How to Guage Progress - New Engine Controls

Harmony needed a new engine.  To solve that issue we purchased a new Yanmar 4JH4-HTE diesel.  This engine will give us 110 HP, but I don't think we'll do any tubing or wakeboarding once we get underway!  However, we should have ample power to get through tough currents or opposing seas.

So, with the new engine comes a new control panel.  This control panel needs to be mounted in the cockpit so that rpm's, water temperature, and charging current can be monitored.  More than that we need to be able to start the engine!  The new engine comes with a lovely looking control panel.  However, it has a different shape and different dimensions than the old Perkins panel.

After some consideration, I decided to dress up the control panel housing and to provide some 12v outlets for use in the cockpit.  Having a 12v outlet in the cockpit comes in real handy when one needs to use a spotlight or needs to run a hand held GPS.  West Marine sells a convenient double outlet 12v receptacle which fit very nicely into the my panel housing design.

Well, now that I had the new housing designed, I needed to make it.  I chose to make the mounting face out of Merranti plywood because it was waterproof and would be able to withstand the rigors of cockpit life.  I chose teak to frame the housing in order to match the cockpit, which was sheathed in teak. 

Our new engine control panel and 12v receptacles which will be mounted in the cockpit

The nifty thing about the new Yanmar control panel is the push button start capability.  With our old Perkins engine in Poetry, I always worried about water intrusion at the key slot.  While we never had a problem, it was one of those nagging issues that awakened every time I started the engine.  Yes, I understand the potential for reliability challenges with these new fangled gizmos, but I still like the ease and convenience of push button control.

Once the panel is permanently installed, I will either purchase or construct a lexan/polycarbonate cover to protect the Yanmar panel from splashes and UV damage.  I have spoken to Seaworthy Goods (www.seaworthygoods.com) which manufactures a product called "ProductVisors" for Yanmar engine panels.  However, our panel is so new that they have yet to design the exact a cover for it yet.  We are scheduled to revisit the situation in a few months.

Next I went to work removing the old cockpit engine controls.  The old Perkins had 1200+ hours on it before it or the tachometer died.  After cutting a few wires and removing a few screws, I had all of the last vestiges of the old engine removed.

The empty hole in which the old Perkins control panel was housed

I could now test fit and mark cutouts for the new control panel housing I had made.  After clamping the new panel housing to cockpit, I was able to scribe the lines I needed to cut out to fit the new Yanmar panel.  I decided to leave the cutting out until another day because I am going to have protect the engine room underneath from the dust mess resulting from the cutting-out process.

The mounting lines and cut-out marks for the new Yanmar control panel

While it doesn't look like much, this step was a major move forward.  The final installation of the engine will begin soon and with it a flood of projects will start that leads to Harmony's launch.  It always nice to see a visible indicator of progress being made, and this engine control panel provided just that!

Fair Winds and Following Seas!

Moving More Than The Clocks Ahead

After a long winter of annoying snow storms, a clear signal that Spring is on its way is the ritual of moving our clocks ahead.  While this change essentially shortens one night of sleep, it heralds an extra hour of sunlight at the end of the day.  It is amazing how much that seemingly little change offers such a large space in which to work on things.

Add to that a flirtatious warm temperature and it is amazing how energized one can get.  Our project list has filled pages with a steady stream of set-up steps, but also deep dives into preparing for furniture fabrication in the galley and dinette.  While waiting for the snow to melt, I prepared cedar ceiling strips for inside the galley and dinette cabinets.

While most of the ceiling strips in the boat were originally fabricated out of teak.  The cost of teak today is around $32 per board foot.  Since most of the ceiling strips I need will be enclosed within cabinets, I don't need fancy teak.  I have opted for either mahogany or cedar strips which cost between $5 and $9 a board foot.  Where visible when opening a cabinet door, I have chosen to use mahogany, and, where hidden, I have chosen cedar.

The mahogany strips will be varnished and the cedar will be unfinished.  Unfinished or natural state cedar helps repel bugs.  Hence, the cedar will not be finished.  Besides those benefits, not having to finish the cedar strips saves about 5 days of varnishing!

To make the strips, I purchase 2x4x8 or longer mahogany or cedar studs.  Step 1:  I round-over the corners on a router table.  Step 2:  I rip out a 3/8" strip.  Once that is done, I repeat steps 1 and 2 until the 2x4 has been completely used.  At the end of the process, I am able to produced six ceiling strips out of each 2x4.


Ceiling strips begin as a 2x4 piece of wood

 







The corners are rounded over on the router table

The ceiling strips are ripped to 3/8" thick





This is the process I used to make both the mahogany and cedar ceiling strips.  I try not to make too many at one time in order to prevent the strips from twisting or getting out of shape before I install them.  The mahogany strips require 2 coats of shellac and 5 coats of varnish before installation.  The cedar strips get installed as soon as I am on the boat

While the snow remains in the yard and the temperatures stay in the low 30's despite flirting with Spring, it is a good time to do these set-up steps.  At this point in Harmony's restoration, every project requires a goodly amount of preparatory steps:  hull ceiling, furniture cabinets, electrical wiring, cabin overhead paneling, etc, etc!

But at least the ritual of moving the clocks ahead gives us more light at the end of the day!

Fair Winds and Following Seas

The 3 P's - Plan, Prepare, and Perform

One of the challenges we face in today's fast paced and relatively instantaneous gratification world, is that most good things don't just happen at the snap of a finger.  However, it is so easy to succumb to the desire to have something you want as quick as it takes to click a mouse!

We goal oriented folks very often give scant attention to the journey in our rush to get to our destination just to sprint off to a newly created goal.  As true as this is for us, we need to realize that the journey is many times more impactful and, hence, more important than the destination.  This is certainly true with respect to the restoration of Harmony.

Since we have the opportunity to design our "systems" from the hull up, we get to learn every aspect of them.  Furthermore, we get to think and re-think whatever we thought we have finalized!  With the Winter weather interfering with working on the boat, I get to spend time and effort with the 3 P's of a project:  Plan, Prepare, and Perform.

For example, I redesigned the nav station to cleanly house radios, instruments, and the like.  My vision has all of these goodies neatly flush mounted in a cabinet.  Well, is my mind's eye calibrated to reality?  There are 2 ways to find out:  attack with a sabre saw and find out, or prepare a template to see how it really looks.

Since I recall the invested time and effort it took to fabricate the cabinet, I chose the latter.  So, armed with some foam board and the dimensions of each item being installed I began to layout the face plate of the cabinet.  I would rather screw up my pencil marks on the foam board than deface my nicely finished sapele mahogany face panel.

Instrument Cabinet with blank face panel - varnished sapele mahogany

Obviously my cabinet plan incorporated the basic dimensions of the instruments, but I had not been able to actually see how it all fit.  I prepared cut-out templates for each instrument and played around with where to put them.  After some focused measuring and drawing, I finally came up with the layout.

Face Panel template with layout of instruments - left to right
Fusion IP600 Stereo, SiriusXM Radio (T) & 12v Outlets (B), Wema Running LIght Monitor, Standard Horizon GX2150 VHF Radio, Raymarine i70 instrument

With Harmony's restoration there are so many elements that take a lot of ground work to get to the finished stage.  We have been hard at work on the project for over a year, and it still looks like we've barely scratched the surface.  However, the 3 P's (plan, prepare, perform) apply to everything on Harmony. 

As much as I want Harmony in the water and ready to sail right NOW, I am truly thankful that I have the opportunity to experience the 3 P's.  It not only gives me the control over what we're doing, but it provides a healthy amount of therapy for the stresses of everyday demands.  It is amazing how calming it is to get "lost" in working through all the P's. 

However, as much as I respect the benefits of this journey. I still can't wait to raise the sails and head toward the horizon!

Fair Winds and Following Seas!

Winter Snow Storms - Hove to, but not Drifting

Living in the Northeast has both its blessings and its curses.  Of course we get to experience climate change at least 4 times a year, see colorful Fall foliage, and enjoy wonderful Summer sailing.  However, we do have to deal with Winter weather with all of it's bitterly cold streaks, snow storms, and power outages.  All in all, its still a great place to live and enjoy life.

BUT, Winter's many eccentricities does make a boat owner's passion a challenge to satisfy.  With the boat on the hard, one can't get away to sail for an afternoon, and the cold and snow make it very difficult to keep a steady of stream of projects going.  Our restoration of Harmony has not wavered, but has made some course corrections because of the recent winter storms.

We've turned our attention to projects we can do in the basement workshop or in the woodshop when it's too inclement to drive to the boat or too cold to warm up the boat.  Since Harmony has a forest's worth of teak both on-deck and below, we have a lot, no, A LOT of refinishing to do.

There is the stripping off the old finish, repairing split seams, and applying several coats of varnish to summarize the process.  There are roughly 30 cabinet doors, 18 drawers, 7 dorade boxes, 5 cabin doors, 3 hatches, and a number of storage boxes and assorted furniture panels to refinish.  We also have a 36 inch diameter teak wheel complete with white bungs and turned spokes.  All of these have to be refinished to bring Harmony to her former glory.

All of this has to get done now or later.  Given the impediments to getting on the boat during the recent series of storms, we began the methodical process of bringing a little "Bristol" back to our nautical home.  In the last few weeks, we tackled the ship's wheel, some of the galley drawers, and the teak companionway boards.

The wheel is a wondrous teak creation that had been become a mottled mess of old varnish and assorted other finishes.  The drawers contained a putrid poultice of paper towel linings and filthy facings.  The companionway boards featured a crazed complexion of failed varnish and mold.  After stripping away all of the old finish, we began a slow process of sanding and scraping the teak back to a silky smooth surface.

Our teak wheel taking a spin on the couch!  Well, at least the varnish is dry!

We stripped the wheel, repaired any split joints, and finished it to a luster.  While we'll cover the binnacle with a Sunbrella cover at the mooring, the wheel will get UV exposure while underway, so we wanted many layers of protection yet still be able to see the wood.

The bigger drawers are from the galley, while the little ones are from the forward head vanity - the white interior is mold and mildew resistant paint

The drawers were stripped, cleaned, and sanded.  In order to keep the insides of the drawers clean when on-board, we primed and painted them with mold and mildew resistant white paint.  This should allow us to keep the drawer contents clean and minimize the chemicals we have to use to battle the mold and mildew monsters.

Teak has some beautiful graining.  Two coats of while shellac under 5 coats of gloss varnish helps bring out the depth of the grain pattern

The beauty of teak shows through on the drawer fronts.  The finish is 2 coats of white shellac and 5 coats of gloss varnish. I'll do a posting about our recipe for interior finishing down the road, but the shellac helps seal the wood and add depth to the grain.

The Teak Drop Boards in their restored glory

We have 2 sets of companionway drop boards:  a set of 3/4 inch lexan panels for visibility and a set of teak boards for nice looks.  The teak boards were in horrible shape when we purchased Harmony.  However,  after some repair, and careful sanding, the boards came back to life.

So while the winter weather rages on, we can heave to and let the snow drift while we continue to make progress toward our goal:  launching and sailing Harmony!

Fair Winds and Following Seas!

A Flurry of Activity - The Blizzard of 2013

As is usual, things we enjoy in life often get interrupted by, yep, that's right, LIFE!  Well, living in the Northeast offers a robust variety of sailing, seasons, and weather.  In the Winter its always a challenge to pursue a full agenda of boat work.  We have been lucky so far this year and have made decent progress on Harmony.  However, this past weekend was another story!

The Blizzard of 2013 arrived Friday, February 8, and gave us a great excuse to stay home.  Small note:  the entire state of Massachusetts was closed to traffic, and, besides, who in their right mind would venture out into the raging storm - not us.  Our work agenda focused on projects in the home shop, which do need to completed.

Anyway, before we could even think of epoxy, varnish, or teak, we had to shovel out from the roughly 30 inches of snow we received Friday night.  The wind blew in gusts over 30 mph causing significant drifts.

A 4 - 6 foot snow drift on the side porch

Thank goodness that the power stayed on.  However, our generator would have kept all systems operational and the house warm.  When we got up in the morning, the storm was still raging.  So we cooked a hearty breakfast and enjoyed our coffee watching the snow accumulate.

The snow stopped and the sun came out briefly around 10:30 am.  OK, time to attack the mess.  Thank God for the snow blower, but I still had to shovel the walkways, porches, and, of course, the access to the shop.  The snow was powdery, but there was still a lot of it!

An access "tunnel" to Beth's farmers porch

The front door and snow over the window sills

After about 6 hours of snow duty, I called it a day.  My arms were so tired from shoveling out the roughly 6 foot drifts on the porches and around most doors, that I had no desire to sand epoxy fillets on the sea hood (a.k.a. turtle hatch) I had started the day before.

The driveway cut into 30 inches of snow

So, I made a symbolic check of the metaphorical anchor, shut the companionway, and wrapped myself around a soothing glass of wine.  Watching the sunset from the cockpit of Harmony will be wonderful!

Fair Winds and Following Seas!

A Cold Day, but Progress Made

Finally, I was able to return to Harmony.  It had been far too cold to make the 90 minute drive to the boat worthwhile.  My experience has shown me that when the temps are below 25 F, it takes too long for the electric and propane heaters to warm the boat up.  Not that I don't have enough other boat tasks scattered around the basement, but it does feel good to visit Harmony and make some progress.

With the temps expected to be in the mid-30's, I set out to get a several things done.  I had to make final adjustments to the sea-hood mold I had constructed prior to starting its final construction.  The ceiling strips I had fabricated out of mahogany and varnished had to be put on board.  I needed to install insulation and ceiling strips in the navigation station, and, lastly, take a bunch of measurements to fabricate vital part to various systems:  water maker drive pump, engine control panel, and stove alcove in the galley to name a few.

Not bad for a normal day, but it was still cold as I arrived at about 9:00 am!  However, I made good progress, and by 11:00, I had finished with the final fitting of the sea-hood.  This will be a posting of its own, but suffice to say, everything fits great.  The ceiling strips made it up into the boat fairly easily, and I was able to get the heaters fired up to make working inside tolerable.

New desktop being installed

I started to apply the insulation and ceiling strips to the navigation station.  The insulation went up quickly, as the spray adhesive seemed to work just fine in the cold. Next, the ceiling strips went in quite easy, after I got the drill and screw driver set up properly.

Mahogany ceiling strips partially installed

I had chosen to fabricate the ceiling strips in mahogany instead teak because of cost, and, given the limited visibility these new ceiling strips will have, I am happy with the results.

Completed Desktop and Ceiling

I finished up with all of my tasks at around 3:30 pm and the cold was getting to me.  The temperatures never got above 30, so I had reached my limits. 
 

The "Old" Nav Station in original condition

 

The "New" Nav Station in the midst of restoration

However, good results were had.  The nav station is one step closer to completion, and so in Harmony!

Fair Winds and Following Seas!

Good Company, Good Choice, Great Feeling

Last night I had a phone conversation that reinforced our choice of the company for a major system on Harmony.  At the risk of sounding like a pessimist, my experience with vendors has largely been one of unfilled expectations.  Yes, I accept responsibility for either not communicating clearly in some cases or enlarging expectations beyond the norm.  However, last night I was sincerely blown away.

As I have described in an earlier post, we had met an intriguing couple at the Newport Show in September who had started a company which makes and sells watermakers, or in the technical parlance, reverse osmosis systems.  DIY Watermakers, started and operated by Raymond and Amanda Fosdick, was the company we selected, and they have provided tremendously responsive support and service since we purchased our system.

Last night, Raymond, and I were discussing the significant product development and expansion they have being undergoing in the past weeks.  We were also discussing the final component that was needed to complete our system, the control panel.  Harmony will sport a remote control panel which has been in development for a few weeks. 

In the few weeks that we have had the system components in the house, I have consulted Raymond numerous times for insight.  I am sure that he has been convinced that I got the system working, but connected the output to my brain.  Anyway, Raymond has displayed not only patience, but an impressive intimacy with what Harmony's installation will require.  Business hint:  nice way to make a customer feel really important!

As an interested customer, I have tried to learn as much about the watermaking system as I can.  Raymond has used our conversations to gather my perspectives on his ideas for business expansion, boat show issues, and system applications for folks like Beth and me.  For my part, I have enjoyed the conversations, as it helps me develop a valued relationship with a vendor who has supplied an important system on Harmony.

OK, it should be obvious that Beth and I are impressed with DIY Watermakers and it's owners. We also can't wait until Harmony is in the water and we can use the system.  Well, if that was not enough to seal our deal as loyal customers, Raymond committed to upgrade our remote panel to his newest technology at no cost.  Now, that is not just unnecessary and unexpected, but hugely appreciated.

Regardless that DIY Watermakers is working hard to build a customer base in an industry filled with good competitors, Raymond is treating those customers he has as people whose relationships he values.  Thanks Raymond and Kudos DIY Watermakers!

Yes, there have been times when I have been thirsty for water, but as I have immersed myself in Harmony's restoration, I have often been parched for sincere respect and response from the vendors of the systems, equipment, and materials that we will invest significant boat dollars in.  What a nice feeling to be quenched!

Fair Winds and Following Seas!

The Boat Doctor - Good Medicine

Today was an interesting day on Harmony!  Usually I am a solitary figure doing whatever tasks are on the every growing list of boat projects.  Today I had company on-board.  The Boat Doctor made a house call and we started the rewiring project.  What a way to get charged up!

So instead of having a 3 way conversation with me, myself, and I, I actually was able to talk to another person.  Our primary focus today was on giving Greg, the Boat Doctor, a general lay of the land since he'd last been on Harmony during the summer.  We went over where to put batteries, bilge pumps, and switches.  However, our biggest focus was on gathering data for wiring the lights, both inside the cabin and external navigation lights.

We have decided to go with an all LED set-up in order to require less energy and save a chunk (a nautical term referring to something larger than a bit) on wiring costs.  We often don't consider the cost of the wiring when we look to either add a component or rewire something.  However, the gauge of wire required for a long run can get fairly expensive.

For instance, Harmony's mast is about 55 feet high and roughly 25 feet or so from the circuit panel.  In very simple terms that means a run (round trip) of about 160 feet of wire.  With an incandescent bulb I might need to a 10 gauge wire costing $1.63 per foot for a total cost of $260.80.  However, with an LED bulb I would need 160 feet of 16 gauge wire at $0.69 per foot or a total of $110.40.  The net saving for that one wire run is $150.40!

Ok, now that is the savings for one 160 foot wire run for ONE bulb.  On a typical mast, one would have an anchor tricolor, a steaming light, and a deck light.  On Harmony we will have all of these, but they will be LEDs and they should require 3 wire runs.  Remembering the savings from above, our using LEDs will net us a $450 for just the masthead wiring!

So, this type of savings is also possible relative to the other lighting runs.  We will need running lights at both the bow and stern.  The bow lights will require an approximate wire run of 60 feet for each light and the stern light will require a 40 foot run.  Using the $0.94 per foot saving from the masthead example, our savings for the deck level running lights is another $150.40!

Within the cabin, we will use LEDs, as well.  As I described in an earlier posting, we will have 3 categories of lights:  Overhead, ambient, and courtesy.  These lights will require wire runs, as well.  Since the minimum gauge of wire we can use for ABYC standards is 16/2, we can use the same savings per foot as above. 

Harmony is a big boat with a bow to stern length of about 43 feet.  A stem to stern round trip is about 90 feet including the length needed to connect to the circuit panel. We will probably need to run port and starboard circuits for at least the overhead and ambient lights, and the courtesy can be on one circuit.  

For the sake of discussion, we can assume that each category of lighting will require a 90 foot of wiring per circuit:  2 overhead circuits, 2 ambient circuits, and 1 courtesy circuit.  Doing the math, that is 5 wire runs of about 90 feet each for a total length of wire of 450 feet.  At $0.94 savings per foot, the net savings on the cabin light wiring is about $423.

Now, Greg, the Boat Doctor, will use his ABYC Master Technician's expertise to design an appropriate schematic for the wiring and that will determine just how much wire we really need.  But, if I add up the estimated savings I calculated above, we are looking to reap $1,023 in potential savings with just the wiring.

Of course, the LED lights cost more than the regular incandescent bulbs.  A rough calculation shows that the wiring savings basically covers the premium price for the LED lights.  Now, what I haven't added into this cost/benefit discussion is the long term savings from bulb cost and fuel to charge the batteries to cover the extra amperage draw from the incandescent bulbs.  Nickels and dimes, perhaps, but over the years they do add up to real dollars.

All in all, we are creating an minimal energy footprint which day in and day out save us money, make life on-board easier, and allow us to leave behind a more environmentally responsible wake.

Fair Winds and Following Seas!

The Water Maker - Liquidity is Good

Well, after making the decision to purchase a watermaker, we needed to order all of the components.  We had chosen the DIY Watermaker system, and had worked closely with the owners of the company to make sure we had all we needed.  Just like an oasis, the system arrived the other day in 3 boxes!

After doing an inventory of the contents, I noticed that elements of the control panel were not included.  A quick email and call to Raymond Fosdick, solved the mystery.  Since we were mounting our control panel for easy access at the galley sink, we needed some customization.  Mystery solved, but it was more like light dawning on my Marblehead rock-like head:  I guess we can take that for granite!

The Aft Bulkhead in Harmony's Engine - a blank canvas for water making components

Now, I had to figure out how to configure the system on the aft bulkhead of our engine room.  One of the advantages of going with a modular or componentized system is the flexibility of installation.  Even though the Westsail 42 offers tremendous interior volume, fitting a rigidly boxed water making system into the boat would have required either a serious compromise of the internal storage space or a rethink of the engine room layout.

Once Raymond patiently walked me through some of the systems elements (remember how dense granite is?), I was able to make headway.  I had constructed a mock-up of the aft bulkhead in the engine room out of dry-erase panels.  This would enable me to sketch hose layouts and component placement before making a permanent design decision. 

Another benefit of this exercise is that I could actually see what the system would look like on the bulkhead.  We very much want a neatly laid out engine room where systems are orderly and easily reached for maintenance and trouble-shooting.  Besides that, I know how quickly a space like an engine room can become a rat's nest of wires, hoses, cables, and other assorted mechanical flotsam.

A view of the commodious engine room for starboard to port

Harmony's engine room is not only huge, but very accommodating for things like workbenches, parts storage, and easy engine maintenance.  Since we want to minimize, if not eliminate, the risk of inadvertent overboard discharge of pollutants, having an easy access to oil filters, fuel filters, and other engine stuff will go a long way to keeping the engine pan AND the bilge relatively pristine.

A look at the bulkhead mock-up and trials of configuration

OK, as I worked and reworked the configuration of the water maker layout, I found the water flow made more sense to me.  I finally arrived at what I felt as an optimal design.  Before I lug all of the components down to boat for installation, I will need to get all of the control panel items in hand.  Additionally, I will have to fabricate a few items to not only facilitate the installation of the membrane tubes, but to make periodic maintenance easy.  Not to worry, however, for the winter is long.

The DIY Watermaker components neatly laid out with drawn-in hose paths

Yes, it is a good feeling to see how the system will be configured and to visualize the clean, fresh, and plentiful water flowing into our tanks.  Yes, liquidity is good in many ways!

Fair Winds and Following Seas!