The thermometer indicates that snow might be heading over the horizon and for much of the world, boating season is near.
This is prime time for commissioning projects -- what's on your agenda for this year?
Upcoming commissioning projects?
- Thread starter Phil Herring
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The thermometer indicates that snow might be heading over the horizon and for much of the world, boating season is near.
This is prime time for commissioning projects -- what's on your agenda for this year?
Everything. That is part of the trouble.
This year will be Dragonfly's maiden voyage. After I get the CB painted and back in, I'm putting the bow numbers on and going sailing. Then it's repair the rudder, make new cushions, replace at least one stay and the halyard cable, tear out the old wall vinyl and replace with either paint or wood paneling and cubby shelves. Build: a transom arch, a yuloh, cockpit table, bimini, dodger, bow pulpit, mast raising system. install electric, solar charger, electric aux., build a storage box for the stern bench seat, add a satnav station and compass, install some access ports in the bunks and benches to improve storage and lower weight distribution, paint the bottom and, finally, give Dragonfly a new look.
This will all be done over time with, I hope, lots of sailing in between.
-Will (Dragonfly)
This year will be Dragonfly's maiden voyage. After I get the CB painted and back in, I'm putting the bow numbers on and going sailing. Then it's repair the rudder, make new cushions, replace at least one stay and the halyard cable, tear out the old wall vinyl and replace with either paint or wood paneling and cubby shelves. Build: a transom arch, a yuloh, cockpit table, bimini, dodger, bow pulpit, mast raising system. install electric, solar charger, electric aux., build a storage box for the stern bench seat, add a satnav station and compass, install some access ports in the bunks and benches to improve storage and lower weight distribution, paint the bottom and, finally, give Dragonfly a new look.
This will all be done over time with, I hope, lots of sailing in between.
-Will (Dragonfly)
It's interesting how where one lives affects their perspective of others.
We had snow here today. I went sailing from Tuesday to Thursday. Cold as heck overnight. Tolerable during the day. Sleet and 22kt wind coming back. Everythings looking pretty good except running the remote mike. I hate pulling wires through the boat but the radio is at the navagators station.
Finish up two late projects. 1) strip and revarnish the teak and holly floors and 2) complete rewire from engine gauges to engine, new gauges, new wire, new connectors.
Les
Les
Seldom buy from WM, but their brand ablative CPP holds up well over the years; 2011 last time to do the bottom. Missed their add sale on CPP (two for the price of one) so I cried to them about missing the add they mailed; would they please honor it? At first they said no, so would you please talk to the store manager and see whether he will extend the add sale to this bleeding heart?
They called back and said they would. Saved a bundle, regular list $139.99/gallon, two for the price of one. Bought four gallons. Need to haul the boat, hull prep, light sand, two coats of ablative, polish bright work, two new shaft zincs. Also time to replace the stuffing box packing while out of the water; what a chore. Wash the top side and replace the double line furler line with the new turning block. Then time to splash Belle-Vie, she is ready for another frolicking season of cruising PNW waters.
They called back and said they would. Saved a bundle, regular list $139.99/gallon, two for the price of one. Bought four gallons. Need to haul the boat, hull prep, light sand, two coats of ablative, polish bright work, two new shaft zincs. Also time to replace the stuffing box packing while out of the water; what a chore. Wash the top side and replace the double line furler line with the new turning block. Then time to splash Belle-Vie, she is ready for another frolicking season of cruising PNW waters.
I always have at least a dozen commissioning tasks, but I break them into three groups
1. NEED to be done before splashing
2. NICE to be done before splashing
3. Done just as easily after splashing
1 and 2 are the true commissioning tasks. For BlueJ it’s:
Coat of VC17 for the bottom.
Add sheave, mast exit for 2nd spin halyard.
Replace mainsheet sheave
Replace backstay flicker
Replace spreader tips
1. NEED to be done before splashing
2. NICE to be done before splashing
3. Done just as easily after splashing
1 and 2 are the true commissioning tasks. For BlueJ it’s:
Coat of VC17 for the bottom.
Add sheave, mast exit for 2nd spin halyard.
Replace mainsheet sheave
Replace backstay flicker
Replace spreader tips
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All the boats to work on before splash I am committed to. Thank goodness that darn copper head which was big did not attach itself to the trailer last sunday for a trip home coming from S. C.
Seasons are reversed here. Mid June generally marks the end of our sailing season, followed by the "Hundred Days of Hell".
Wifey got the toe rails newly varnished, with just a bit of dog fur embedded.
Not really a commissioning task, but did you ever get that feeling of apprehension before a big hole or two gets put in your boat? The PO had some butt ugly-speakers mounted there, and I'm going to put a couple flush-mounted ones there in their stead.
Still want to do some stopgap stitching on the fore sails' sacrificial covers, and the bottom needs a real cleaning...
Not really a commissioning task, but did you ever get that feeling of apprehension before a big hole or two gets put in your boat? The PO had some butt ugly-speakers mounted there, and I'm going to put a couple flush-mounted ones there in their stead.
Still want to do some stopgap stitching on the fore sails' sacrificial covers, and the bottom needs a real cleaning...
Well, not on Dragonfly
.Except for the CB.
I am working on starting a new business, Earthshaking Creations LLC.
It's a multi faceted enterprise centered around my wife's and my artistic and agricultural talents with a little hospitality and adventure travel thrown in. https://m.facebook.com/earthshakingcreations/
most everything is under the snow, boating related. - Will (Dragonfly)
Hey Will, do you have a web page? I am not a fan of facebook, and do not use it.Well, not on Dragonfly
Except for the CB.
I am working on starting a new business, Earthshaking Creations LLC.
It's a multi faceted enterprise centered around my wife's and my artistic and agricultural talents with a little hospitality and adventure travel thrown in. https://m.facebook.com/earthshakingcreations/
View attachment 147985 most everything is under the snow, boating related.
- Will (Dragonfly)
It is in the works. I don't use Facebook either. That is my daughter's domain.
- Will (Dragonfly)
OK I don’t want to sound too paranoid but is this a form of data mining that will be used later to influence our decision? Yep, I’m too paranoid... carry on
Spring recommissioning do-list:
Pre-launch:
Check all your through-hulls and seacocks for signs of corrosion or other failure, lubricate and re-bed as necessary. Check all below-waterline hose connections and replace any cracked or broken fittings or corroded hose clamps. (And don't limit this exercise to your sanitation system!)
Faulty or failed electrical wiring or connections are the leading cause of boat fires. So check all your wiring and electrical connections...and your fuel lines and connections. Charge your batteries and make sure everything works…replace fuses as necessary...replace any frayed or corroded wiring or switches...any hoses that show signs of chafe. Go over every inch of your boat with a fine-toothed comb.
Bedding compound is a lot cheaper than replacing a waterstained headliner or repairing rotted fiberglass! So check all your deck hardware—rail stanchions, cleats, winches, etc—for signs that bedding is failing, and rebed as necessary.
If you haven’t done it in at least two years, change every impeller—in the electric toilet, the macerator, the engine intakes--on the boat, even if it looks fine. Each time an impeller pump starts up, it runs dry at least briefly which wears down the edges of the vanes. Unless it’s run dry long enough to really fry it, you can’t see the wear, and there’s only about the width of a human hair between an impeller that still fits tightly enough in the housing to pump water and one that doesn’t. Impellers also dry out over the winter and become hard and brittle...they're more prone to failure in the spring than any other time. And a hard dry impeller can score the housing, requiring its replacement too.
If you have access to water, now's a great time while the boat's out of the water and can really dry them out to really clean your bilge, sumps and chain locker. You won't smell them now, but there are a lot of odor-causing “critters” growing in all those places, just waiting to multiply and stink when the weather gets warm.
Manual toilets: If you haven't rebuilt your toilet in at least 5 years, now's the time to do it, while it's clean and dry (If it's a Jabsco, replacing the pump is a lot easier and costs very little more than their "service kit"). Preventive maintenance--new seals, gaskets, valves, etc--reduces the odds of having to make repairs by 99%. Whether you rebuild or not, replace the joker valve. If you didn’t do it in the fall, lubricate your manual toilet: open the pump and give it a liberal slathering with the same thick Teflon or silicon grease (I recommend Superlube, available from Ace Hardware) that was in it when it left the factory. Not only will it keep your toilet pumping smoothly for a full season, but it will protect the seals and pump housing from grit and dirt. Use the same grease to lubricate y-valves, seacocks, winches—anything that spends a lot of time being wet.
Check all vent lines--on fuel, water and holding tanks--for obstructions (dirt daubers love to build nests in thru-hulls) and clean them out if necessary. Pressure test your holding tank for leaks. Check hoses for odor permeation and replace if necessary--it's a much more pleasant job in cool weather and when the system is clean and dry--than in hot when they're full of sewage. Clean or replace air valves in vented loops.
Post launch:
Test your toilet to make sure it's working correctly. Especially in electric toilets, things have a way dying over the winter. The time to find out is before you stock the fridge and take your boss or in-laws out for the first spring cruise! Flush all the antifreeze out of the system with fresh water...but don't add any treatment to the tank until you're ready to use it. Flush that down the toilet with the first "real" flush.
Don't forget the fresh water system!
Recommission the system according to the directions in the “Fresh Water Maintenance” article I've posted here several times. If you have my book, it's a section of the chapter “Common Problems and Solutions.”
Peggie
"If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't completely understand it yourself." --Albert Einstein
Pre-launch:
Check all your through-hulls and seacocks for signs of corrosion or other failure, lubricate and re-bed as necessary. Check all below-waterline hose connections and replace any cracked or broken fittings or corroded hose clamps. (And don't limit this exercise to your sanitation system!)
Faulty or failed electrical wiring or connections are the leading cause of boat fires. So check all your wiring and electrical connections...and your fuel lines and connections. Charge your batteries and make sure everything works…replace fuses as necessary...replace any frayed or corroded wiring or switches...any hoses that show signs of chafe. Go over every inch of your boat with a fine-toothed comb.
Bedding compound is a lot cheaper than replacing a waterstained headliner or repairing rotted fiberglass! So check all your deck hardware—rail stanchions, cleats, winches, etc—for signs that bedding is failing, and rebed as necessary.
If you haven’t done it in at least two years, change every impeller—in the electric toilet, the macerator, the engine intakes--on the boat, even if it looks fine. Each time an impeller pump starts up, it runs dry at least briefly which wears down the edges of the vanes. Unless it’s run dry long enough to really fry it, you can’t see the wear, and there’s only about the width of a human hair between an impeller that still fits tightly enough in the housing to pump water and one that doesn’t. Impellers also dry out over the winter and become hard and brittle...they're more prone to failure in the spring than any other time. And a hard dry impeller can score the housing, requiring its replacement too.
If you have access to water, now's a great time while the boat's out of the water and can really dry them out to really clean your bilge, sumps and chain locker. You won't smell them now, but there are a lot of odor-causing “critters” growing in all those places, just waiting to multiply and stink when the weather gets warm.
Manual toilets: If you haven't rebuilt your toilet in at least 5 years, now's the time to do it, while it's clean and dry (If it's a Jabsco, replacing the pump is a lot easier and costs very little more than their "service kit"). Preventive maintenance--new seals, gaskets, valves, etc--reduces the odds of having to make repairs by 99%. Whether you rebuild or not, replace the joker valve. If you didn’t do it in the fall, lubricate your manual toilet: open the pump and give it a liberal slathering with the same thick Teflon or silicon grease (I recommend Superlube, available from Ace Hardware) that was in it when it left the factory. Not only will it keep your toilet pumping smoothly for a full season, but it will protect the seals and pump housing from grit and dirt. Use the same grease to lubricate y-valves, seacocks, winches—anything that spends a lot of time being wet.
Check all vent lines--on fuel, water and holding tanks--for obstructions (dirt daubers love to build nests in thru-hulls) and clean them out if necessary. Pressure test your holding tank for leaks. Check hoses for odor permeation and replace if necessary--it's a much more pleasant job in cool weather and when the system is clean and dry--than in hot when they're full of sewage. Clean or replace air valves in vented loops.
Post launch:
Test your toilet to make sure it's working correctly. Especially in electric toilets, things have a way dying over the winter. The time to find out is before you stock the fridge and take your boss or in-laws out for the first spring cruise! Flush all the antifreeze out of the system with fresh water...but don't add any treatment to the tank until you're ready to use it. Flush that down the toilet with the first "real" flush.
Don't forget the fresh water system!
Recommission the system according to the directions in the “Fresh Water Maintenance” article I've posted here several times. If you have my book, it's a section of the chapter “Common Problems and Solutions.”
Peggie
"If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't completely understand it yourself." --Albert Einstein