back and forth screams of "OUCH" as we stuck each other with the needle on every stitch. We certainly communicated clearly to each other then, right? Yeah, real loud and clear!
No problem! We were using wrenches which are not sharp and we just loosening and tightening 3/8 inch bolts: 4 stanchions; 3 bolts each; 12 total bolts/nuts. Oh, yeah, add in a bit of gooey bedding compound. Ha, we should be done in an hour, maybe two.
We stopped at 2 Stanchions. Why? Well, it proved too hilarious to keep shouting at each other: "Which way?"; "Right!" "NO, LEFT!"; "WHAT!!" Anyone listening would never understand what was going on. While we did get the stanchions done on the Starboard side, it was obvious the effort was far too much for the results!
So, it is always wonderful to have your spouse collude with you on a project or endeavor, and Beth has been an inseparable and valuable partner in all of our adventures. However, if not properly handled, that spousal collusion becomes spousal collision right quick. We survived of course, but our collusion efforts on Harmony may well be limited to those situations in which we are in the same space/time continuum!
Fair Winds and Following Seas!
Monday, June 25, 2012
Monday, June 18, 2012
Getting Electical Advice - A Shocking Experience
When one takes on a project like restoring a boat as big as Harmony, there will be many areas of expertise that will either have to be learned or farmed out to experts. Well, I am not afraid of learning something new, but there is a limit to the time I have.
So, without much consideration, I decided to outsource the electrical work to someone who actually knew what s/he were doing. Beyond that I wanted some expert counsel on what choices to make with respect to equipment, ways to do things, and a host of alternative energy sources (i.e. solar and wind).
This seemed like a no brainer of an activity. Beth and I went to the Newport Boat Show in September 2011 and the Boston Boat show in February 2012 to find our marine electrical expert. Sadly, there are not that many of these so-called experts that have booths at boat shows.
However, through the boat shows and our trusted boat yard, Barden's Boat Yard, we found two promising sources of help. Both electricians were located very near Harmony which was great. However, after numerous emails and phone calls over several months, we received no response from either individual. Perhaps business was so good they don't have to respond to potential customers.
Anyway, I reached out to an old friend, John Proctor, from Lawson Yachts to hopefully give me some help. John, gave me the name of Greg Flederman, The Boat Doctor. I called Greg, and he answered on the 2nd ring. Hot Damn!
Greg, The Boat Doctor, was just what the nurse ordered! He is a ABYC Master Technician, and I wanted Harmony to rigorously adherent to the ABYC code. He agreed to meet with me on Harmony to get an idea of the project. We shook hands and I finally had the counsel and electrician I needed. More on this later.
Lesson learned? Well, just because one has a fairly extensive project not every service company may be interested in it no matter what the economic conditions suggest. Keep asking around, and you'll finally find a frog that turns into that prince!
Fair Winds and Following Seas!
So, without much consideration, I decided to outsource the electrical work to someone who actually knew what s/he were doing. Beyond that I wanted some expert counsel on what choices to make with respect to equipment, ways to do things, and a host of alternative energy sources (i.e. solar and wind).
This seemed like a no brainer of an activity. Beth and I went to the Newport Boat Show in September 2011 and the Boston Boat show in February 2012 to find our marine electrical expert. Sadly, there are not that many of these so-called experts that have booths at boat shows.
However, through the boat shows and our trusted boat yard, Barden's Boat Yard, we found two promising sources of help. Both electricians were located very near Harmony which was great. However, after numerous emails and phone calls over several months, we received no response from either individual. Perhaps business was so good they don't have to respond to potential customers.
Anyway, I reached out to an old friend, John Proctor, from Lawson Yachts to hopefully give me some help. John, gave me the name of Greg Flederman, The Boat Doctor. I called Greg, and he answered on the 2nd ring. Hot Damn!
Greg, The Boat Doctor, was just what the nurse ordered! He is a ABYC Master Technician, and I wanted Harmony to rigorously adherent to the ABYC code. He agreed to meet with me on Harmony to get an idea of the project. We shook hands and I finally had the counsel and electrician I needed. More on this later.
Lesson learned? Well, just because one has a fairly extensive project not every service company may be interested in it no matter what the economic conditions suggest. Keep asking around, and you'll finally find a frog that turns into that prince!
Fair Winds and Following Seas!
Monday, June 11, 2012
When it rains, it pours!
When we purchased Harmony, we knew that there had been fresh water (i.e. rain) leakage over a significant amount of time. We could smell the rotting plywood and we could see the damage to the galley sole. What we didn't realize was how extensive the damage was.
Of course, once one pulls something apart, all sorts of information floods the senses. The good thing is that the damaged areas could be either repaired or replaced. The not so good thing was that we could not pinpoint all of the areas where leakage was occurring.
Now we did have some obvious hints! Being on the boat after a rainstorm, I could clearly see the water running down the deck fill hoses. I could watch the water drip off the deck drain connections. Since the engine had been removed, it was easy to see that the cockpit floor through which the engine had been removed, was not sealed, as it leaked like a sieve in the rain.
Oh, the port lights, all 21 of the opening ports seemed to have a challenge with their gaskets. This was particularly evident with the large opening ports on the port and starboard sides of the galley/dinette area.
I put a temporary seal on the leaking deck fills and sealed up the deck drain areas. I also tightened the bolts holding the cockpit sole down. That left the port light gaskets, but I seemed to have made a huge dent in the flooding.
I contacted a Westsail legend, Bud Talpin, from Worldcruiser Yacht Co. Bud earned some of his legendary status during his management of the production of the iconic Westsail 32. Anyway, Bud supports the owners of Westsails through his company and as a result of his deep knowledge of the boats. Bud had inventory of the various sizes of gaskets I needed for the bronze ports on Harmony. He shipped them quickly, and I was in business.
I focused on the opening ports in the Galley and Dinette since they were leaking so bad. The new gaskets worked liked a charm.
However, I soon learned that I had not dealt with all of the sources of the leaks. One day I went to the boat during a rainy period. Once onboard, I noticed a steady dripping down the now exposed sides of the inside hull. WTH! So, I peered up into the bulwark spaces and to my horror, I witnessed almost every screw used to hold down the cap rail dripping water.
SOB! (that son of a buccaneer, by the way!) Hmmm, none of the bungs on cap rail were missing or loose. the sealant between the deck and hull joint seemed not only secure, but in good shape. So, I stared out the starboard galley ports as the rain poured down. Why, why, why????
For an instant I focused on the rounded over edge of the caprail, and something caught my eye. So I peered more closely, and there it was! As the rain rolled off the caprail and around its rounded edge it kept going into what seemed to be a space between the caprail and the hull/deck flange. Then it hit me, the caulking between the caprail and the hull/deck flange was not longer doing its job or missing entirely.
OK, how hard can it be to caulk that space, huh" Let's see, inboard and outboard down both sides or roughly 180 plus feet, a good caulking gun, and some sealant. Bingo, Easy! I should be able to do this in no time, Like everything involved in a boat restoration, we'll see.
Fair Winds and Following Seas!
Of course, once one pulls something apart, all sorts of information floods the senses. The good thing is that the damaged areas could be either repaired or replaced. The not so good thing was that we could not pinpoint all of the areas where leakage was occurring.
Now we did have some obvious hints! Being on the boat after a rainstorm, I could clearly see the water running down the deck fill hoses. I could watch the water drip off the deck drain connections. Since the engine had been removed, it was easy to see that the cockpit floor through which the engine had been removed, was not sealed, as it leaked like a sieve in the rain.
Oh, the port lights, all 21 of the opening ports seemed to have a challenge with their gaskets. This was particularly evident with the large opening ports on the port and starboard sides of the galley/dinette area.
I put a temporary seal on the leaking deck fills and sealed up the deck drain areas. I also tightened the bolts holding the cockpit sole down. That left the port light gaskets, but I seemed to have made a huge dent in the flooding.
I contacted a Westsail legend, Bud Talpin, from Worldcruiser Yacht Co. Bud earned some of his legendary status during his management of the production of the iconic Westsail 32. Anyway, Bud supports the owners of Westsails through his company and as a result of his deep knowledge of the boats. Bud had inventory of the various sizes of gaskets I needed for the bronze ports on Harmony. He shipped them quickly, and I was in business.
I focused on the opening ports in the Galley and Dinette since they were leaking so bad. The new gaskets worked liked a charm.
However, I soon learned that I had not dealt with all of the sources of the leaks. One day I went to the boat during a rainy period. Once onboard, I noticed a steady dripping down the now exposed sides of the inside hull. WTH! So, I peered up into the bulwark spaces and to my horror, I witnessed almost every screw used to hold down the cap rail dripping water.
 |
| The inside of the bulwark and the leaky screws |
For an instant I focused on the rounded over edge of the caprail, and something caught my eye. So I peered more closely, and there it was! As the rain rolled off the caprail and around its rounded edge it kept going into what seemed to be a space between the caprail and the hull/deck flange. Then it hit me, the caulking between the caprail and the hull/deck flange was not longer doing its job or missing entirely.
 |
| Such nice caprails! |
Fair Winds and Following Seas!
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Tanks alot - Our beautiful new Water Tanks
After realizing that Harmony's existing water tanks were shot, we needed to get new ones fabricated. I'd worry about the removal later, but who the heck was I going go to for the new tanks? With all of the catalogs, websites, and boat show paraphernalia I had accumulated, there must be someone in the area who could do this.
When Beth and I had gone to the winter Boat Show in Boston, we enquired about new fuel tanks thinking our diesel tank situation was dire. Now, I will probably need a separate post to deal with how frustrating it is actually get anything done at a boat show. Anyway, I remembered talking to a few tank fabricators and being impressed with one company.
Capeway Welding (New England Propeller) impressed us by (1) being willing to talk to us about our questions, and (2) using relatively thick sheets of either stainless steel or aluminum to construct their tanks. They were located about 30 minutes from the boat, and seemed fairly interested in working with us.
Well, I called and talked to the owner. He was definitely interested and suggested how he would approach the project. He said bring the tanks in and we'll get started, as the timing was good. So, I set about removing the tanks and getting them down off the boat.
Once I had removed all of the decking, it looked like a simple task of lifting the empty tanks out. Yeah, but I still needed to empty the tanks of any water. Ok, that's easy: done! Now, how does one get bulky, potential heavy, and relatively smooth tanks out of compartments that are fairly tight fitting? Really easy - carefully!
I was able to use the tank fill tubes as a levering hand hold. I did a test lift and found, to my amazement, that the tanks were relatively light. I also drank several 5 hour energy drinks, ate a half dozen power bars, and read the Boston Globe: if what I drank and ate didn't give enough energy, the Globe surely would get me so annoyed that I could lift anything! But I digress.
I used a gentle rocking motion to help use each tank's mass to get the lower edge up and onto the compartment's framework. Easier than I anticipated. I had all three tanks out of their compartments in about 15 minutes. Dang, where are the body building magazines when you need them!
Several weeks later, the new tanks were done. Because of the thicker stainless steel, the new tanks weighed 3 times as much.
Ouch, that meant I couldn't lift them back up into the boat myself. Barden's Boat Yard to the rescue! They brought their crane and in about 10 minutes had the tanks completely installed in the boat. A job well done!
Again, it was just several boat dollars, but we had great new tanks. Capeway Welding did a great job and they were relatively easy to deal with.
Now its onto the next crucial project - where the heck is all the water coming from.
Fair Winds and Following Seas!
When Beth and I had gone to the winter Boat Show in Boston, we enquired about new fuel tanks thinking our diesel tank situation was dire. Now, I will probably need a separate post to deal with how frustrating it is actually get anything done at a boat show. Anyway, I remembered talking to a few tank fabricators and being impressed with one company.
Capeway Welding (New England Propeller) impressed us by (1) being willing to talk to us about our questions, and (2) using relatively thick sheets of either stainless steel or aluminum to construct their tanks. They were located about 30 minutes from the boat, and seemed fairly interested in working with us.
Well, I called and talked to the owner. He was definitely interested and suggested how he would approach the project. He said bring the tanks in and we'll get started, as the timing was good. So, I set about removing the tanks and getting them down off the boat.
Once I had removed all of the decking, it looked like a simple task of lifting the empty tanks out. Yeah, but I still needed to empty the tanks of any water. Ok, that's easy: done! Now, how does one get bulky, potential heavy, and relatively smooth tanks out of compartments that are fairly tight fitting? Really easy - carefully!
I was able to use the tank fill tubes as a levering hand hold. I did a test lift and found, to my amazement, that the tanks were relatively light. I also drank several 5 hour energy drinks, ate a half dozen power bars, and read the Boston Globe: if what I drank and ate didn't give enough energy, the Globe surely would get me so annoyed that I could lift anything! But I digress.
I used a gentle rocking motion to help use each tank's mass to get the lower edge up and onto the compartment's framework. Easier than I anticipated. I had all three tanks out of their compartments in about 15 minutes. Dang, where are the body building magazines when you need them!
Each tank, including the fairly large center tank fit through the companionway as I put them in the cockpit. I then used a rope to slide them down the ladder to the ground. From there it was a simple task of driving them to Capeway Welding.
 |
| Starboard Water Tank in Cockpit ready for lowering to ground |
 |
| The new Water Tanks in the back of our pick-up |
 |
| New Water Tanks neatly in their bays - Thanks to Barden's Boat Yard |
Now its onto the next crucial project - where the heck is all the water coming from.
Fair Winds and Following Seas!
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