See The Light (Part 1)

Navigation Lights, 10/15/2006

This is a fun one. Powerboats under 12 meters in length are required to display navigation lights that include, as shown in the picture:

• red and green sidelights
  
• either a single all-round white light, or a separate masthead light and stern light

Our white light was a single all-round light like the one on the left, but it was in bad shape (shedding fiberglass -- ouch!) and our surveyor pointed out that it would shine directly in our eyes if we pilot from the flybridge.

So I planned to replace it with separate masthead and stern lights, as shown on the right. One hitch: At anchor, the vessel must display a single all-round light (and nothing else). There are special lights for this, called combination lights, which when wired properly will illuminate just the forward-facing masthead portion for navigation (to be used in conjunction with a stern light), and 360 degrees for anchoring (to be used by itself). I replaced our all-round light with one of these combination lights, and plan to install the stern light over the winter.

The light switch is a 3-position switch: NAV-OFF-ANCHOR. If you give some thought this, you'll soon discover a puzzle: The "nav" position must illuminate the masthead part of the combination light, plus the red, green, and stern light. The "anchor" position must illuminate both portions of the comination light (the masthead and aft-facing portions). So the forward-facing portion of the combination light must illuminate in either switch position. But you can't just connect it to both positions, because that would effectively connect the NAV and ANCHOR positions together, so that everything would turn on regardless of which way you flip the switch.

The solution to this puzzle is a "double-pole, double-throw" switch. Double-throw refers to the two "on" positions: on-off-on (nav-off-anchor). Double-pole refers to the ability to turn on two circuits in either position, rather than just one circuit each. The "nav" position circuits are set up so that the sidelights and stern light are on one circuit, and the masthead is on a separate circuit all by itself. The "anchor" position is set up with the aft-facing portion of the combination light on one circuit. The second circuit is then connected together with the masthead circuit from the "nav" side. In this way, the masthead light is kept on its own separate circuit, isolating it from all other lights, but that circuit is activated no matter which way you throw the switch.

Incidentally, the same situation arises even if you use an all-round light for navigation, rather than separate masthead and stern lights. The all-round circuit must turn on in either switch position, and must be separate from the red and green sidelights.

See? I told you this would be fun.

Directionless

Compass, 10/6/2006

A barely functional compass makes navigation a bit... challenging. A compass has one job: point to Magnetic North. Our flybridge compass had virtually no fluid, so it didn't do it's job very well. A compass can be repaired, but ours was in pretty bad cosmetic shape too, so I installed a new one.

Installing a compass isn't as easy as you might think, either. The compass has to be aligned very carefully with the keel of the boat, or the "lubbers line" won't tell you your true (er... magnetic) course. Plus, a new compass requires compensation. No, you don't have to pay it a salary -- not that kind of compensation. I'm talking about making adjustments to the compass to compensate for ferrous metal on the boat that might cause inaccurate readings. It's a challenging problem. Ritchie Navigation has a good description of the compensation process, but if you're really interested in the amazing history of such a "simple" device, read Gurney's book, "Compass: A Story of Exploration and Innovation". Incredible!


Our 20-year-old compass was a Ritchie, model HF-72, no longer in production. The replacement model, HF-742, allegedly includes a retrofit adapter so it can be installed easily in the old location. Ah, but I should know better by now, it's never that easy. The adapter didn't quite fit either, so I ended up having to patch the original mounting holes and drill new holes in the right places. In the end, though, I successfully navigated my way through another project, and learned a lot about this magnificent instrument along the way.

Fuelish

Fuel Hoses, 9/1/2006

Recommendations from our surveyor were divided into three groups: Essential for safety/seaworthiness, Required by USCG regulations and/or ABYC, and Desirable/Cosmetic. Following the survey, BoatU.S. insurance required that we repair most of the deficiencies, including (strangely) many of those on the Desirable/Cosmetic list. I fought back on most of those in the last category, not because I won't make the repairs, but because I don't want my insurance to be contingent on cosmetic repairs. They yielded on most of them.

Among the most serious of the problems on the "Essential" list, however, were deteriorated fuel hoses which needed to be replaced with "type-A USCG-approved flame-retardent hoses". The before/after picture below shows one of the fuel line connections, and you can see that the original hose and crimp fitting (on the left) were in pretty bad shape. Although this type of repair probably isn't difficult, it is pretty serious, even for diesel fuel (which is far less explosive than gasoline). So, I elected to have Bristol Marine (at Shipwright, our marina) do the repair.




Bristol hasn't steered us wrong yet. They seem to do good work, and my only complaint is that they sometimes need repeated prodding before they get around to doing the requested work. That's pretty common in busy service yards, and certainly worth tolerating if the work is done right.

Ground Tackle

Anchor rode, August 2006

This is how you know the anchor rode (or at least the thimble) needs to be replaced. The thimble is so corroded that the shackle, which connects the thimble to the anchor chain, is stuck in one place and won't come off.

The double-braided line attached to the thimble is too old to be re-spliced on to a new thimble, so we've replaced the entire line with 200' of 1/2" three-strand line, new thimble, new shackle, and 20' of 1/4" chain. I'm partial to three-strand rather than double-braid; not quite as friendly on the hands, but I like how it looks and it has a bit more stretch, which is good for an anchor rode.

Cleanliness

The interior is clean and looking good! Michele did most of the cleaning while I worked on other repairs, and she did an amazing job. There was mildew everywhere, particularly on the carpeting along the v-berth walls. We really didn't want to sleep on the boat until the mildew was gone, and Michele worked hard to get it all done for the holiday weekend. She spent lots of time on the wood as well. What a difference!

Instrument Bezels

Instrument Bezels, 5/2/2006

The instruments at the lower helm are in decent shape, except for the fact that some of them kept falling down inside the panel. They're designed so that they insert in the panel from below, and screw into the the plastic bezel ring above. The bezel then holds the gauge in place. The problem was that the bezels for two the smaller instruments were cracked, so they no longer held tight.

They're Volvo-Penta factory instruments, and I was able to get the bezels from Vosbury Marine in Annapolis. A cheap fix, for a change!

Don't Get In Over Your Head: Call A Plumber

Faucets, Toilet, 7/1/2006

The title for this post is an inside joke. Clue will recognize it...

Based on my experience, plumbing problems seem all too common on boats. I spent months trying solve some plumbing problems on our first boat (Mariner) in Seattle, and faced problems right away with Mariner II. The galley faucet was broken, the head faucet was broken, and the toilet wouldn't flush. Two-for-two boats with plumbing problems, and three-for-three fixtures on this boat. I replaced the two faucet fixtures right away, as running water is pretty important for us to enjoy the boat. Generally you can get "rebuild kits" for marine toilets at about 1/3 the cost of a new toilet, and then just rebuild the flush pump. I might have done that, but since the toilet was 20 years old and looking kind of dingy and gross, I just replaced that as well. The floor mounts didn't line up exactly (of course), so I'll have to plug the screw holes in the floor.

And then there's the little issue of tracking down the leaks in the system, but that's a story for another day.

Charged Up

Battery Charger, June 2006

We'll be keeping the boat in the water, so I want the bilge pump always at the ready in case there is any serious leak. The pump runs off the house battery, so the battery needs to stay charged even while the engine is not running. With many projects ahead, I took a simple approach for this to get it out of the way quickly. I installed a very basic Guest 2611A, 10-amp, 2-bank charger that plugs into an electrical outlet. Installation is easy: connected the positive and negative leads to each battery, plug it in, and turned on the shore power. The only hard part was finding a suitable location to mount the charger. It's air cooled, relying on passage of air behind the base. As a result, it's best to mount them on a vertical surface, but horizontal will do in a pinch. In a pinch, I installed it horizontally, on the floor of the storage area behind the battery switch.

Keep The Water On The Outside, Part 1: Seacocks

Seacocks, 5/31/2006

Virtually every boat has holes in the hull. That sounds bad, but it's not. Many systems need a constant flow of seawater, so a thru-hull fitting below the waterline provides this flow via a seacock and hose. A seacock is simply a valve that protects the boat from flooding in case the hose fails. Open the valve, full water flow. Close the valve, no water.

Over time, it's fairly common for seacocks to become stuck (or "frozen") if they aren't maintained or at least operated regularly. In our case, the prior owner kept the boat on a lift, so he never closed the seacocks. As a result, our engine and head intake valves were frozen in the open position, which is not safe.

Cape Dory is known for rugged construction and quality components. Much of Cape Dory hardware, including the seacocks, came from Spartan Marine in Georgetown, Maine (the original home of Cape Dory). Sometimes, that quality has its drawback (read: "price"). I learned this very early on, when restoring these seacocks to operating condition. I briefly contemplated replacing the seacocks. Very briefly. Bronze is obviously not cheap, but the $238.00-per-seacock price tag made a repair effort seem like a great idea.

In the end, the repair work was not that difficult. While the boat was out of the water for bottom painting, I soaked and scrubbed them with CLR to remove lime deposits and WD40 to loosen them up. Eventually I was able to get them moving again, enough to suffice for the first season, and plan for more complete maintenance at next haulout. Now that the seacocks are functional, I've made it a habit to close them every time we leave the boat overnight. I sleep much better knowing that sturdy bronze fittings, rather than rubber hoses, are protecting the boat while I'm away.

Bottoms Up

Bottom Paint, Bootstripe, 5/30/2006

The prior owner kept the boat on a lift, so never had a need for bottom paint. His maintenance records show that when he acquired the boat in 1996, he had a few minor bottom blisters repaired and had an epoxy barrier coat applied. That's a great benefit and works well to prevent future blisters.

Now that the boat will be in the water 7 months each year, it needs antifouling paint to prevent marine life (barnacles, algae, etc) from growing unchecked on the hull. Bristol Marine hauled her out during our first week, and applied the paint. They also installed a new zinc anode on the propshaft and repaired some gelcoat damage along the starboard side. The repair (of course) required repainting the entire bootstripe (the blue stripe along the waterline).