Year 9 Day 7 The laundry List Of 2016 Retrofit Projects For Leu Cat – Part 1
04 February 2016 | Prickly Bay Marina, Grenada
Dave/Mostly Sunny
A couple of days ago I promised that I would share the list of retrofit projects we are hoping to complete this year. They all will need to be done to make Leu Cat blue water safe for our planned crossing over to the Med next year. Originally, we were hoping to sail to the Med this year but we know our list of projects will not be done by May, which is the best time to make the crossing. Thus, we will bide our time this year doing retrofit projects, interspersed with fun sailing jaunts to explore parts of the West Indies we have missed so far, along with revisiting some of our favorites haunts. Additionally, we have our son and his wife, David Paul and Allison, coming to visit us in early March for 10 days and hope to have our eldest daughter, Heather, come sometime in May. Maybe some other of our friends will also come for a visit. That would be neat!
Alright, now for the retrofit project list. I will list each item and offer a description of the work to be done:
1. Replace The Xantrex Battery Charger/Inverter. This is one of the more expensive items on the list. Our friend, John, of S/V Orcinius, has recommended to us that we stay away from the new Xantrex Freedom series chargers. He has had to replace a couple of the ones he has installed due to overheating. He says that the newer models just are not as good as the older ones. He recommended we turn to Mastervolt for our replacement. This recommendation struck home to me as I got to know the Mastervolt equipment pretty well while in South Africa and was very impressed. Thus, I will be following his recommendation. I will also be upgrading the size of the charger. We had been using a 2000Watts/100Amps unit. I am ordering the Mastervolt 4000Watts/200Amps charger/inverter. While I do not need that much wattage out of the inverter, our gel batteries can easily handle the increase in amps that this charger will put out, which in turn will decrease the time it will take in running the generator to charge up the batteries. Cost of the unit is about $4100US plus about $1000US for shipping and Customs. With luck, we should have it installed in two to three weeks from now.
2. Replace The Isolator On The Starboard Side. This was done yesterday using the spare isolator we had on the boat. The old isolator had blown some diodes and was reducing the output of the starboard engine alternator by about 50%.
3. Replace Both Starter Batteries. I ran over to Budget Marine chandlery this morning to buy them but was told I will have to come back in a week. At that time, their shipment will be in and I can buy them then. Such waiting on parts and supplies is one of the frustrating issues one faces while cruising.
4. Work On The Onan Generator. The cooling water throughput is less than optimum; resulting in early impeller failure and the unit turning off before it overheats. I need to determine why this is happening and address the problem. It could be a thru-hull blockage, a loose hose clamp somewhere along the input water hose allowing air to enter the system, a partial blockage in the heat exchanger or something else that troubleshooting guide does not mention (i.e., a failing water pump?). Also, the annual maintenance work needs to be done and I need to replace the fuel pump which is starting to corrode.
5. Kiss Wind Generator. Remount, hookup and test the unit. I had it worked on while back in the US to maximize its performance.
6. Replace Our Dinghy. Another expensive item. Our Walker Bay dinghy, which we love so much, is dying. The Indonesia boat boys ripped the hull near the transom and the makeshift repairs that I have been doing to keep the water out are no longer working as well as I would like. This will cost around $5,000US once I can get to a dealer here in the Caribbean.
7. Masthead Tri-light. During our crossing I noticed that the light was not fully functional. It needs to inspected, repaired or replaced.
8. Replace The Fresh Water Pressure pump. While the pump is working nicely, it is getting old and the housing is fairly corroded. I would like to replace it this year before it fails during a crossing. It keeps the pressure up in our fresh water lines.
9. Inspect/Replace The Deck Wash Pump. Similar to the fresh water pump, this pump is working fine but its housing is showing some significant corrosion after 8 years of use. It is time to replace it before it fails in a remote anchorage.
10. Replace The Hull Mounted Zinc Anodes. These are starting to show their wear after 8 years of sailing around the world and staying in different marinas with the electrolysis issues each marina presents. While they could last a few more years, I will change them when we haul out this season.
11. Spectra Watermaker. It is time to replace the membrane of this unit. It is getting harder and harder to make fresh water because the old membrane is starting to fail after 8 years of heavy usage.
12. Replace The Two Life Rings. Each of the life rings we have mounted on the boat are showing their age. It is now time to replace them.
13. Service Our Lifeboat. It has been 5 years since the last time our lifeboat was inspected and serviced. It is time to do it again.
14. Replace The Port Swim Ladder Cover. We lost this cover during a storm and heavier seas during our Atlantic crossing last year. It needs to be replaced.
15. Yanmar Saildrives. There are a number of issues with our saildrives that we need to address. These include replacing the rubber diaphragms which keep the water into our boat through the thru-hulls. These are supposed to be replaced every 6 to 8 years and now is the time to do it. There are two diaphragms for each of the two saildrives. The oil seals are leaking and need to be replaced. The water seals which keep the seawater from entering the saildrive needs replacing. They are only good for two years. The fluid in each saildrive needs to be replaced. A new water sensor on the starboard saildrive needs replacing.
16. Clean Saildrive Bilges. They have collected some oil from the leaking seals and this waste oil needs to be removed.
17. Yanmar Engines. The normal annual maintenance work needs to be done.
This is just the first part of our extensive retrofit project list. I will continue with the project list tomorrow.