Following in the footsteps....

[Himilou]

So theres that other guy on here, really I think it would be fine if he wanted to come practice on my boat but it hasn't happened yet. Soo I guess I just have to start my own thread with stuff Im forced to do myself

My goal here is to make my Hunter a solid blue water boat and that means some modifications. I completely believe that the hull and rigging are more than tough enough but I believe the Hunter is lacking in some other fairly important areas. This stems from some of my personal experience but in particular from something I read in a book about heavy weather sailing.
In one part of the book the author interviews a couple who have had the bad luck to sail through not just one but two hurricanes. At some point the author asks them what they would do differently if anything and the answer was "wear motorcycle helmets"

With that in mind,
everything in the interior needs to fasten down. That ice box lid in the kitchen is a 10 pound missile. The way the current shelving in the salon is laid out there is just not enough cabinetry room to store dangerous flying items, there is also no good handhold on the salon roof ( is that even the right word ) nor are there good handholds at waist level.
Hunter definitely saved some building dollars on creating a very open central area but that is not going to work for what I desire. The big job on the list is going to be moving the top shelf that runs the length of the salon on either side in towards the center line so that basically the sliding doors will now be parallel with the mast as opposed to their current "laid back" style.

However before that happens we have to deal with the fore peak and ( grr ) the Yanmar. I have to agree with 757Captain that a 10 gallon holding tank is ridiculously dumb, Its so tiny that I have actually removed the head from the forward head and its main purpose at the moment is a hanging locker.

Not sure exactly what I'll do there yet tomorrow will play a big part. For a while now I've had mineral deposits building up in the tank. A while back I took off the fill gauge and peeked inside as best I could. Its like a mini crystal caverns in there, I was going to sell tickets but when the boat bounces around to much sometimes bits a pieces of the stalagmites break off and head for the feed line for the fresh water system, which I worked around by taking some stainless mesh and inserting it up from the main feed fitting but really I need to cut a giant hole in the tank so I can clean it out. Already have a giant inspection cover waiting for installation.

Before this project gets under way I really wanted to send some engine oil off for analysis just so I can get a feel for what needs to be done there if anything. This requires getting the oil warm so I can suck it out of the dipstick tube, which requires starting the motor. So I go to turn the A B switch and nothing happens and it feels lose. Crap the (g)west marine battery switch that was installed somewhere before my time went pop. Not in an electrical way but the plastic housing that its in is so ******* cheap that the pressure of the spring which exerts force on the contact plate managed to push through the plastic... WTF? ( mind you this is not a switch that is getting baked in the sun all day, its inside under the main berth, safely protected from the elements. )
Anyhow this was todays eventual victory and painful chore. I went to the local above mentioned marine store and got a much better replacement. Unfortunately the switch diameter was slightly smaller than the currently drilled hole. While I could have mounted it as such it would have been ugly, poor work and not bristol in any form, I really didnt want to fabricate anything, especially not for this job so I journeyed off to the Lowes and just started looking at pieces. the guy in the plumbing department ( he deserves a raise ) listened to me for a minute, broke out his tape measure, and said "A Halo will work perfectly, go to the lighting department" 5 minutes later there it is, the ring which is used to hide the hole for the cheap ceiling drop lighting so common in buildings today.
Photo time!!

How the hell this little project consumed half a day I'll never know but at least I have something to start my thread on here with!!

Also, for those of you observant enough to notice, Yes that is an actual official Yanmar service manual and today I digitized the entire thing to pdf. ( so much easier to look at your phone when laying on the floor in the main head vs the manual ) If anyone can direct me to a place to share files on this site and if there is any interest let me know.

Its amazing that I have resorted to this long diatribe to replace the beer I should be drinking since the bars are closed...

Now off to ask the 757Captain some questions.

Cheers,

 

[shemandr]

2 Hurricanes? I think I would have quit at 1.
Good luck with your project. I'll be looking forward to pics. Why don't you post a couple of before's so we can see what you are describing?

 

[sail sfbay]

Great aspiration!!!...........consider what additional upgrades you need for offshore independence and heavy weather readiness, including heavy weather blue water sails and rigging that is no more than 10 years old. Also consider upgrades such as a wind vane, solar panels, diesel or hydro generator, increased battery, water and fuel storage capacity, additional safety equipment, ................and the list goes on and on.

You might find this article entitled "What Makes a Boat Bluewater Ready?" helpful:

What Makes a Boat Bluewater Ready?

Ready to make the leap from local sailing to coastal cruising or true offshore passagemaking? Here is some expert advice on selecting and preparing both boat and crew.

www.spinsheet.com

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

You don’t need a big holding tank in an offshore boat unless you are building an offshore boat to be used only near shore.

 

[sail sfbay]

Just came across this SBO thread on sailing Hunters offshore that you find interesting. I am sure there are many more threads out there.

Hunter for the High Seas?

Ok, so you have helped us greatly in deciding on Rigging and Hull. We have decided to go with the conventional rigging and stick with the CC. We are looking at the 42 and 45 next week with a Broker in LA. We are also going to look at the Beneteau 40CC. We presently have a Hunter 29.5 that we...

forums.sailboatowners.com

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

Before this project gets under way I really wanted to send some engine oil off for analysis just so I can get a feel for what needs to be done there if anything.

Not exactly the way engine oil analysis works. You require an exact periodic analysis of the oil in which the engine hours on the oil are the same each time. Over a period of years, you monitor the oil analysis you see if any problems are developing through the appearance of metallic cast off. This is a common maintenance procedure for large utility diesels along with vibration analysis.

If you're headed out there, consider a good stock pile of replacement parts such as oil filters, belts, exhaust elbow, some electrical wire, a few terminals, etc, etc, etc. I'm sure there are lists of mechanical spares in the archives here to start you thinking. I would think an in depth inspection of the engine would be in order before casting off for the big one.

 

[Himilou]

You don’t need a big holding tank in an offshore boat unless you are building an offshore boat to be used only near shore.

Well since you broke the ice here one thought was to reinstall the forward head and make it direct to overboard, for use only when offshore. That way you avoid all the messy complications of Y valves which get stuck and such.... I have heard rumors of the coast guard getting really upset with people who still have the OB option, even when they have gone to such lengths as safety wiring the Y valve in holding tank position. Those are just rumors.

 

[Himilou]

Not exactly the way engine oil analysis works. You require an exact periodic analysis of the oil in which the engine hours on the oil are the same each time. Over a period of years, you monitor the oil analysis you see if any problems are developing through the appearance of metallic cast off. This is a common maintenance procedure for large utility diesels along with vibration analysis.

If you're headed out there, consider a good stock pile of replacement parts such as oil filters, belts, exhaust elbow, some electrical wire, a few terminals, etc, etc, etc. I'm sure there are lists of mechanical spares in the archives here to start you thinking. I would think an in depth inspection of the engine would be in order before casting off for the big one.

Now this is interesting. I thought that analysis companies kept databases or whatever of engine alloys etc and expected ppm in oil per hours run so they could tell if you had high wear from some component or not. Normally I would just go with a compression test but I can't seem to find the specs for that in the manual.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

I thought that analysis companies kept databases or whatever of engine alloys etc and expected ppm in oil per hours run so they could tell if you had high wear from some component or not

Yes, engine alloys are a known but determining what's occuring in one analysis is a real stretch of the imagination. Unless massive failure is in progress. In this case, much more evident indicators would likely be present when the engine is running.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

Normally I would just go with a compression test but I can't seem to find the specs for that in the manual.

The shop manual will give the figures for a compression test. You may be able to find one here in the archives.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Well since you broke the ice here one thought was to reinstall the forward head and make it direct to overboard, for use only when offshore. That way you avoid all the messy complications of Y valves which get stuck and such.... I have heard rumors of the coast guard getting really upset with people who still have the OB option, even when they have gone to such lengths as safety wiring the Y valve in holding tank position. Those are just rumors.

You can either disconnect the overboard line or lock a valve closing the connection to the line when within US waters - either will keep you compliant. If you head down to most Caribbean islands, you would be the only boat using a holding tank.

 

[Himilou]

Ok so today I completed a mini project that made me quite happy but the pictures suck so Im going to delay posting about that.
Instead Im going to compliment Yanmar on machining tolerances that are sooooo close that removing my starter really made me feel dumb.
Anyway house switch is fixed. Go to jump the starter at the solinoid, big spark, no turn... Crap.. but motor turns over by hand with not too much difficulty so its not seezed or hydro statically locked.
I do a voltage supply test ( not a drop test yet ) and it all looks good so I but a jumper box on the battery, give it the 50 amp assist and after a few pokes with the craftsman ( warranted so arcing is no issue ) the motor turns over very slowly, Im pretty sure that the solinoid contacts are corroded internally or that the brushes are bad in the starter.
Fortunately my Hunter was built during the "not quite everything is disposable" school of thinking. The Yanmar manual completely talks about changing brushes, using crocus cloth on the armature, etc. etc. and thus parts for this kind of rebuild work are available!! Anyway so the starter is getting removed, gone through, and spare parts will be ordered to live in that "HA I can rebuild my boat at sea" bag that I am slowly assembling.

Ohh, back to the point of this rambling. Starters are usually easy to remove, This one has two bolts and some wires, right?!! right??
So everything is undone, WD is applied, it doesnt even budge, hmm tap, tap with the hammer, no go.
Back to the manual. **** removing the starter is so simple Yanmar doesnt even document it...
More WD, How about some CRC Freeze off?( really I think this is a scam, all pressurized gases will drop in temp when the pressure is released )
More less gentle tap tap with the now metal hammer, no. Back to the manual, no.
ok **** it. Chisel and hammer and really big big taps and sqeeeeeeeek it finally separates. Looks like Yanmars tolerences are soo tight that a tiny bit of corrosion and your life is hell. Anyway starters out. Disassembly at lunch tomorrow and then off to Yanmar to see how much pain they can inflict on my wallet...


Enjoying this post? Consider contributing to my patron \ gofundme account!! ( ohh wait I dont have one of those!! )

 

[RoyS]

For your spare parts I suggest one replacement for every pump you have on board. From fuel pump to toilet pump. These can and and do fail.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

I do a voltage supply test ( not a drop test yet ) and it all looks good so I but a jumper box on the battery, give it the 50 amp assist and after a few pokes with the craftsman ( warranted so arcing is no issue ) the motor turns over very slowly,

Gotta do a volt drop on the solenoid contact first. Do the simple stuff first. High resistance is a common problem because its 100A+ but only a piddling 12V pushing it.

 

[Cruising Spirit]

That’s a heck of a lot of issues about your boat you’re putting out there in one post. I find it’s often good to create a list and go after one item at a time. Sure, you can multi task, but you might find it more organized and fruitful to address—one issue at a time.
The folk on these forums are awesome, but I think if you attempt to tap their expertise on a barrage of issues in one thread you are not assuring you’re success. I’m not trying to be mean, I’m just saying, focus it down to one thing at a time. Best wishes.

 

[sail sfbay]

In the event you need to ditch your sailboat and manage to deploy a life raft, which is not only heavy but dangerous to move around on a pitching deck and lift high to heave over the rail with everyone panicking, you might conclude that is simply too unsafe and would want it mounted either at the transom best case or closest to the cockpit. Consider mounting the life raft where it can easily kicked straight into the ocean or extracted manually if the boat is upside-down. The ideal mounting location would seem to be on the arch (with a pulpit mounting like the one shown on the rail below) or sugar scoop transom, albeit the latter does not interfere access to the stern lazarette access. This Hunter 41DS mounted one just mounted in a cradle aft of the mast. Let us know what you decide with photos as I am considering on on my Hunter 46.

This article might be helpful: Focus on liferafts: are you ready – Yachting World

 

[Himilou]

That’s a heck of a lot of issues about your boat you’re putting out there in one post. I find it’s often good to create a list and go after one item at a time. Sure, you can multi task, but you might find it more organized and fruitful to address—one issue at a time.
The folk on these forums are awesome, but I think if you attempt to tap their expertise on a barrage of issues in one thread you are not assuring you’re success. I’m not trying to be mean, I’m just saying, focus it down to one thing at a time. Best wishes.

True, I dont really use this as my "how do I thread" this is more of my social \ rant \ rave \ for your entertainment thread, though I do appreciate everyones input thus far, and feel free to offer all your opinions and suggestions. We all know that saying...

 

[Himilou]

Not much in the world of boat modification today, its work from home day until it gets too hot and I have to shut off the tech before it overheats.
Starter jumps to life with no solenoid, but I opened it to clean it and inspect the brushes. Here is is after a good cleanup.

Brushes look great but Im going to order some backups just in case, along with a new solenoid.
Napa offered to sell me a remanufactured starter for upwards of 400 dollars. I think I'll pass.

Edit here: Part of the reason for some of this work is that Not only do I want to make sure that things are in good shape, but in this case I want to know how to fix it in a pinch, and have the parts to do so if I have to. I can afford a new starter but that doesn't give me the knowledge to rebuild it in 10 foot swells offshore ( that would really be a worst case scenario BTW ).

Also this might be me subconsciously putting off the wood work because that will be something new to me....

 

[Cruising Spirit]

Hi Himilou, sorry, didn’t mean to lessen the enjoyment of your post. Rant and rave away! My only rant at the moment is the black fin tuna we caught earlier wasn’t bigger. We are eastbound south of the Florida keys aboard our Hunter 460 when he came aboard. Can’t wait till dinner anchored off Key Largo.

 

[Himilou]

Hi Himilou, sorry, didn’t mean to lessen the enjoyment of your post. Rant and rave away! My only rant at the moment is the black fin tuna we caught earlier wasn’t bigger. We are eastbound south of the Florida keys aboard our Hunter 460 when he came aboard. Can’t wait till dinner anchored off Key Largo.

I so miss Florida fish, here in the great PNW its salmon, salmon, salmon, more salmon and salmon. Now I know that you may be thinking umm delicious salmon but boy am I tired of that.
Now you made me think of Zuckerellos in Ft Lauderdale and their Ahi Tuna Sashimi...