Maintenance Fun
January 31, 2000
It has been a long time since I've added to the log entries. This is mostly because what we've been up to has been pretty boring. Maintenance, upgrades, repairs, blah blah blah. This week I finally realized that if I didn't do at least one (small) project a day, we would never get the boat ready in time. So, its off to the tool bag we go...
I know we sound like a broken record, but when you couple the fact that we are less than 9 months away from "escape velocity" with our admittedly very high standards, the work just doesn't seem to end.
This month we had a visit from the diesel mechanic because the boat's transmission is making funny "clutch slipping" type noises. Verdict: none so far, but the tranny has to be pulled (not an easy task from the bowels of our boat). Next open date: February 22 (Suzy's birthday as it turns out). Worst case date for return to operation: end of April. Yup, two months. Most of that will be waiting for replacement parts, if any. We're not going anywhere for awhile. Fortunately, Suzy's presence in the chandlery, and her great reputation, gain us some extra time and consideration. If we were any joe on the dock, it might have been end of March before the mechanic could even show up to pull the beast.
Meanwhile, we've had our first big rains of the season and we've discovered a few new leaks in the deck. This happens from time to time. Remember, our boat is 21 years old. We're a little grumpy because we knew that the previous owners had performed similar repairs (they were in the log book), but we've discovered that they did a lousy job at it, so we're redoing a lot of work. The repair process is pretty simple and we're getting pretty proficient at it: stop the dripping to prevent interior damage, wait for the weather to clear, remove the offending part, clean out any old caulking, sealant, goop, if there's any rotten wood (best practices say there shouldn't be, but a lot of builders took shortcuts, hence leaks), remove it, fill with epoxy, redrill the holes, apply caulk, bolt down and relax. We can rebed a stanchion in about 2 2-hour jobs: first day is clean out and rebedding, second is for caulking and reinstallation.
Unfortunately...we're ran into a bit of a snag with the latest. Chainplates are long stainless steel straps that bolt to the hull of boat just below decklevel. They transfer the load of the mast stays to the boat, making it a structural member. The loads on the stays are pretty severe, where the windward side can be getting thousands of pounds of jerking loads as the boat bounces around under sail and the leward side is completely unloaded. When you tack, the loads are reversed. Gnarly. No wonder these things leak. It is a very bad thing for these to be attached through wood, which over time will compress and not spring back. It turns out that our boat is built in just that way. The repair process is exactly like deck hardware repair, except that the machining tolerances are a bit tighter, the thicknesses a bit bigger and everything is harder to reach. I sent some mail to Gougeon Brothers, makers of West System Epoxy for some technical advice, and got a few tips. The internet is a wonderful thing.
A few portholes needed new gaskets. That's nothing exciting, except that the way I found out about the latest was waking up to a dripping sound on my pillow. sigh. Our head (toilet) also need some drip repair and replacement of a cracked fitting.
Last night I finally finished up installing a power strip under the chart table. This will allow us to plug in various chargers and devices (for VHF handhelds, the computer, the Dremel, etc.) without hanging ugly wires and powerbricks in the cabin space.
On more positive notes, we've replaced our original 20 year old lifelines with nice brand new ones. We also reinforced and refinished the stanchions while we were at it. Miraculously, everything fit when we put it all back together. I finally finished the settee cabinet project (started in August!) by applying the Velcro strips to the seat back to hold the cushions in place. I also installed an LED night-light in the head. At long last, we have a good design for our anchor windless upgrade project, which will start when the dry weather returns. We also replaced our ancient jib furler with a new Schaefer roller furler unit. We had a lot of help from the folks in the rig shop, and installation went in fairly easily. Regrettably, we haven't taken the boat for a sail since then, so we don't know how it works, yet.
The lists go on. We're starting the process of running our financial lives via remote control. We've discovered that American Express has an online bank.
The social calendar is filling up, too. Suzy and I will be celebrating our birthdays (next month) with an overnight trip to Ano Nuevo to watch the elephant seals do their yearly thing (mating season is bizarre and wonderous). March we've got a long escapist weekend to Calistoga springs for mud baths, massages, and wine tastings. May, we're in Connecticut for a wedding.
Copyright © 2000 Ken Mayer