Head Cabinets

Winter 2010/2011

More carpentry, courtesy of Courtney. This dresses up the head quite a bit, although the enclosed space is less usable than we had hoped. Behind the sink, the sliders don't open very far and there's isn't a lot of room behind them. Behind the toilet, there's a decent amount of space, but I think we need to put a shelf in there to really make it useful. That said, looks much nicer!

Old:

New:

Early to Bed

November, 2010

Generally, we wait until after Thanksgiving to call it quits on the season.

Last fall, we winterized and hauled out early. I had been dealing with a back injury for over a year, and finally concluded that I needed surgery. The full recovery time for the surgery is 3 months. I wanted to get it out of the way in December, so I could use the holiday time for recovery, and be fully recovered and strong again for spring.

Both the winterization and the surgery went smoothly.

Carpentry

Summer 2010

We hired Courtney for a few more carpentry projects.

First up: repairs to our wheelhouse door due to more water intrusion issues (sigh... water, water, everywhere...). Water was getting inside the door, presumably via the glass bedding, but possibly through the latch/lock plate. The interior veneer was becoming stained and buckled. Courtney did a little refinishing work, and replaced the heavily clouded and scratched plexiglass with safety glass. It sure looks nicer and provides a clearer view. (We've subsequently discovered that the water problem isn't solved, so more effort forthcoming).

Then, one of our nicer additions... The storage area openings in the v-berth were just oval cutouts. It was pretty messy looking with all our belongings stuffed in there (not to mention, rough seas had a habit of dumping our stuff out on the bed).

Here's a picture of the original openings (along with our cat Lola):

Courtney built new rectangular doors, and cut out the openings to fit. The new doors trim it out nicely. When closed, they sit flush. Out of pure serendipity, we found nice little pearl and tarnished-bronze handles in an antique shop. (I'll probably swap the hinges out for tarnished versions instead of polished.)

When opened, they're held up by a friction-based arm which can be locked into place to secure the door open. This is, of course, very important to Lola.

One issue: the existing light fixtures blocked the aft doors. They were in terrible shape anyway, so we replaced them with fixtures that have flexible goose-necks. Now we can move the lights out the way when opening the doors.

Port Gaskets and Screens

Summer 2010

Last summer, I finally got around to replacing the gaskets and screens on the ports in the v-berth, head, and galley. We were getting small amounts of water dripping through, and a couple of the screens had small tears around the perimeter that were letting insects in. It wasn't clear whether the water was getting through the gasket or around the frame, but before rebedding them I thought I'd try the gaskets. It mostly helped, though we'll need to rebed the frames sometime in the not-too-distant future.

We have Beckson ports, size "512" (where the opening is roughly 5" x 12"), and the part numbers are:

• Gasket: GK-512
• Screen: SCR-512

I ordered the parts from Defender.com. Pulling out the old gaskets was easy; they were hard and brittle, and coming out on their own already. Installing the new gaskets required some effort, but it wasn't too bad. It probably took me about 90 minutes to do all four. Beckson has a great overview page with part numbers, along with specific instructions for fitting the new gasket into the frame. Really nice to see that kind of help on their site.

When we do the rebedding, I might actually replace the lenses too (LNZ-512), which have become fogged and scratched over time.

Dock Lines

Summer 2010

New set of docklines. Hardly worth a post, but I just love the look and feel of brand new lines, so I'm sharing a picture here :-)

I added the whipping to the bitter end (see inset). I like doing that, it's fun and it looks nice.

Nameboards

Summer, 2010

We hired Courtney (who did our anchor roller) to make nameboards for Mariner II. She's a great carpenter, and I think this has to be some of her finest work! Particularly the transom nameboard, which is curved in two directions to an exact fit of the transom curve. Just beautiful! In addition to the boards pictured here, there's a smaller nameboard on each side of the flybridge. Here's a picture just after the initial mounting while Mariner II was out of the water.

The nameboard is thru-bolted to the transom. Mark helped me drill 4" access ports on the inside of the cockpit fiberglass liner, to allow access to the structural transom and back side of the bolts. The fiberglass liner is about 1/4" thick, and there's about a 1" gap between the liner and the transom, which is just enough to slip a wrench in and put a washer and nut on the back of the bolts. The transom itself appears to be about an inch thick! The board for the hailing port is small and light, so it's just screwed in, not thru-bolted.

Bedding Deck Fittings

March 2010

After last year's deck leak, we realized we better take care of rebedding our remaining deck fittings, before it happens again. Michele and I rebedded nearly everything on deck: stanchion bases, cleats, anchor chain locks, ladder base - basically everything but the teak handrails, which seem to be in good shape... for now.

I also made new, larger backing plates for the cleats and the chain locks. I'd been concerned particularly about using our forward cleat to break the anchor free when weighing anchor. That should be ok now.

We also raised each of the flybridge attachment screws, and put sealant under them. We had a few little water leaks through the wheelhouse ceiling, probably from these screws. No more leaks, so I guess we got it.

Pre-launch

March, 2010

John came down from PA in his 911 to help us wax. First time we've ever had the entire boat waxed, pre-launch... Thanks, John!

Hanging Straps

Our aft mooring cover doubles as a cockpit bimini. We have a stainless frame that attaches to the cockpit gunwale to support it. When we're not using it, the frame sits around the perimeter on the cockpit sole, where I often stub my toes on it.

I made some hangers out of some webbing/straps to hang it from the gunwale. They're attached to the underside of the gunwale with a bolt and nylon locknut. On the inside, there's a hidden post for a "lift-the-dot" type snap. There are four straps: one port, one starboard, and two along the transom. The frame sits in the loop when the strap is snapped in place.

Engine Maintenance

Winter 2009-2010

In the past, I've had moderate success extracting the oil via the dipstick. I've never been able to extract it via the extraction tube. While winterizing this year, I had no success, period. I tried my electric oil change pump, a Jabsco hand pump, and a vacuum pump -- no luck. I started inquiring of other Cape Dory 28 owners, and learned that it should be much easier. In particular, I watched Mark extract the oil from Brandywine's Volvo engine (via the extraction tube), and I was astonished at how quickly and easily it was done! Clearly, there was something wrong with the extraction tube on ours. I soon concluded that it was clogged, but was not able to unclog it using a wire.

My next strategy was to worm my way underneath the engine and remove the drain plug, planning to replace it with a drain kit to make future oil changes easier. No go: I could get a large wrench on it, but the plug wouldn't move, at least not with the limited leverage I could get in the tight space. (And, sadly, I think I injured my back trying.)

We were planning some professional maintenance anyway, so I added the extraction tube to the list. During the winter, we had Dick Vosbury come down to do a few things:

• Removed and clean the heat exchanger.
• Remove and clean and oil cooler.
• Replace the alarm unit on the bridge.
• Clear the oil extraction tube.

Voila! Oil changes are a snap, now! I'm using the tall vacuum-style pump from West Marine in the picture above, basically the same as Mark's. Big enough to get all the oil in two trips, and it does it very quickly (10 minutes).

Sea Strainer Gasket

July, 2009

Uuuuuuuuugh. On our way back from DC, we anchored overnight in an area with lots of weeds on the surface. Before getting underway, I opened the sea strainer to clean it out. When I closed it back down, I apparently crushed the old (and brittle) gasket, which broke into a couple pieces. The result was that the sea water intake was drawing air through the lid, rather than drawing water from the thru-hull. The engine overheated, and we were towed in to Colonial Beach. One symptom here worth noting: We were running fine for several hours at low RPMs (7-8 knots), as it seemed there was enough water flow like that. Overheat occurred within a minute or two of cranking up to 10 knots.

I was disappointed in myself for not having a spare gasket. A package of gasket material from Napa took care of it. I used the strainer lid as a template, and cut a new gasket out of cork material. A little waterproof grease (Morey's Red) also helps keep the gasket in place, and helps seal it down.

The gasket kit stays on board all the time, now. A hole punch also comes in handy, for punching holes in the gasket where screws pass through.

Screened

June, 2009

I despise mosquitoes. Seriously. We inherited some window screens from the prior owner that have mostly kept the bugs at bay (pun?), but they haven't been doing the job lately.

The old screens were pretty simple - just fabric screening with velcro borders sewn in, and self-adhesive velcro strips attached to the inside of the window frames. The velcro was no longer staying attached, and whenever we took the screens down, the velcro on the frames wasn't very pretty.

The window frames on Mariner II have a recessed track on the exterior, so I decided to try to fit real screens in that track. I had my local hardware store fabricate one aluminum-framed screen as a test. The trick is to have the screen large enough that it will sit in the track without coming out, but small enough that I could wiggle and flex it into place. My test on the starboard side worked out ok, though I reduced the measurements just a bit for the port and aft windows.

For the side windows, it helped to unscrew the vertical support, which allowed me to pivot that support outward while slipping the screen into place (see last picture). The aft window was more difficult because there was no way to pivot the vertical section; I had to flex the screen frame quite a bit to bend it in, but I managed to do it without breaking it. If I were to do it again, I'd reduce the size even further, maybe another 1/4 or 1/2 inch. The only real downside that I see here is that we can't easily get to the opening section of glass from the outside, so there's no good way to clean it. We just hose it down aggressively, and that seems to keep it reasonably clean.

It was tricky getting them in place, but it worked and they look nice. They were cheap, too -- only about $20 per screen. You can say that about very many boat improvements!

Anchor Roller

May 16, 2009

We had an anchor roller installed, which should give my back some much needed relief! It was fashioned after Mark's aboard Brandywine. A small starboard pulpit thru-bolted to the deck and bedded with sealant, a stainless "universal" roller, and a chain lock (which isn't visible in the picture). We actually have two chain locks (don't ask): one is directly behind the roller on the rode locker door/lid, and one off to the side. It actually works out pretty well, as I can just move the chain off to the side when I want to get in there.

Looks like I might need a nicer anchor now....

Sanitation

April 25, 2009

Stinky job, but needed to be done. We were noticing more and more head odor in the boat, so we replaced all of the sanitation hose. The hose ain't cheap. I think we paid $8/foot, for Trident 101/102 premium hose (white) from Defender. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking.

Holding tank under the v-berth. The outlet from the tank is forward. Note the "T": The vertical hose goes up to the deck pumpout fitting, and the hose heading off to the left (port) goes to the pump, the vented loop, and then to the thru-hull.

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The tank's intake hose (discharge from the toilet) is on the aft side. The discharge hose along the port side connected through the whale pump, through the port side of the v-berth, to a vented loop in the hanging locker, and finally to the thru-hull / seacock.

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Here's the overboard discharge on the port side. Discharging untreated waste is illegal almost everywhere now.

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New sanitation hose in place. We eliminated the "T" for the overboard discharge. This had the added benefit of reducing cost, because we would have needed another 15' or so of hose.

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No more overboard pumpout. I temporarily capped off the seacock. Long term plan is to use the seacock for a washdown pump.

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Job complete, panel back in place. The panel shown here is about 8" below the v-berth surface, providing some storage beneath the v-berth. This panel was the hardest part of the job: the screws holding it in place were painted over and countersunk, so they stripped very easily. I had to drill the heads off a few of them.

Access Door

April 23, 2009

A nice little addition. Our PFDs are in the aft bench, which is a little difficult to access because you have to pull up the cushions and panel of the bench seat, while working around the table. We wanted an access door in the side. Mark (of Brandywine) referred us to Courtney Murphy, who does "freelance" marine work and carpentry. She put a nice access door in place on the side of the aft bench, right by the wheelhouse door. Here's a picture of the opening... I'll have to take a picture of the door as well - it looks good.

Update: here's a picture with the door in place:

Windscreen

April 23, 2009

Our flybridge windscreen has had a crack through it ever since we bought the boat. Having mostly completed the higher-priority issues, I finally had a new windscreen fabricated by Total Plastics in Baltimore.

I brought them the old windscreen (in two pieces), and they used it as a template. One interesting point... The old one was hard, inflexible, and curved to fit the shape of the bridge. They explained that the inflexibility was likely due to age, and that the new one would not be curved when I came to pick it up. It would need to be "cold-fitted", drilled, and mounted. This was concerning to me, but all turned out well. It was a perfect fit. They did a great job, and I'd certainly recommend them.

Ready or Not

April 4-6, 2009

In past years, we had Mariner II hauled at our home marina, Shipwright Harbor. It's a relatively small marina with limited yard space, so the boats are crowded, making off-season work difficult. In winter 2008/2009, we were hauled and stored by Herrington Harbour North, because we had heard that they not only have a much more organized yard with power and water close by every boat, but also that they stay on time with their haul/launch schedule.

Well, the strict schedule came back to haunt us! We had been hoping for a little more prep time this year, but we had to finish up in a hurry, or miss our launch date and go to the end of the line. My sister Melanie and her daughter Adara, visiting from NY, helped us get the cover off, get some Cetol on the swim platform, etc. I did the bottom paint the next day.

Ready or not, she went in the water during the week of April 6. Once launched, we finished some of the remaining upkeep and recommissioning work over the next few weekends, including more Cetol work on the rest of the teak, general cleaning, etc. Waxing the topsides took us through May 16, as we worked it in between trips.

• More Cetol work

Incoming!

Tons of updates coming shortly... We've made a lot of repairs, updates, and improvements since mid-2009, and I finally want to get them documented. Some of these will be posted out of order, but it's the only way I'll get this done.

Handrail Covers

More canvas! Pretty soon, our entire boat will be wrapped in blue canvas ;-) Mark made the two for the flybridge, and Michele made the two for the foredeck. These may seem a little silly or overkill to anyone who hasn't cared for teak... but these will probably save us a world of hurt when it comes to brightwork.

Hmm, I've probably lost track of how much we owe Mark for all his help getting Mariner II and her tender looking nice...

Deck Rot

During the rainy weekend of 8/22/2009, Michele and I discovered (to our deep dismay) that we had water coming into the cabin through the aft-most stanchion base on the port side. A lot of water. We woke on Sunday morning to drier weather, so we prepared to pull the stanchion base to rebed it.

The first problem was access to the underside of the bolts -- tucked behind a bulkhead between the hanging locker and the v-berth. It's a good thing Michele is petite! Even still, we found evidence of a prior repair effort: We removed the nut and washer from one bolt, only to find another nut behind the washer, firmly embedded in the underside of the deck, with no way for us to put a wrench on it. Ugh... We ended up using a hack saw to cut the head of the bolt off, and then pushed it through the bottom.

Once we lifted the stanchion, the news got worse: soaked balsa core. I used a pick and dug out as much wet core as I could. I was able to remove a circle of core several inches in diameter, leaving nothing but the fragile glass on each surface (upper and lower). Two estimates from Osprey Marine Composites at Herrington Harbor North offered two drastically different repairs: 1) cut open a section of the deck, replace the core, and reglass/gelcoat ($2600.00), vs. 2) plug the underside of the bolt holes, and back fill the deck with epoxy ($400). We went with the less aggressive repair, as much because we didn't want mismatched gelcoat as because of price. If this doesn't address the problem, I think we'll know within a year or two, at which point we'll go with the more aggressive repair. Aside from the initial shock of a $2600 estimate, I was very pleased with Osprey. Despite it being a small job, they did exactly what they proposed, on time, and under the estimated cost, and they communicated with me the whole time.

Here's a picture of the epoxy-filled void. It's a mess from the work, but the deck area cleaned up and doesn't look too bad, though we still have some cosmetic work to do on the gelcoat.

Michele and I both took September 4th off from work (to extend the holiday weekend), and used some of that time to redrill the holes for the stanchion base and rebed it. While we were at it, we did the #3 base on the port side as well, so the two aft stanchion bases are done. We had done the complementary two on the starboard side a while back, but we're now much more motivated to do the remaining stanchion bases, water & fuel fills, and the ladder bases!