Monday, May 24, 2010

Engine runs, going in the water!

It’s been a whirlwind of activity at the boat over the last couple of weeks. The big tasks had to do with the engine. It sat idle for a couple years, maybe more. I had a few hiccups along the way. 1st I didn’t know much about alignment and how important it is in boats. So when I planned to align the engine to the shaft I was surprised/ disappointed to find that while I have 2 adjustable motor mounts on the starboard side, I have two fixed ones to port. This by itself was not a problem, but the lag bolts went into really soft wood. West systems has a series of booklets with tons of step by step instructions. Using their guidelines I potted new bolts. Basically you drill out the bad and fill it with thickened epoxy then put a bolt coated with grease in the mix. Let it cure and the next day the bolt unthreads and you’re good to go. Sounds easy, and it is, but it was time consuming. Once I had something solid to work with I needed to make new rubber mounts for the port side. Someone in the yard had a roll of ¼ fiber re-enforced rubber mat. I cut new pads and drilled out the center so the bolt would keep them from wondering off. Once all this was done aligning the engine was fairly straight forward. Then I went about replacing all the hoses for the cooling and fuel system. New exhaust hose was ran, the stand pipe was installed, new gaskets here and there. The fuel tank had gas in it but the deck cap was not in place for some time and water had to have gotten into the tank so I went about draining most of the tank, enough to be able to lift it out and down the ladder. So now I have a ¼ full tank and 3 jerry cans to take to haz-mat. During a spark plug change I found the #4 pug wire had a worn/ melted spot. Time is running out so rather than ordering a new set I found one at an auto parts store. It’s too long, but it works for now. The rest of the crucial engine wiring was gone through. All connections were cleaned or replaced and a new battery installed. Lastly an oil change adding a quart of marvel mystery oil. Not sure what it is but everyone on the A-4 sites swear by it so I’ll be a sheep and follow. So, with much maintenance out of the way I ran a temporary fuel line out to the cockpit (fuel tank still needs to be cleaned out) and into a small gas can. It was with great pleasure that the good old Atomic 4 fired up without much fuss at all! After a short period I was not satisfied with the lack of cooling water coming out of the exhaust so I shut her down. Between the all the new hoses, standpipe and exhaust hose, I expected the engine would have to run for a while to fill up the cooling passages and then the stand pipe but it was not really taking much water from the buckets. After a phone-a-friend, I removed the water pump impeller, looks ok but I’m going to replace anyways. I used a hose barb fitting to flush the engine with a garden hose. At first I only had a trickle of water coming out the exhaust end, but then a whole mess of black yuk came out. It took a while for the water to run clear. I tried to reinstall the impeller and it did take more water, but I think it could be better. So, I have a new impeller on my list of parts to pick up tomorrow. I had some trouble finding a locking nut for the stuffing box. There was no nut installed when I got the boat. Finding one was a real nightmare. The only option was to order one; it could be here in a week. (more on why that will not work in a minute). So, I stopped by Second Wave, a local marine store that sells used and consigned stuff. No luck finding a locking nut but they did have the end cup in a bin of loose bits. I purchased that for $2 and went back to the boat to cut both ends off leaving only a threaded nut. And now all is well. I also had to order a new nut and monel pins for the folding prop. That’s all installed and greased up. I had the shaft coupling faced at Seattle prop down the street, they had it ready next day. So the boat is ready to float. The engine was the big issue. If I couldn’t get it running I was going to side tie the dinghy and get someone to help maneuver her to a slip. Looks like that’s not going to be needed now. And on that note, the boat yard is pretty empty and there were lots of give-always when people were leaving. I got a new dinghy, just what I wanted! I was not looking forward to towing the 9 foot Avon around. I wanted a lighter hard dinghy that could be stored on deck, so something like 8 feet tops. The one I got is about 8 feet, has a dagger board and rudder, and outboard mount. All I need to do is rig a mast and boom and I can have a sailing dinghy too! Maybe Lilli will be able to sail it when she comes out this summer. So, the big news is the boat is going in Saturday morning. Friday morning the truck is coming to load her and bring her to the other side of the yard where the crane lives. Friday morning I’ll step the mast and secure the shrouds. I’ll get some paint on the keel where the blocking was and tidy up some loose ends. Then Saturday we’ll launch with the tide, around 8:30.I ‘m going to keep the boat at the marina in South Park until Monday, just in case something leaks and I need to haul out. But planning for the best, on Monday I’ll motor down the Duwamish to Winterhawk’s new home. I spent a lot of time trying to find some place to keep the boat without spending a pile. I thought about dropping the hook in Quartermaster Harbor on Vashon, I looked around for a private mooring ball without luck. But thanks to Google maps I found two places on the Duwamish where there are boats moored but not really in a marina. The first turned out to be a real dump. I decided to visit the second and if I didn’t have luck Elliot Bay marina had one available for $360. The second place is in a very industrial area. There are 5-6 boat houses with a couple open slips behind an industiral machinist place. I knocked on a couple doors and spoke to a nice lady. Turns out she had room for one sailboat for $150 a month. It’s a no frills place, but it’s down river of the 1st ave bridge so unless it’s a really high tide I don’t have to worry about any bridges (the Harbor Island Bridge is going to be really close if the tide is in). Best of all, its 5 minutes from the house and Alia can walk there from work. The next few days are going to be busy finishing the cooling system, installing cleats so I have something to secure dock lines too, installing the bilge pumps, some hoses, fuel tanks and prepping the mast. Can’t wait!

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