Day 459 & 460. Work and a road trip again.

Saturday was projects.  I started the day crawling back under the stern bed and taking off the nylon locking nuts I had installed on the rudder shaft just to get them off the boat since we had been warned that after a few years, there was no way that we would ever get them off.  With our recent experience with them--everyone refusing to come off after being screwed on, we wanted them gone and just two nuts and locking washers installed.  So it's back to how it started down there.  I added Locktite to the threads to make sure(sure hope so) they don't come unscrewed again.  It always happens when we are in a nasty place.  Going through rapids or narrows and having the steering fail is never a good feeling.

While I was under the bunk, Tracy started defrosting the freezer.  With it being so hot recently and us being in and out of the freezer/refrigerator a lot, it had amassed a good deal of ice on it and wasn't cooling as well as it should.  She took off quite a bit of ice.  I made another piece of insulation to fit in the top hole of the freezer.  Maybe it will help keep it cooler.

Next, I was down into the stern hold to shorten and tighten the dripless bearing that keeps the water out while the propeller turns.  For those of you that have been following our trip to Alaska, you will remember it failing for a short time and starting to flood the bilge.  It did it twice during the trip and I have since checked and rechecked(several times a day normally) the fitting anytime we are underway with the engine running and the prop turning.  The first time scared me.  Consulting with the manufacturer, they told be that its overall length was to be 7 3/8".  I found it to be 8 3/8" so it needed to be tightened up to be made shorter.

In this picture, I have taken off the set screws that hold it tight to the shaft(so it spins as the shaft rotates) and screwed in long bolts to allow me the leverage to move the stainless steel  fitting(has the bolts in it) towards the end of the shaft.  I squirted in some dish washing soap to lubricate the fitting(per the manufacturers suggestion) and she slowly moved down the shaft.  Now she is the required 7 3/8" length.  I just have to remember to make sure it fills with water once we put Zephyr back in the water.  The rubber bellows area is full of water which acts as a coolant for the shaft as it turns.  One reason I didn't do the tightening earlier was that water pressure made it hard to move and it would gush in when I tried to.   I just waited till we were out and the pressure and water were gone.  With luck, there will be no more water coming in through this fitting.  Even when the propeller turned, it allowed some, though not much, water into the boat.

Next, I was down into the forward storage at the bow and took out everything until I could take out the grating that makes up the flooring.  It had been repaired while we were at Sea Marine since Jack had jumped down on it and broken two of the teak boards.  The repairman had used screws that only came out of the grating and into the base boards by 1/4" and they hadn't held.  So out they came and in went 1/2" longer screws.  I mixed up some epoxy to make sure they don't come loose and back in it went.  All fixed.

Next, we were off for the storage lock where we have rented a space for the past few months.  We needed to get prepared to empty it so I can take the majority of it back to Denver.  We made piles of things to go the Zephyr, one for Goodwill and one for the trip.  Off to Goodwill and back to Zephyr.

I took off for Henery's Hardware for some corks to put in the exhaust pipe for the Webasto heater.  Bill(previous owner)had advised us to plug the pipe with a cork to keep the water out when we are out sailing.  I'd found a cork on Zephyr but it fell out sometime while we were out sailing.  This time, I bought two(of course it took several trips to the hardware store to find the right size) and got some "eye" screws to put in the end that I can attach a lanyard to so the cork doesn't float away.

Yesterday was a road trip to Silverdale.  The TV has continued to act strangely so we headed for Costco to look for a replacement.  As we were looking, we talked to a woman that was there looking too and she told us that ours may still be covered under Costco's extended warranty plan.  We bought it back in May of 08 and found that Costco extends the warranty for two years, not the normal 90 days.  Yes, it was covered!!  So onto the phone and they told us to call them back once we were at the TV.  We took off for Zephyr.  Calls were placed and now we have to take it into a service place in Poulsbo for repairs.  Of course, it hasn't acted up again and once I drop it off on Monday, we will have to rent a car to pick it up as I will have taken our car back to Colorado by then.  We plan on waiting to see if it goes bad on Monday before we take it in.

We returned to the storage building and emptied it out and filled a great deal of the car.  Now, we have to load the things we plan to take off Zephyr and I will be ready to go on Tuesday morning.

The fuel polisher is due any minute so I will close now.  More to come

Day 457 & 458 Road trip and more off the list.

Thursday, I was on a road trip to Seattle while Tracy stayed on Zephyr so the doors could be open to allow a breeze to keep the kids cool.

Yesterday was a day of several jobs to get them off the list.  I started my day(early to avoid the heat) by taking apart the windlass.  This is the marvelous piece of equipment that pulls up the anchor every time we are ready to leave after a night stay in some cove or harbor.  Without it, my back would be in really rotten shape or we would be using a lot of line instead of chain to connect our anchor to Zephyrs bow(as many boats do).   Chain is better for anchoring as it holds better and is much stronger than line.  We have been anchoring the majority of the trip to Alaska, I felt it was time to tear it apart(I'd done it in Newport) and get her all cleaned and re-greased.  For the last part of the trip, it got a good bit harder to have the chain come out from the anchor locker.  The gypsy(holds the chain) was harder to turn.  Apart she came and off to get all the dirt and "stuff" out of her workings at the local hose.  Using a metal as well as a bristle brush, I finally got her all clean.  I put on a waterproof grease as I rebuilt her and now she is ready for more anchoring.

While I was doing this, Tracy was getting the equipment ready to go up the mast.  She's been up before and we needed to switch out the clevis pin(holds the wires to the mast)for the forestaysail stay.  When Brion Toss did our rigging last year, he didn't have the right pin for that fitting and used a bolt and nylon locking nut.  With our recent experience with these nuts, we knew it was time to get the bolt off and the new clevis pin installed.  We'd had two made at the local metal fabricator.  

We strung a line to the top of the mast and then using what can best be described as mountain climbing gear, up the line she goes(No that is NOT Tracy in the pictures).  You sit in the "chair" and pull up the bottom straps so it grabs the line and stand up.  Then you raise the strap for the seat so it binds on the line.  Over and over until you get to where you need to go.  To get down, it is just the reverse.

About 25 minutes later, she was up at the fitting with a bag full of tools and line to tie off the wire and the job was done.  The new clevis pin(surprise surprise) fit perfectly.  Most times, when we have something made like this, it's just off a little bit, but not this time.  Now the forestaysail stay is on the way it is supposed to be and the nylon locking nut came off just fine.

Down Tracy came and the gear was stowed and all the lines needed were coiled and put away.

Next we were off to Port Townsend Rigging to pick up our new "quick"disconnect fitting for the forestaysail stay we had just worked on.   While we were out sailing with the Genoa sail, we found(as Bill-previous owner had found) that the wire for the forestaysail gets in the way as you tack(change directions under sail) the boat.  With this new fitting, we can detach the wire and stow it against the mast as we use the Genoa.  Since the Genoa is the primary sail at the bow and gets used most, it's important that she be able to be used without something causing problems as we tack.  Now we will be able to stow the wire and yet use it when we need the forestaysail in rough weather.

Typically, the forestaysail is used in rougher weather.  It sits much close to the center to the boat and allows better control as the weather gets nasty.  We've used it several times when we are out sailing and the wind misbehaves.  The fitting simply tightens the wire when you hold the upper handle and rotate the lower handle.  We had to cut off the old fitting from the forestaysail stay with a hacksaw making sure we left enough wire to join the two fittings.

This is the fitting that attaches to the wire.  The "eye" of the fitting goes into the adjuster and when cinched down, the wire is nice and tight.

Once that was done, we took off on errands.  One of our friends that keeps their boat at Sea Marine had planned to launch yesterday afternoon but as we drove by we found them still in the yard.  Not sure what the delay was but we will find out the next time we see them.  We stopped at West Marine to pick up a package the we had shipped there.  It get strange telling people you have no real address for mailing you things and West Marine has allowed us to use there store for a mail drop.  My package came(via UPS)to the boat yard from Fisheries Supply with the 17 new pine plugs that are to be used in case and through hull fitting blows.  You keep one at each through hull just in case they are needed.  I checked them out and they are the wrong size.   The small end was much bigger than was listed on their website.

I called Fisheries Supply and they checked their inventory and found that everyone they had was cut wrong and they would issue a call tag and take the bad plugs back.  Unfortunately, they won't have anymore to send me until they get the problem resolved with their supplier.  Oh well, maybe later once we hit shore farther down the coast once we leave Port Townsend.

We're sitting in fog as I type this yet the day is forecast for nice sunshine.  The heat wave has stopped at least for the next day or so.  Seattle is finally out of the high 90's.

Well, it's off to take care of more jobs while it cool outside.

Day 456 The Hydrovane is done!

(The propeller is on the DuoGen beside the Hydrovane.)

Up early this morning to start work while it was still cool.

We started finishing the pre-installation of the Hydrovane.  Cut and fit and cut and fit until we were satisfied with the installation.  The problem we ran into was the stainless steel bolts locked up again with the nylon locking nuts.  While they went on sort of easily, they refused to come back off.  Out came the hack saw and off they came.  Off to the chandlery for more bolts and nuts.

With the Hydrovane off, I "buttered" the back of the teak pads with a special water proof bedding compound and took the brackets and bolted them through the stern.  The bottom bracket first and then the top bracket.  We measured the distance between the bracket and the vertical bearing pole and had the stainless steel pipe that joins the two(see the photo)cut to fit.  And in it all went.  

Once the brackets were installed, we mounted the drive unit at the top and pulled the red cover over the vane and laced it down and we were done.  As the wind hits the red wind vane, it tips from side to side and as it does that, the rudder moves from side to side and steers Zephyr.  With the DuoGen down in the water, we will make electricity as we sail and the Hydrovane will steer us along our route.  We had it all done by noon.  

We took off for Sea J's for a nice lunch and to enjoy a bit cooler restaurant.  Seattle broke an ALL TIME temperature record of 103.  Olympia hit 106!!  The "Hudson Effect" continues.

With it being so hot, we relaxed during the afternoon and read while we sat in the shade and tried to stay cool.  After dinner, we took off for the showers to cool off.  Tomorrow, more of the same. 

Tomorrow, I'm off for Seattle for the day.  Tracy is staying here so the kids can stay cooler with the doors open and the fans on.  With luck it will be cooler.

Day 455 The "Hudson Effect" is back.

For those of you that have been following our blog for a while, you know that I have talked about the "Hudson Effect".  Wherever we go, strange weather follows.  From the very high(80 knot) winds that slammed into Newport during our short stay there, to last August(our  being the wettest August that Seattle has ever had.  Last Winter was the 5th worst that they have ever had up here.  Record cold and snow.  This time we have brought on the heat.  We are expected to set new records for heat up here.  We may even hit 100 in Seattle tomorrow.  The forecast for the next 4 days is temps in the mid to high 90's.  They have never had more than 4 days of consecutively being in the 90's.  Seattle was there yesterday and it is expected to continue.  People out here--even though we are only in the mid-80's are just melting under the heat and Sun.  I can't imagine the effect we will have as we travel the world.  

We spent yesterday morning working on replacing the zincs on the stern down by the rudder.  In the past, they have been tear drop shape and needed to be custom drilled to fit over a bolt that goes through the keel.  Tracy went to the local chandlery and picked up some rectangular ones and they fit the keel perfectly with one on either side of the bolt.

You can see both types in the picture(remember to click on the picture to see it bigger).  The tear drop is to the right and the two rectangular ones at the bottom of the picture.  We put the zinc on the Max Prop with the corners painted with bright red nail polish.  We'll see if it makes a difference.

In the afternoon, we started in on the top teak fitting for the Hydrovane.  We fitted and sanded it a bit more and slid it in just fine.  Then the pilot holes were drilled to make sure it fit through the hull in a good place(not that there was a choice)and we could have a backing plate made.  We then drilled the 3/8" holes and put in the new stainless steel bolts and fitted the nylon nuts to hold it in place.  Now the problems started.  The nuts would go only about half way on and then locked.  And I mean LOCKED!! They wouldn't go on any farther and wouldn't come off.  I broke the ratchet wrench trying to get them back off so we could attach the backing plate once we get it made today.  I finally got one off but the second had to be cut off.  A new blade in the hack saw and off it came.  The local chandlery is ordering in new bolts today.  I don't think I will use the nylon nuts again and will probably take off the ones I just installed ion the rudder post if they are that nasty.

The new slides came for the mainsail came yesterday and are about to be fitted.  The one on the right is the old one.  It would move side to side but not up and down.  Too much salt in the fitting.  We just installed them and Tracy can now(with some grunting) get the sail to the top of the mast.  When I went to the metal fabricator to have the backing plate made, I showed him the fittings and he thinks he can get then loosened up so they will move correctly.  If so, they will go into the spare parts bin for use if something happens to the ones we just installed.

Well, it's back to work.  More things to do and people to see.

  

Day 454 Work and play.

We started out the day with work and then went to Port Angeles to see the sand sculptures.  Work and play.

I started the day fitting the upper fitting for our new Hydrovane.  The original teak pad I had made fit the stern curvature of the boat perfectly but the base of the Hydrovane required a different angle other than what I had.  So off to the wood shop with the teak board and I cut another board to epoxy to the first one.  This one required a slanted cut while the base board required a convex cut to fit the hull.  

Cut, sand, measure and fit--over and over until I got it just right.

As you can see, it took some work to get the angle and thickness just right.  Today will be the test drilling and having the stainless steel backing plate made for inside Zephyr.  The nice thing about Boat Haven is that there are lots of places to get things made in relatively short order.

When I returned to Zephyr, I was covered with teak sawdust.  Tracy said it looked like I had on a reddish brown powder make up on.  After lunch, I was off to the showers to get it off before we left for Port Angeles.  

The above was titles "Chicken Itsa"

As we walked back to the car, we saw these metal pieces of art out over the water.

On the way back we passed through Sequim and made stops at both Walmart and Costco for more provisions.  It may be our last trip to both for a while since I will be leaving for Denver in about a week if all works out.

Home by 1900 and try and figure out where to put it all and then a nice dinner continental style(later than usual).

Well, it's time to get back to work.  More to get done today while it is still a bit cooler.

Day 453 One solved and one started.

It was a busy Saturday.  While the yard is sort of closed--at least the office, boats went in and out all day.  People were everywhere working on their boats.  Sanding, painting, and grinding just to site a few I saw.  One guy was working with a big blowtorch burning and scraping off the paint on the side of his old wood boat.  

As many of you have read, we have had a problem with the electrical systems.  It used to be that when we were on shore power, all the systems worked fine.  Then last Saturday(a week ago) after a power outage, the starboard outlets caused our circuit panels "reverse polarity" light to glow.  In the past, that had only happened when we used the Honda generator since the ground on the generator wasn't hooked up to the system.  We had the use of only half the outlets on Zephyr.  I went in search of the problem, multi meter in hand.  

I started with the newest outlet on Zephyr.  I had installed a new 110 outlet in back the galley.  I put the multi meter wands into the outlet and got a strange reading.  Only 47 volts.  Off with the cover(turned off the power first)to get to the wiring.  I checked the connections--tight.  Then the current.  Still only 47 volts.  I checked the connections in different configurations.  As it turns out, the ground wire wasn't the ground wire.  It completed the circuit.  I'd been told how to wire the circuit by the folks at Sea Marine.  They had even put tape on the bus bar as to where to attach exactly what wires.  Ends up they got it wrong.  I switched the white and green wires and the circuit was now fine.  It read a nice 120 volts(after I turned on the circuit panel switch).  The "reverse polarity" light was no longer on.  Victory!!!  We hoisted the Honda generator back on board.  We'd kept it in the car since getting it fixed.  We hooked up the wires to it and started it up.  No "reverse polarity" on it now when we turned on the switches.  Problem solved!!  Now we don't need to have an electrician.

Lunch and on to the Hydrovane.  That's our new wind driven autopilot that gets mounded to the the stern(back of the boat).  I'd shaped teak pads to go between the brackets and hull as there are no flat surfaces on boats and the bracket(flat on the back) must be securely mounted to the stern.  We drilled small holes through the hull to see how thick it was.  Surprisingly, only about 1.75 inches.   The thinnest section we have seen on Zephyr.  We had a special stainless steel backing plate made on Friday afternoon to hold the bolts nice and secure.  There will be a lot of stress on the bracket and bolts as it steers Zephyr.

Once we made sure it fit the backing plate, I drilled the first 3/8" hole and Tracy fit the plate and nut.  Then the second  pilot hole.  The outside of Zephyr is rounded while where we are attaching the plate is flat so getting the outside hole to line up with the inside hole took some work.

Once the first was done, we started on the second hole.  Again, a pilot hole was drilled.  slightly off so I corrected the angle and drilled a second.  Got it right this time so on with the 3/8" bit and in it went.  Lined up fine so in went the second bolt.  The first part was done.  Everything hinges on it being installed straight on the stern.  The top bracket gets it alignment from the bottom bracket.  We started fitting the top bracket and found that the angle for it where it fits onto the hull needs a bigger piece of teak.  So today's project is to cut and shape another piece of teak and laminate it to the bottom teak pad with epoxy to make the pad bit perfectly.  I checked with the wood shop(ok to use their tools on Sunday) and borrowed the bent sander from Bottoms Up Marine Services(BUMS)again.  Now I have the tools to do it properly and sort of easily.  I've never been big on compound angles and wood.  

We took the screen that fits the companion way door to have a new set of doors made.  Panels

instead of swinging doors.  They are pretty but if we took a lot of water on board could come off their hinges and get washed away.  The new ones fit in the same slot in the door frame as the screen and allow us to close off below decks or with the second bottom board, allow some air flow as well as communicate with anyone below during a blow yet keep the amount of the opening relatively small.  We also had a set of door panels made in clear Lexan so on cloudy days we can put them in and have the security yet have more light below decks.  It can get dark down there.  Now all we have to do is make bags to hold them so they don't get scratched. 

Off for a nice shower and a great steak dinner.  It started raining as we finished dinner and continued for several hours.  It's the first rain we have seen in quite a while and first Port Townsend has had in over a month.  The grass is quite brown around here.  I expect today to be quite muggy as the temperature is set for the high 70's(hey, that's hot up here).

Well, it's off to the wood shop.  I have work to do.

More tomorrow.  Stay tuned.

Day 450, 451 & 452 Projects, projects, projects.

Where to start.  The last three days have been pretty much a blur running here and there and working on Zephyr.

The bottom paint is just about on.  We finally hired a company(Bottoms Up Marine Services-BUMS) to scrap and clean the hull as far down as possible (without hitting the fiberglass) and seal it and put on two additional coats of Interlux Micron Extra paint.  It took them several hours(even with big muscled guys) to get the paint off.  Tracy followed them around with a broom to get all the chipped paint cleaned up.  The EPA has a fit if that stuff is allowed to blow or migrate off the plastic tarp under the boat.  

The bad news is that once they took it down, we found some small blisters in the hull.   These are called "osmotic blisters".  Water seeps over time under the fiberglass and make a small or in some cases large blister in the surface.  It's not bad(no boat has ever sunk from it) but you never like to see them on your hull.  In the past, we had seen blisters but they had been between the layers of paint.  I consulted with the fiberglass men on the yard and they all said to just leave them alone.  They were very small and not that deep and "might" cause some problems in 10 to 15 years but not a big deal.  So we sealed them and painted over them and that is that.

The picture is of the Hydrovane steering assembly we're installing.  It will steer the boat while we are out sailing.  The red vane at the top is aligned with the wind and if it changes direction, it moves a rudder at the base and keeps the boat on it course.  Of course, that is as long as the wind stays in the direction you want the boat to go in.  I'll add some pictures once we get it all installed for a better idea how it is set up.  I had a backing plate made yesterday for the bottom rod.  Today, we will start drilling through the transom(stern of the boat) to install part of it and measure for the installation of the rest.

Here's a  picture is of a Max Prop--our propeller.  At the end of the prop is a "zinc".  A soft chunk of metal that the sea water erodes to stop it from attaching all the other metal on the boat.  I found on the internet, an adapter that holds a different, heavier zinc.  The brass part

screws into the same holes as the original but with a bigger zinc, it will last a lot longer and it.  The original zinc screws on with three screws.  Unfortunately, at the thinnest area of the zinc so it gets eaten through quite quickly.  The last one we installed in in Prince Rupert on our way up to Alaska after the last one fell off.  I read an article on Google about covering the thin zinc area with nail polish to stop the salt water from attacking it so quickly.  As I still have 4 more of these expensive zincs on board, I'm going to try the nail polish before I attach the new fitting.  At least if the new nail polished zincs die, we'll be in warmer water where I can dive down and replace them.  Up here, it's either haul out or hire a diver to replace them as were forced to do in Prince Rupert.  We are trying to get an electrician(not with Sea Marine) to come to Zephyr for an over all look see at her wiring.  We are still facing the reverse polarity problem that cropped up after the quick blackout last Saturday.  Better to have it done now while we have time then later. 

Brion Toss and Gordon came by and started working on the rigging to see why we still have so much problem hoisting the main sail.  They hoisted a 5 gallon water can to see how it reacts under stress with the use of the sail track(see if it is binding in the track) and with out(see if the sheave at the top of the mast is binding).  The reran the main halyard inside the mast to make it as clear a path for it as possible.  They planned to come back yesterday and go up the mast to take a look. While Tracy and I were putting the sail back in the slide on the mast, I looked at the slugs that hold the sail to the track and found that the ones that work in unison with the battens(long fiberglass rods that hold the sail out horizontally) were binding up.  The are made to slide in the track and move from side to side as well as up and down as the sail is pulled up or shifts once it is up.  Three of the four would move from side to side but not in an up and down motion.  We don't know if that may contribute to the  problem but I ordered four more--this time in stainless steel--to replace the originals.  We'll see in a few days if it makes a difference.  If not, up goes Brion or Gordon to look at the top of the mast and it's sheaves.

The kids are still having fun watching all the activity around the yard.  There is a small dog on the boat next door that yaps at them from time to time.  They just stare back and continue wandering along the deck to find a shady spot to relax in.  

I've got more parts to order and more projects to get going on so I'll quit now but be back with more later.  The work continues.