What's the most wasteful project you worked on this winter?
- Thread starter Project_Mayhem
- Start date
My project is to get people to understand that not everyone lives up north where winter implies not sailing.
It’s a big world out there.
It’s a big world out there.
Removing dead wires from 30 years of upgrades, and I'm still not done.
A toner and tracer for telephone wiring can be a big help with that. I have two tracers - one that's unmodified and the other, has the plastic tip removed. The former is good for a broad search and the latter is good to confirm the wire and works especially well for direct contact of the copper wiring. I was able to find a single wire out of about 80 on a car's ECU within 30 seconds.
Very nice job. Maybe this doesn’t need to be said, but be careful about contamination (with that sewage so close to your fresh water intake). It doesn’t take much, even the vapors from a pumpout, especially if the fresh water cap is downwind.
My tongue was firmly in my cheek. When I first began discussing this upgrade, many of the comments were questioning why anyone would ever need to do such a thing and it would probably lead to the end of the world as we know it. [Which I personally think might be true in a positive sense.]
Thank you! This was my first time doing any significant work with plastic this soft. Good call on the potential for contamination. I didn't think about that. The water will be for the head only but I will take your advise and mount it closer to the cabin in hopes that the deck is slightly sloped closer to the edge.
My last deck plate had both water and waste ports. A previous owner had plumbed a macerator pump to discharge through the water port! The boat even came with a 18" piece of tubing that threaded into the water port. The only use I can think of for this if you happen to run into pirates ...or a super obnoxious motor boater
Sanitary wipes are your friend.edit: King Starboard doesn’t stick well, so make sure you rough up the undersides before you seal it.
Replacing my cutless bearing. When I removed my prop, I broke the rotor side of my dripless seal trying to get the shaft end coupler off. I tried to order a new rotor, but the company upgraded them and the replacement no longer matched my pressure housing side. So then I had to order a new pressure housing also. So basically my cutless bearing project cost me an entire new dripless seal.
And, while I was dropping the rudder, I saw that the bearing/spacer under the radial quadrant was broken in half. One of our esteemed SBO members is fabbing a new one for me since they are no longer available.
And, while I was dropping the rudder, I saw that the bearing/spacer under the radial quadrant was broken in half. One of our esteemed SBO members is fabbing a new one for me since they are no longer available.
BedIT to the rescue! It sticks to just about any surface
edit: King Starboard doesn’t stick well, so make sure you rough up the undersides before you seal it.
I'm sorry, but there is no way I would put the waste pump-out and tap water fills next to each other. Seems like it would have been a good time to move one of them.
My "wasteful" project was building a composting toilet to replace the chemical toilet. I've got nothing against holding tanks systems, and had a great one on my last boat, but chemical toilets just suck. This is lighter, lower in odor, and much faster to service. Doesn't freeze in the winter. It's a day sailing boat, so it doesn't get much use. Did I say that I hate chemical toilets?
I like instructions in the head, so people don't have to ask.
Since it drops into a space in the liner, the raw fiberglass does not show. The inside is gelcoated.
I like instructions in the head, so people don't have to ask.
Since it drops into a space in the liner, the raw fiberglass does not show. The inside is gelcoated.
I really hope mine is not wasteful, but the Admiral keeps asking if I really spent $3,000 to get 1/2 knot of speed?
We will see in the spring !
Cheers,
Greg
We will see in the spring !
Cheers,
Greg
Ouch! Grounds for divorce around these precincts, Greg. Well, I did spend $800 for an almost new asym spin 15 years ago that I've used twice in that time.
Compounded & waxed interior fiberglass. Clearly you can see the difference in the before and after... if not, then I wasted my time. It only took about 8 hours of slowly working, drinking coffee, taking breaks and wandering around a snow dusted empty marina.
Attachments
The water fill port is for the portable head w/MSD. As it stands now, the fill port on the head is almost the same distance to the bowl.
Last edited:
Oh many more benefits than just 1/2 knot boat speed. Better backing, superior stopping, no whirring sound of the transmission spinning as you sail.
Just tell her it’s only 3 boat units. Sounds sooooo much better than $3,000. Use the safety factor of being able to stop on a dime, it’s way more compelling LOL
Last edited:
