New Winter Cover

Covered for Winter, 12/15/2008

We had the boat hauled out at Herrington Harbor North this year, instead of at Shipwright. I once again have a few projects planned for the winter, and my understanding is that HHN provides much easier access to the boat, to water, and to electricity while the boat is on the hard.

This year, instead of paying for more shrinkwrap that we'd just throw away again in the spring, we invested in a winter cover from Fisher Canvas. It's expensive -- almost $1800 delivered -- but assuming it lasts (and it should), we'll recover the cost in 3 to 4 seasons. It's not all about cost, of course, but with that size investment, cost is certainly a factor. The cover is much nicer than shrinkwrap, and we put it on at our convenience.

It is, however, very heavy, so having an extra set of hands is helpful. Mark has a similar cover for Brandywine, so we helped each other get the covers on.

Before covering Mariner II, we removed our flybridge windshield. It is cracked, and I'm finally planning to have a replacement made for it this winter.

Winterized

Winterized, 12/6/2008

The usual:

• Pumped the holding tank
• Emptied water tank
• Bypassed and drained water heater
  
• Filled fuel tank
• Changed engine oil & filter
  
• Changed transmission oil
• Drain raw water from engine
• Replaced engine zincs
• Cleaned seawater strainer, refilled with pink antifreeze
  
• Poured pink antifreeze in potable water tank, ran through all lines and faucets
  
• Ran pink antifreeze through engine raw water system
• Ran pink antifreeze through air conditioner
• Pumped pink antifreeze through toilet to holding tank
• Light general cleaning of engine
• Sprayed Corrosion-x on electrical connections, fittings, etc.

Ready for winter haul-out!

Clean

Full exterior cleaning, 9/1/2008

Yuck - Toilet Repair

Toilet Repair, 8/30/2008

Our Groco HF toilet stopped working. On Labor Day weekend, of course. The pump plunger would no longer move up or down -- it was stuck, and it didn't matter whether the valve was set to pump water or pump dry.

I figured it needed it needed a rebuild kit, which is considered regular maintenance, but I wasn't sure what kit I needed: the "Master Head" kit, the "Regular Service" kit, or the whole pump assembly. A called Groco (410-712-4242), and they put a tech person on the line right away. He spent a few minutes asking questions, and recommended with certainty that I just needed the regular service kit. Fantastic service!

When we got to Solomons, I disassembled the pump, and the problem was immediately clear: The joker valve was destroyed. And disgusting.

There are a handful of little parts that need to be assembled carefully, but the instructions from Groco were clear, and we had it back together pretty quickly.

Weepy

Cleared weep holes in engine room, 8/16/2008

Bingo! Finally solved a problem that has been driving me crazy for a long time. Since day 1 when we bought this boat, we've had an intermittent problem with water collecting between the two stringers along the starboard side of the engine, and collecting forward.

On some trips, we'd end up with a lot of water there. Other trips, none. Some weeks we'd leave it dry on Sunday night, and return Friday to find water there. Other times, we'd be gone for weeks, and it would be bone dry. Sometimes it tasted salty; other times it didn't. It has been a real puzzle for me to figure out where the water was coming from. But I knew it shouldn't be collecting and stagnating there. Here are pictures of the area I'm referring to:

Starboard side, looking forward: water collects around transducer


Starboard side, looking aft

A few possibilities I considered:

• Engine cooling water leak, possibly through a zinc
• Water pump leak
  
• Sea spray through engine room vents during rough seas
  
• Air conditioning through-hull leak
• Depth transducer through-hull leak

It was not simply an annoyance of having to shop-vac out the water on a regular basis. The water would stagnate and start to smell, and even more importantly, it collected around the fairing block for the depth sounder, and was starting to deteriorate that wood.

Well, I finally crawled down in there to get a good look around. Lo-and-behold: There are weep holes in both the forward- and aft-ends of that area. The forward weep hole runs to the bilge, , and it was completely plugged with debris! I hadn't considered the possibility that the water was running to that spot by design; I had been stuck on the idea that, if water were supposed to be there, it would run aft, not forward. So, it turns out that water from the lazarette under the cockpit area was running through the aft weep hole, and collecting forward. Once I unplugged the forward weep hole, it disappeared into the bilge as it should.

Forward weep hole, drains to bilge

Aft weep hole, below muffler, lets water in from lazarette

There are at least three sources of the water, none of which were possibilities that I had previously considered.

1. Rain water through the cockpit deck hatches
2. Sea spray through the cockpit deck hatches
3. Sea water coming in through our ever-leaking rudder post

That explains both the intermittent nature, and the mix of fresh- and salt-water.

Water through the deck hatches theoretically should drain out the transom. There's a small weep hole in the hatch channels that runs into a tube that goes aft. Unfortunately, those channels collect debris so fast that the hole often plugs, allowing some water into the lazarette. The rudder stuffing box is a work in progress. But now, at least, the water in the engine compartment finally disappears on its own.

As for the depth-sounder fairing block: I made a cardboard mold that fit around it, and filled it with penetrating epoxy, effectively soaking and encasing the entire block in epoxy. It's in good shape now, probably stronger than it ever was.

General Maintenance

General maintenance checks, 8/9/2008

Headed out with Laura today for Michele's birthday, with plans to meet Mark (Brandywine) at Knapps Narrows. Did some general maintenance checks (oil, transmission, fuel filters, batteries), and found the water level in the batteries was low. Added distilled water to each.

Stereo speakers

Stereo Speakers, 6/26/2008

The stereo speakers in the cockpit were shot -- lots of buzzing, not much that sounded like music. They are mounted just above the cockpit step on each side. I found the exact match: Polyplanar MA-4054. I ordered them from Defender.com, and had them ready to install when Chris arrived on Friday. We went straight to the boat, and when we settled in at our anchorage, I swapped out the speakers. Easy job, 4 screws and two wires each; done in 15 minutes, no drilling, no cutting.

Wax, Polish

Waxed Wheelhouse, Polished Bimini Frame, 6/21/2008

Our new bimini for the flybridge is almost ready. While I cleaned and waxed the wheelhouse, Michele cleaned and polished the bimini frame. Not sure who had the harder work; the frame is in somewhat rough shape. It's an aluminum frame, not stainless, so it has some corrosion and pitting. Michele scrubbed it down with Bon Ami, and then polished it with Nevr-Dull. Looks much better, probably as good as we'll get it. Looking forward to the canvas arrival!

Wax, Wood, and Window

Washed, Cleaned, and Waxed Flybridge, Worked on Exterior Wood, Rebedded Port Windshield, 5/31/2008 - 6/1/2008.

Weather was iffy this weekend, so we got busy on some of our remaining tasks. Michele lightly sanded the flybridge steps and the bench on bridge and put a coat of Cetol Light on each. The bench needs one more coat, then all the exterior wood will be done! She also tackled the interior wood in and around the galley (a major taks, since it involved hauling out everything from galley storage areas), as well as the stainless in the stove area. Looks fantastic.

We rebedded the port windshield. That was the last one. No signs of leaks, and they all look great.

I washed, cleaned, and waxed the exterior of the flybridge, using the same 3-step process we used on the hull: wash, 3M Cleaner and Wax, and 3M ultra performance paste wax. Definitely looks much improved, though some of it was in pretty tough shape so I certainly wouldn't call it new looking, even now. Sides of the wheelhouse and the deck are all that's left.

A few other miscellaneous tasks: I cleaned the racor bowl, which was packed with sludge after our Memorial Day trip; I installed a toilet paper holder inside the vanity in the head compartment -- no more ruined rolls of TP when we forget to close the porthole; I also replaced some of the worn-out velcro for our window screens; and finally, I hung our new Weems and Plath "Endurance" clock above the v-berth.

No pictures -- too tired!

Quickie

Rebedded Starboard Windshield,
Recoated Flybridge Steps and Pilothouse Door,
5/11/2008

Michele and I were away most of the weekend, but we squeezed in a couple quick hours of work this afternoon. I worked on removing the starboard windshield glass, while she applied a new coat of Cetol to the flybridge steps and the pilothouse door. We finished reinstalling the glass just before the raindrops started.

It was a cool afternoon, and we found that cleaning out the old caulk was much easier in the cooler temperature. Handling the bedding material was easier as well. That's a good tip to remember.