Repairing Hunter 40 damage from Hurricane Matthew

[Kermit]

You change the "M" to "n" in Homey and that just sounds STRANGE....

Apparently that was you who did that. Not me. Mark is my home boy. We’re both from South Carolina. I know, I know... You were here just a few months ago. Your home isn’t here. Sadly.

 

[BigEasy]

I'll try to hit all your replies in one here - thanks for the input, guys! Sometimes it helps to bounce ideas around to find the good and bad points.
I'm back to planning out a regular marine a/c unit. Figure my needs are around 20,000 BTUs total. I could go 16 for the main salon and vee-berth, and 6 for the aft cabin, or possibly 12 and 12 with the aft unit sending air forward. So many decisions.
Mark

Mark,
Check out Marine Air's emerald series. The previous owner of my boat had an air conditioner guy install an emerald series air/heating system . It consists of one 16Kbtu compressor unit combined with a 12Kbtu air handler for the forward V berth and main salon and a 4Kbtu air handler for the aft berth. Minimizes duct runs as the air handlers are connected to the compressor with copper tubing. Of course, this system requires more amps to start up and there is more potential for leaks, and I think that it increased the complexity more than needs be. So far so good. My understanding is that the emerald series is used quite often in large power yachts and trawlers that have many rooms that need climate control.
Had I installed a system from the get go, I would have likely opted for a self contained system in the main salon along with ducts to the forward V and aft berth. Of course in your situation, if you decide to use self contained units, you're going to need 2 self contained units sized appropriately.

 

[Gunni]

I'm back to planning out a regular marine a/c unit. Figure my needs are around 20,000 BTUs total. I could go 16 for the main salon and vee-berth, and 6 for the aft cabin, or possibly 12 and 12 with the aft unit sending air forward. So many decisions!

Believe Big Easy is referring to the CruiseAire Emerald, a split-system reverse cycle A/C. I cool and heat a 41 ft boat mostly using my main 12kBTU CruiseAire reverse cycle. There is an 8k BTU for the aft cabin and the galley that we rarely use. I am currently sitting in slip in +90 Ches Bay weather and the 12k is more than adequate if I keep the aft cabin door open. It is not instant cool, but over 8 hours it equalizes the boat temp and idles back to low fan. If I had it to do over I would not install two A/C units - too much complication, wiring and plumbing. I would install a split unit and run a refrigerant line to a remote air handler. Good luck with your project.

 

[B757Captain]

I’ve been wondering where Mark’s been also? But, I understand, have to move to Vancouver for work next month. Mark, you could be the next Don Casey with your own version of this old(but now like new) boat!

Don is in a league of his own and his work represents a much broader scope than I could ever achieve. It has been suggested (no names mentioned ) by some that I should write a book about the repairs, but I think a tome describing only boat repairs would be pretty dry. I have some ideas brewing for something but I need to be much farther along before considering a task like that!

 

[B757Captain]

You change the "M" to "n" in Homey and that just sounds STRANGE....

Just don't tell my wife!

 

[Captn Scotty]

Keep adding yeast to that brew, I have this feeling you can achieve anything you set your mind to. Carry on fine sir!

 

[B757Captain]

I've been procrastinating on working on small repairs on my boat with little to no guilt … with Mark back in business now I will feel guilty buuuuuut I will most likely watch his progress and ignore my own minor projects.

Naww, don't ignore them. I learned long ago that in the boat world, the shoemaker's elves have been replaced by gremlins!

(Hat tip: Aesop Fables and Bugs Bunny cartoons)

 

[B757Captain]

Believe Big Easy is referring to the CruiseAire Emerald, a split-system reverse cycle A/C. I cool and heat a 41 ft boat mostly using my main 12kBTU CruiseAire reverse cycle. There is an 8k BTU for the aft cabin and the galley that we rarely use. I am currently sitting in slip in +90 Ches Bay weather and the 12k is more than adequate if I keep the aft cabin door open. It is not instant cool, but over 8 hours it equalizes the boat temp and idles back to low fan. If I had it to do over I would not install two A/C units - too much complication, wiring and plumbing. I would install a split unit and run a refrigerant line to a remote air handler. Good luck with your project.

I kinda like that idea, though I think that in comparing dual self-contained units vs. a split system setup you're just trading one set of complications, wiring and plumbing for another. To do either system properly they need to be designed into and installed in the boat before the interior so I'm in good shape there.

The one reason I was contemplating a dual unit system is for the possibility of cooling the sleeping quarters when at anchor. The one big unit or split systems will require a big generator to run, whereas a small unit serving the aft cabin can run on a small portable genny (or inverter for that matter).

I was overall pretty happy with the setup I had before (Flagship Marine 18.5K BTU) but it did come up a little short on the hottest days. It could keep the main cabin and vee berth cool but I never could get effective ducting to the aft cabin. Of course I had to install that system working around the old interior. Now I could probably go back with the identical unit with even better performance. There have been several really good improvements in a/c design (expansion valves replacing capillary tubes, etc.) so maybe I just need to forget the (minor) shortcomings of the old system. And always remember, KISS!! The simpler the system, the smaller the headaches.

Cheers,

Mark

 

[B757Captain]

Greetings gents!

I am back at home, in body as well as spirit - though due to severe jet lag my biorhythms are still somewhere over the Pacific Ocean! It didn't help that after arriving in Atlanta a routine squall line passed over and Delta's entire operation melted down. My connecting flight was delayed 8 (!!) times before finally departing 7 hours late. You would think it was the first time ever it rained in Atlanta! Rant over

So, after some well needed rest, some long overdue hometime catch-up and the ritual opening of and drooling over the big pile of boxes of goodies that had accumulated in my absence, I got out to the marina:

Honey, I'm home!

She looks good after 6 months away, a little dirty but not as bad as I had expected. So, to the plan while I'm here. Not necessarily in any order:

1st, some cleanup and a search for all the necessary tools, parts and pieces I put away (and then subsequently forgot where they were put!).

2nd, build the cabinet for the new fridge:

It's an Isotherm Cruise 130. Gives me over twice the capacity versus what I had before and uses less power! There's a lot to be said for ten years of product improvement! After getting the fridge on board I set it on the old freezer's platform to check for fit. Still some tweaking to go.

3rd, build the bulkhead where the electrics will go and build the port settee and battery boxes:

All that will go here. I can't finish this bulkhead until everything is in place and I need this corner to be roughed in before starting to run the conduit, wiring, plumbing, etc., since this area is sort of a junction for a lot of the boat systems. I'll also start patterning the water tanks under the floor here.

4th, I'm going to provide beers to one of the yard techs here and get some opinions on how to increase the volume of the anchor locker (inside structure shown here):

Now that I've decreased the weight forward by relocating the water tank I can put some of that weight back in the form of upgraded ground tackle. However, the factory anchor locker really isn't big enough to accommodate my plans. I probably won't start on this while I'm here this time but I can start the plan for next time.

Finally, tear into and find that annoying rattle/random banging in the rear suspension on the Vette!

Stay tuned!

Cheers,

Mark

 

[Kermit]

I love the way you numbered everything that isn’t in order, in order. Welcome home!

 

[kloudie1]

Mark, didn't know if you'd seen Claude Auger's mod to the lanchor locker on his H-34.. The anchor locker is similar to the one on the H-40.. Check out the attachment in post #4 :
https://forums.sailboatowners.com/i....170258/&highlight=Anchor locker Claude Auger

 

[Gunni]

I would rebuild that anchor locker so that it extended to the bottom of the stem. Make it a full bow compartment and glass it in real strong and watertight - it becomes a seaworthy crash compartment.

 

[LeslieTroyer]

I’d caution a little more restraint on the locker than @Gunni. The bottom should be 4-6” above the waterline so it drains offboard rather than in the bilge.

Les

 

[B757Captain]

I love the way you numbered everything that isn’t in order, in order. Welcome home!

Ahh, but there is a method to my madness! Follow my actual build sequence compared to the list order and you will discover my PIN number

 

[B757Captain]

Thanks guys for the suggestions about the anchor locker. I'm not sure yet which way is the best way to go, ergo buying beers for a second opinion. I don't know if deepening the secondary well like Claude did will give me enough extra space. I had been leaning more towards glassing in a bulkhead and isolating the anchor locker, though not taking it all the way to the stem, rather stopping at the liner. I do like the way Claude secured his windlass - I am intending to relocate mine though I have not decided where the best place for it is.

Cheers,

Mark

 

[B757Captain]

Turning red oak into bananas:

The first area I've been working on is the port settee, battery boxes and electrics bulkhead. So I pulled the old bulkhead out of the pile, did a test fit and patterned it for the new bulkhead. A little trimming here and there and here it is clamped into place:

Since this whole area ties together eventually I needed to mock up the settee location and check the batteries for fit:

The prior location of the thru-hulls for the head had prevented getting all the house batteries together - I had to make two compartments of two batteries. Now with the thru-hulls moved they all fit! So now to disassemble everything and press on - and that's where the setback (in the title) happened!

Last year I went on a quest to find red oak lumber for trim and corner pieces. I finally found a place that sold unfinished 2 x 10 or bigger pieces. I had been working off that stash to make the corners but I was down to my last board. This piece has been sitting in my garage for close to a year so it should be dry and fairly stable, right? I had no problem with the other pieces I cut, but this particular board gave me fits as I was cutting it down. As it's going through the saw the saw is bogging down, to the point of actually stopping the blade! Hmm, time to back off and scratch head. I tried flipping the board over, going at it from the other end, replacing the blade thinking it might be getting dull, but no matter what this board just isn't cooperating! I finally got several 1 1/2" square pieces cut but I noticed that they all were twisted and warped after cutting, even thought the original plank was straight. AKA, red oak banana pretzels.

After some head-scratching and a consult with my neighbor (who knows more about wood than me), we determined that the board just had some internal stresses that were released when it was cut. End result: no usable pieces. The day before a holiday. And me on a deadline for returning to work next week. And nobody in the area has any red oak that fits my need. Bummer.

So it's on to plan B: I have plenty of 3/4 x 6 finished planks, so what if I glue a few together? I was worried about the seam because these are going to be finish pieces but I figured I would try. I cut some 1 1/2" strips, glued them and made up a test piece. Turns out the seam is not the issue - it's the grain pattern difference between the the two pieces. After some clear-coat, this was the result:

I'm ok with it so I pressed on and made up some more pieces, but that's for the next installment. Until then,

Cheers,

Mark

 

[Captmayhem]

red oak is funky like that, I once made a bathroom vanity that looked just like that. You have to cut and then keep the wood in the same orientation to avoid that.

 

[heart of gold]

Monumental project and great work. Kudos. Excuse me if this has been covered. I was wondering if you had scoped out the chain plates. On the 34, they are 3 in mild steel angle iron buried in the liner. I've read that some of these have failed and the rig came down. I scope mine from time to time to see how rusty they are getting, which I need to do again soon.

 

[B757Captain]

Typhoon Jebi:

Greetings from the good ol' USA!

I'm back for (just short of) two weeks for some well deserved - and needed! - R&R. I was just preoccupied enough while in Japan this last time that I didn't have the time or energy to update the work I managed to get done last time. I'll correct that and get back up to speed in the next few days.

Good news: All the training, kabuki and otherwise mundane stuff that has monopolized my time for the last 18 months is now over. All initial checks for the Japanese license have been completed successfully (and in the first go, which only happens about half the time for foreigners) so I can relax a little. At least until recurrent training, that is!

So what about the typhoon? Well, it seems the Japanese FAA - hereinafter referred to as the JCAB - really likes plans and schedules. For everything. I mean everything - probably including bathroom breaks, but I didn't ask. So the final requirement is a route check. No big deal anywhere else, just a check that the guy up front can conduct a normal flight in a safe manner. In Japan, um, not so fast there cowboy. The check here must be conducted by an official from the JCAB, must incorporate certain sets of criteria (including specific destinations), a thorough oral examination, and most importantly, it has to be scheduled well in advance. And if anything disrupts the plan, tough. Apply again and get in line.

So, my route check was scheduled for Sept. 4. Looks ok, I even booked my flight home for the 5th. Then, a week before, the long-range forecast started to look rather disturbing. Stay calm I told myself. The next few days didn't improve and now it looks like I will have a typhoon upsetting my apple cart. Possible flight cancellations. After long discussions with the bosses, the dispatchers, the weather guys, etc., and a day more of weather watching, Mr. Typhoon is going to miss Tokyo, miss Saga (the destination required by the JCAB) but will hit somewhere in the Osaka area. Strong tropical storm strength. Ok, no problem, I've been dealing with typhoons, hurricanes and cyclones for most of my career. At that strength you can usually fly over most of it, and the worst of the winds are pretty localized. Plus this one is supposed to move pretty fast once it hits land so at worst maybe a few hours delay on the return and we're good. So the day before, that's the plan, the JCAB inspector (surprisingly) agreed, and we are still on schedule.

Sept. 4. Morning (Cue the theme to Top Gun): Everybody is in position, weather checked, JCAB guy is there, dispatchers have a route planned - a little more westerly than the usual route to avoid the nasty blobs, and a small delay built into the departure to allow for the gymnastics required for the route check, and off we go. Not too bad on departure, just a little windy and bumpy. Thirty minutes or so into the flight things start to, um, deteriorate. As I'm monitoring the radar, the typhoon is not looking the way we expected. Turns out that as it approached landfall it slowed down ever so slightly and strengthened, then after making landfall it briefly stalled, grew like crazy and became the strongest typhoon to hit Japan in 25 years. And I'm the dummy who signed for the jet (and have a JCAB inspector watching my every move sitting in the cockpit) trying to salvage things as the plan falls apart!

To make a long story short - or at least shorter than the actual ordeal - we wind up halfway over the Sea of Japan (about 100 or so miles off course) trying to dodge nasty things on the radar that are building and changing so fast it looks like popcorn popping, eventually get past everything with only a few jolts, and land in Saga. Halfway through.

Umm, nope!

Sitting on the ground in Saga I get a good look at the new, new updated weather. About this time Kansai Airport (Osaka) closes due to flooding. As in, the runways and terminal are under water. No longer suitable for an enroute alternate. Winds at Hiroshima restrict it to one runway and it's below landing minimums for the approach. Can't go there. Nagoya winds reported as 80kts, gusting to 99kts. Cant go there. Hanaeda airport (Tokyo) winds are beyond the airplane's crosswind limits. Can't go there. Narita is still usable but forecast to be iffy at our time of arrival. And . . . the typhoon is now moving again and expected to head north again. Right in the path of any airport I can use as a divert field north of Tokyo. So, Sendai - can't go there. Only option is Sapporo and the window there before the typhoon hits it is narrowing.

So discretion being the better part of valor, I hitch up my pants, put on the Captain hat, and chicken out! Not really, the only real decision is to cancel and try again later. So we packed up and headed to the hotel and finished up the next day. The funniest moment is afterward, during the oral, as part of the question "How did you feel about the flight?" the inspector, who is a really nice guy, asks my how much typhoon experience I have. So I proceed to list all the cyclones (Indian Ocean), typhoons (China, SE Asia, and Pacific), and hurricanes (Carribean and East Coast) I've battled. He seems suitably impressed. Then I tell him about Matthew and pull up some pics of the boat and the marina. His jaw hits the ground and the oral exam becomes a recap of the boat project. Good way to pass an oral!

Ok, I've rambled enough. Off to the boat!

Cheers,

Mark

 

[BlowMeAway]

Sept. 4. Morning (Cue the theme to Top Gun)

Awesome recount Mark. Had me on the edge of my seat.

Edit: ...and Congratulations Captain.