Finishing Touches
20 March 2006 | Whortonsville, NC
Lane Kendall

I had traveled to the coast just last weekend to work on some winter projects. I'm really ready to go sailing but I still had some work to do. I figured I could finish everything that had to be done if I made one more trip. I knew I wouldn't be able to go next weekend because of work and April 1st is the MS Walk in Concord, NC. This is an event I don't miss because I get to walk with team "Charles Seaford".
Saturday March 18, 2006
I left home at 5:30 am, stopped for breakfast and still walked out on the dock at 10:30 am. The weather was great but it was a lot cooler than last weekend. After greeting some dock mates I hadn't seen in a while, I got started on the tasks at hand. First I needed to deal with a broken bolt in the traveler mount. The substitute that I bought at the provision company worked quite well. Then, there was the finishing touches on the coach roof rails. I had put several coats of Bristol Finish on the fasteners last weekend but I needed to blend those coats into the finish. I did the sanding, mixed the varnish and applied the first coat.
The next task was to adjust the stuffing box, which had been leaking a bit. This is the device that the propeller shaft goes through. It must leak water when the boat is moving to lubricate the turning shaft, but it should not leak when the shaft is not turning. I tightened it some but probably not enough. This is something I will re-examine next time. The good news is that it's easily accessible.
Changing engine in a automobile is not too bothersome because you simply remove the oil pan plug and let the oil out into a container. No so on a sailboat. You can't reach the oil pan plug because it is inches from the hull and even if you could the oil would pour right into the bilge, which is the very last place it should be. The solution is to use a hand pump with a skinny intake tube that you insert where the dipstick usually goes. This part is bad enough because no matter how careful you are, you will spill some of the black ooze somewhere in the boat. The worst part is removing the old oil filter. I used absorbent plastic coated drapes and still managed to spill some oil that I had to clean up.
By this time, the first coat of Bristol Finish was dry enough for another coat. The second coat went on without a hitch. I was proud of the day's work. Everything went as well as could be expected but since my day had started at 5 am, I was very tired. Working on the boat requires endless trips up and down the four step ladder from the cockpit to the cabin. I think this is what wears me out. I micro waved my dinner and went to the "Cockpit" to join Stefan, Art, Robert and Tammy for a visit. It was getting cool and a jacket felt good.
Sunday March 19, 2006
I was wide awake at 5:30 am, which is no big surprise since I went to sleep before 9 the night before. I decided to tackle the project from, well, you know, heck. I had been working on installing halogen cabin lights since late last summer. This should not have been a difficult task but I managed to complicate it by making some dumb mistakes and buying some materials that were not up to par. After finally figuring out that the transformers that came with the lighting set was simply not adequate and discovering the mistakes I made in the wiring, I finally got all 10 lights working at the same time. What a relief! It was 8:30 am, what would I do now? It was too cold to do much outside. I decided to go ahead with another major event that I had put off on Saturday. The raw water pump impeller is the moving part of the pump. It is a black rubber paddle wheel that goes inside the pump. It would probably have easily lasted another summer but for 27 bucks and an hour's time I could move from "probably" to "sure" about it lasting the summer. I removed the cover from the pump and was surprised when water rushed in. Then I remembered that the raw water pump is below the water line and the engine's seacock was open. Duh, I closed the seacock and proceeded with the impeller replacement. All went well and she was happily spitting water out the exhaust when I cranked the diesel. The engine cranked very well all weekend and considering the cold weather, that was quite remarkable. I am keeping my fingers crossed hoping the starting problem was related to the dirty connector that I fixed a few weeks ago, and not a bad starter motor.
I cleaned up tools and debris from all the repairs and ventured outside to see what else I could get in to. My original plan was to apply yet another coat of Bristol Finish to the coach roof rails. The finish I had applied the day before was slick as a button and since there was already at least 8 coats I decided to quit while I was ahead. Since I hope to actually go sailing next trip, the last task on the agenda was one of my all time favorites, emptying the waste tank. This activity involves the use of the community "waste caddy" which is a portable plastic tank with wheels, a long hose and a big hand operated pump. It doesn't take much imagination to know where this is headed.
I got cleaned up closed the boat and headed for home. It was a good weekend and I was happy with the accomplishments. Next time the toolbox stays home!