Friday, December 17, 2010

Back too it.

Big changes around here over the last 2 weeks.
I've been heading down to the boat every few weeks, but not really doing any work on it just stopping in to admire how much work is really left.

I've been spending most of my time on home remodel projects.
But, I'll be moving the boat back to Lake Union at the end of the month. I've secured a live aboard slip back at AGC, where I was living on the old boat.
Sometimes life doesn't work out the way you planned. In that case having the boat was a nice safety net. It looks like I'll be able to watch New Years fire works from the boat this year.

Anyways, the move aboard to-do list is huge. I have parts on order, hoping they will be in today or tomorrow.
I finally found new seals for the windows. The Northwest has been getting record rain and all the weak spots in the boat are showing up. The windows were fine where I bedded the frames to the hull, but the factory seals in the frames are shot. 4 of the 8 ports leak. Bad enough to make for a really wet interior. It's bad enough that I need to remake the overhead panels as they've warped beyond repair.

Since I'll be taking the old down, I have templates witch will make for a faster install of new material. I don't plan on using the mdf, even though it is still looking new in the old boat. I'll go with a paint grade wood, like Poplar this time, just in case.

At the same time, I'm also going to add another layer of 1/4" battens over the current ones to allow for an increase in insulation to 1/2". this should help with heat and condensation further.

I've begun to mill Mahogany stock for the ceiling (not above, but along the sides of the hull). I've milled strips from reclaimed shipping pallets (pallets coming from the far east are often nice wood like Mahogany!) they are 2" by 3/16" thick and 4' long. This will work fine for most areas, but I'll need to offset some of the longer areas in the main salon for a nice finish. But, I'm really excited about this project. I love to use reclaimed goods, for the $ savings, but also because they were trash to someone and after some love with a table saw, jointer and router they will make for a beautiful new interior.

I decided on the new lights too. I'm very unimpressed with the Dr. Led's. For the cost they were garbage. So I'll give these a try: LED lights
A live aboard and long distance cruiser I met showed me how he adapted a refrigeration unit from a 110 dorm style fridge to work with his ice box so I'll be working on that soon too, seeing as I have yet to install the counter tops.
I've decided on bedding foam too: Memory Foam
The size is just about prefect. All I need to do is some cutting and sew a a cover.
depending on how much I love or hate the it I may order another to cut the sette foam as well.

The list of to-do's is pretty long. I still need to properly install the hose for the bilge pump. I was having trouble running it under the sole so it's currently running above and makes walking around a pain. I need to install a new blower motor for the bilge exhaust and run the hose, right now there is nothing.

One of the bigger projects is replacing the seals around the output shaft of the Atomic 4. They have failed and oil is leaking onto the prop shaft. As the shaft spins the oil is flung all over. The job in a aft mounted boat would be a nightmare. Might need to pull the engine, but being that the Yankee is midships I can simply undo the coupler and slide the shaft aft gaining access. I ordered the seals for under $10 from Moyer Marine, Ken is the greatest! I spent more on the tool to press the bearing than the seals and shipping combined but it should make the job faster and easier.

Well that's a brief overview of the current project, The minor projects are too numerous to list. I'll do my best to keep the site up to date. If you're in the hood, feel free to drop by.

Fair Winds,

No comments:

Post a Comment