On the Road Again

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The kids and I have just completed the first of our haul-out road trips this year. It’s starting to feel like an annual tradition: the homeless wanderers enjoying the hospitality and generosity of friends and family.

First stop: Atlanta, Georgia, where Jay’s brother, Jeff, and his wife, Robin, live with their two boys, William and Cash, and their dog, Gidget. William, who is just a little older than Sam, had treatments for cancer when he was four, but to see him now, running around on the soccer field, happy and healthy, is simply amazing, an answer to all of our prayers. He and Sam enjoyed being roomies by night and fellow soldiers by day. A pine-cone war of epic proportions was waged in the back yard, and light-saber sword fights and nerf-gun battles raged indoors. We climbed Stone Mountain with all the kids one afternoon, and later, the big boys skate-boarded down the steep driveway, inspiring the cousins, no doubt, to acts of bravery and foolishness for years to come. As the grand finale, Uncle Jeff turned an ordinary watermelon into a cool smoothie with nothing more than a drill and bent coat hanger.

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We then drove up to north Georgia to spend a few days with my Aunt Barbara and Uncle Ivan and drove to Chickamauga see my cousin Heidi and her two boys, also home-schooled. They live on a small farm, and Sarah got to ride Beauty, Heidi’s horse, something she loves to do any chance she gets. We also spent a day driving in the mountains, hiking in Fort Mountain State Park and picking apples in an orchard in Ellijay. We had cinnamon apples on homemade waffles the next morning (yum!) and apple crisp for dessert one night.

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We enjoyed the end of the week at our good friends Steve and Ellen’s house in Mableton, to the west of Atlanta. Jay and I have known them since we were first married, and always enjoy their company. Our kids love their four boys and all the kids disappeared into their cavernous basement for hours to play Legos, Ping-Pong and air hockey. Ellen and I enjoyed catching up, lamenting that we see each other so seldom, but celebrating a friendship that exists outside of time and despite distance.

Our last stop before heading back to Florida was the Georgia Aquarium, the world’s largest aquarium, and home to whale sharks and beluga whales. The kids had a great time, as they have a real appreciation for sea creatures. I always feel a little sad in zoos and aquariums—I love to see rare animals, especially ones I am unlikely to see in their natural habitats, but hate to see them enclosed, or worse, put on display in shows to entertain humans. I know they have a place in conservation and education—people will not fight to save that which they do not love, but my freedom-loving self feels sympathy for any animal in a cage, no matter how large and comfortable.

Jay, having flown up for the day to surprise Aaron for his early-birthday outing, helped me drive back to Ft. Pierce, cutting at least two hours off of what was, on the way up, a twelve-hour day. As much as I love road trips with the kids, 8-10 hours in a car with multiple stops at restaurants and gas stations and public bathrooms, stretches my patience and endurance. I won’t be ranging that far from home again on my own for a long while.

Haulout 2013, Day Eight

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I took a break from the boat and made a day trip up to Atlanta to meet Tanya and the kids at the Georgia Aquarium.  Tanya didn’t tell the kids I was coming, so it was fun to surprise them.  We enjoyed the aquarium, then we all drove back to Ft Pierce.
 
Aquarium
 
Whale Shark 
 
On the boat, the engine rooms received a second coat of paint.  They could probably use a third, but I think we’re going to call two good enough.  Cleaning and painting these engine rooms is no fun and we’re losing Paul’s dedication to the work.  We also want to give it a couple days to let the paint harden up before putting the engines in and the clock is ticking.

Haulout 2013, Day Seven

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The generator room has received its third and final coat of paint.  When the crane comes next week, we’ll be able to put the generator straight into the boat.
 
Generator Room Painted 
 
Unfortunately, it will be far from ready to run.  Even though we had a generator in the same spot before, almost everything is being replaced.  
 
New fuel lines will be run — a supply and return hose for each of the port and starboard tanks.  That’s 200 feet of fuel hose.  The old ones are kind of sketchy looking and there are some tees that I want to get rid of.
 
The supply hoses will run to a new fuel transfer system with selection valves for three inlet ports (the third port being a loose hose for drawing from a jug).  Next is a Racor turbine fuel filter and water separator.  Then comes an electric fuel pump that runs on a twist-the-knob timer, or when the generator is in the “glow” phase of its start sequence.  After the pump are valves to send the fuel through the generator for normal operation, or bypass the generator for fuel transfer/polishing.  Finally, there will be three outlet ports – one for return hoses to each side of the boat, and one for a jug.
 
We built the first version of this arrangement for the old generator, and it saved our bacon on a couple occasions.  Think of the applications:  you run out of fuel and need to run your generator from a jug;  you have some fuel of questionable quality in a jug and you want to run it through a Racor before putting it in your tank;  you have more fuel in one tank than another and want to balance it out;  you have bad fuel in one tank and need to clean it;  you want to just run a portion of your fuel through a filter just on general principle, even if it goes back to the same tank;  you need some fuel from your tanks for cleaning, sharing, topping up filters, etc.
 
New raw water hose will be run.  The old generator had 35 feet of 1” hose from thru-hull to raw water pump.  That’s a lot of hose, and it needed an electric lift pump to help it out.  I think we’re going to move the thru-hull to reduce the hose run to 20 feet, but it really can’t get any closer.  The generator is in the bridgedeck out over the water.  We’re still undecided about the size of the hose, or whether a lift pump will be needed.  We’d like to get rid of it.  
 
New exhaust will be designed.  We used to shoot our wet exhaust out the front of our bridgedeck, but Ben said that was unladylike.  It was also kind of splashy and leaves a rust stain around the exhaust port.  Instead, the new generator will use a gas/water separator and both will be separately routed down through the bridgedeck.  The gas will be invisible of course, and without the gas pushing it, the water will be much more discreet.  The exhaust port in the front will be closed up.
 
The start battery will move from inside the salon into the generator room.  We’re adopting the same theory as I described for the engines yesterday.  The cross-charger that the generator start battery currently uses will go away, and instead will be charged by the generator’s alternator.  All three start batteries will have switches that allow them to be combined to compensate for a bad battery or alternator.
 
Of all this work, only installing the thru-hull and closing up the old exhaust port are on the list to do while we’re in the yard.  The rest can wait if it has to.
 
Engine Room First Coat 
 
Both engine rooms are now cleaned out and have a first coat of paint.  It feels like the project is hitting a lull.  Tomorrow, both engine rooms will get a second coat of paint and that’s probably it until Day 11.    

Haulout 2013, Day Six

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The new engines arrived.  We got them unloaded from the truck and put them under the boat until we’re ready for them.
 
Eggs 
 
The engines are Beta 38’s and the generator is a Beta 9kW.  Made to order in England, shipped to the distributor in North Carolina, and then shipped to me.  The Beta is best known for being a marinized Kubota engine, which is a very common engine for tractors and such.  A sailboat seems to me like a perfect application for a tractor engine.
 
Thirty-eight horsepower is the most we can practically use.  We’d need bigger props to handle more power.  While still probably underpowered by modern standards, we’re constrained for space for both the engine and the prop, so we’re just going to be happy with 38.  We should be able to get hull speed, which is all we really want.
 
New Engine 
 
The 9kW generator is more than I was really looking for.  Our old one was a 12kW and it was way overkill.  I was thinking 6kW would be about the right size.  I'd save on weight and fuel and would be able to give it a “healthy” load.  Beta’s machine met my requirements and they gave me a deal on it since I was buying engines too.  They also said that the problems associated with underloading diesel engines don’t apply to the newer, cleaner designs.
 
New Generator 
 
The Beta Marine distributor in NC has been great to work with.  They’ve spent literally hours on the phone with me, plus dozens of emails with photos and drawings going back and forth.  The Volvo dealers I called rarely called me back, and knew very little about the product.  Call me crazy, but I like to know what I’m buying, and I was having a hard time getting comfortable with the idea of another pair of Volvos.  When I called Phasor about their generators, the sales guy was downright rude when I asked some technical questions.
 
For the progress report, the generator room got two coats of paint today.  I spent much of the day rearranging and tidying up the port engine room, then it got another thorough cleaning, probably the last before it gets painted.  Tomorrow we’ll do the same for starboard, and possibly both will get a first coat.  I’d guess we’re looking at Monday to put the new engines in the boat.

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!

Fresh Horses

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In keeping with our trend of undertaking huge summer boat projects, we’ve decided it’s finally time to replace Take Two’s engines.  We’ve been playing with the idea for a long time, but there has always been one impediment or another.  It seems we’ve always been at a lack for motivation, resources, or clarity about the project.  Now all those pieces have fallen into place, and when we look at what the next few years likely hold for us, we feel like it really needs to be done.

In two weeks we’ll haul the boat out of the water.  A crane will lift the old engines out and put the two new ones and the new generator on deck.  We’ll repaint the engine rooms, refresh all the ancillary equipment, lower the new engines in and that’s it!  Right.

We’re hoping it only takes two weeks, allowing for three, but of course it will take as long as it takes.  So many things could go wrong.  We’re going to do the minimal amount of work necessary while out of the water, which is most of it.  The generator, however, will only be set in place and not hooked up.  We can do that later.

Originally I thought we’d do the project in the water, but then came to realize that being disabled at the dock during hurricane season wasn’t the best idea.  We were going to have to haul out to make some adjustment to the props anyway, and there are some other parts of the job that will be easier out of the water, so we might as well do all the work in the yard.  

We’ll necessarily be displaced from our home while it is on the hard.  Tanya would likely vacate in any case.  We liked the arrangements we made during last year’s 4-week bottom job, and have rented the same condo again.  I’ll stay in town where I can supervise the project, and hopefully get some real work done too.  Tanya will come and go from the condo, visiting friends and family.  Spice will stay aboard.

I’m very excited about this and can hardly think about anything else.  I get anxious any time the boat is out of the water, this time even moreso because of the importance of the project and the tremendous cost.  But I think it is going to be great for Take Two and for us.