Monthly Archives: September 2013

Haulout 2013, Day Five

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We got the shafts out. It took an impact wrench and a puller to drive the couplings off. 

The shafts themselves looked okay.  They’ll still go the shop and get checkedout, just to make sure.  We’re waitinguntil the new engines are in place to do that because one of the shafts mayneed to be shortened.  It turns out thatthe port strut is 2” farther from the stern tube than the starboard one is.  It hurts my head to think about what thatdoes to all my careful calculations.

We took the Max-Prop feathering propellers apart and theylooked good.  They were set for 18degrees, left rotation for the port side and right rotation for starboard.  We’ll reset them to both be 20 degrees, andleft-handed.  So no more counter-rotation.  It was just too complicated to keep, and fromwhat I’m told, no real benefit.  We’llsee.

Cleaning continues.  Unfortunately,Paul thinks he’s a lot closer to being finished than I do.  Poor guy. That’s definitely not the fun part of the job.  He can only handle it for a few hours a day.

The engine delivery is scheduled for tomorrow. 

Haulout 2013, Day Four

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Today was the first official day of the project and it got off to a great start.  Both engines were pulled out and sitting on the deck by 10am.
 
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We pulled out the thru-hulls (because those are getting changed) and got started cleaning out the engine rooms.  The cleaning is probably going to take several days.  I tried to get the shafts out, but have not been able to get the couplings off yet.  It rained all afternoon, which put a damper on the day’s overall progress.
 
I rescheduled the engine delivery because of the rain, and my doubt about being able to find a certain forklift operator on a rainy afternoon.  I also realized there wasn’t a rush to get the crane here to do the swap until the engine rooms were ready.  The new engines are better off in their crates until then.

Haulout 2013, Day Three

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Day Three was blessedly free of surprises.  Except it rained in the morning, so I couldn’t attack the deck patches first thing.  Instead, I removed the exhaust system: mufflers, exhaust ports, and about 25 feet of hose.  I’ve never wrestled a python, but I think it’s probably a lot like handling exhaust hose.
 
In the afternoon I tackled the patches.  Attempts to cleanly separate the two-inch-wide bead of 5200 on Day One failed miserably.  So today I cut out the centers of the patches, which accomplished the goal of being able to lift the engines out, and then I went about removing the remaining frames from the deck.  With the centers removed, so was much of the plywood’s strength.  A wood chisel and 2-lb hammer easily took off the frames, except for the bottom ply which was firmly attached to the deck by the 5200.
 
At this point, one of my tools paid for itself, so I’d like to take a moment to appreciate it and the large proportion of my other power tools that I used today.  Last year I sang the praises of Ben’s Festool sander, and I was prepared to go that route on the 5200, but I was really concerned about damaging the surrounding deck.  Instead I tried an oscillating multi-tool, which heretofore I’d considered a fad tool; one that looked good on TV, but solved few real problems.  It failed to cut through the caulk on Day One, but with all but one ply of wood removed, it was very effective today.  Ironically, it wasn’t the “caulk knife” blade that I found most helpful, but the dull “scraper” blade.
 
Tools I used today:  Milwaukee 12V multi-tool tool, 12V subcompact driver, and 12V jigsaw.  DeWalt 18V 3-speed drill and 18V cordless vacuum (DC515).  DeWalt 4-1/2” angle grinder.  RIDGID 5HP vacuum.
 
Tools I wanted to use, but didn’t need:  Milwaukee 12V right-angle drill and 12V digital inspection camera.  DeWalt 18V reciprocating saw and 18V circular saw.  Bosch palm router.  Craftsman rotary tool.
 
Pretty fair collection for a boat, I’d say.  And this stuff is aboard full-time.  Where do I keep it all?  Normally down in my starboard-hull workroom, but for the next couple weeks they’re living it up smack dab on the salon table.  Don’t tell Tanya.  When the wife’s away, the tools will play.
 
Of course, no list of tools can be complete without my daily drivers.  While not power tools, they make up for it in usefulness.  These would be my Leatherman Charge ALX multi-tool, and a roll of 3M 8979 duct tape.  If MacGyver were still around, that’s what he’d use.
 
P.S. Many of the tools mentioned above were gifts.  Thanks Dad.
 

Haulout 2013, Day Two

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I found a surprise when I stepped into the cockpit this morning.  The 3/8” thick tempered glass in the cockpit door had shattered.  The glass hadn’t fallen out of the door, but it had gone all pebbly.  Like a stack of rocks waiting to fall.  It was fine when I left it last night, but this morning there it was.  Add "new cockpit door" to the project list.
 
I think of all the times we’ve slammed that door.  The biggest surprise about it breaking is that it broke on its own.  I didn’t see any sign of impact.  There wasn’t any large temperature change, or even any wind.  The only thing I can think of that might have set it off is vibration from one of the nightly trains.
 
At least I had the opportunity to knock it out in such a way as to try and minimize the mess.  If you’ve never had the opportunity to clean up tempered glass, you’re missing out.  That door made about 60 pounds of little glass rocks, and I got to pick up every one.  I spent the first 2 hours of my day doing that.
 
Despite the rough start, I managed to get both engines completely disconnected and drained of oil, ready to be lifted out.  Tomorrow I’ll work on the deck patches, and we should be in good shape for Monday.

Haulout 2013, Day One

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It begins.  Take Two is now safely out of the water and in the boat yard.  Tanya and the kids are now safely in Atlanta.
 
Haulout Pit 
 
I hauled the boat on Friday to gain an extra weekend in the yard, which I’ll use to get a few steps ahead of Ben & Paul, the guys who will be doing most of the work.  My first task was heat management.  Since we’re going to be working inside the boat, it would be ideal if it weren’t as hot as an oven.  To that end I put up awnings, covered windows, and installed two portable air conditioners on deck and ducted them down a hatch.  The boat’s built-in air conditioners only work when the boat is in the water.
 
I moved all our personal items away from the engine spaces and generally got the boat in work mode.  I brought aboard all the supplies I’d been accumulating in the back of the man van and used them to redecorate the salon.  The place is decidedly more nautical now.
 
I disconnected the prop shaft couplings.  I’ve had lots of practice at this maneuver and thought it would be better if I took care of that.  My goal for the weekend is to have the engines completely disconnected and ready to lift on deck by Monday.  The new engines and generator should arrive on Monday.  When the new stuff is on the ground and the old stuff is on deck, a crane will come to swap them, hopefully on Tuesday.
 
To get the engines from their beds to the deck and back, we’ll use the a-frame and chain hoist again.  There are patches on our decks over the engines for the purpose of lifting the engines in and out.  Unfortunately the patches were put down with copious amounts of 3M 5200 and initial attempts to remove them failed.  I hope to have that remedied by Monday, but I think we’re going to have to add “new deck patches” to the project list.  Use 4200, people!