Why is working on your boat like back country skiing? Aside from being expensive and omething you usually do in the winter, that is.
Well, if you ski past that avalanche warning signs to the top of a steep slope and start rolling snowballs down the hill, it will be sort of like my past couple of days.
It started as a quick job to peel away the bedding compound smeared around in the mast step (deck stepped) by the PO to keep rain water from running down the support column and wire conduit. I need to snake in the wires for the new radar and wanted to put the new bedding compound in on sound clean surfaces instead of counting on it sticking to the 20 year old stuff.
So, how did this 20 minute job go?
Once I got all the black gobs out of the way, I could see enough to realize that I could use a hole saw to drill a larger hole and pass the connectors so avoiding the need to attach new ones with attendant risk of mistake or moisture leaving the radar inoperative until the stick could be pulled again. I also discovered that some of the screws holding the step on were loose.
Pulled the bolts to the support column and removed the screws. The screws I could pretty much take out with my fingers. Located the center of the column with the bolt holes and found out that it's 1/2" off center in typical Endeavour fashion. Drilled four holes in piece of plywood to match bolt holes and then drilled hole with hole saw. Bolted this to mast step as guide for the hole saw since pre-existing access hole in step meant I was only drilling half a hole without any metal for the drill pilot. Drilled out mast step.
Temporarily reinstalled mast step and used it as jig and hole saw guide to drill down through fiberglass and 3/8" aluminum plate bonded into layup (Nice touch that instead of plywood). Used rotary rasp bit in drill to enlarge hole in support column top plate. Hole was sized to fit length of PVC plastic cut from a drain tail piece. This will make a raised coaming inside the mast so I won't have to seal up the wire penetration. Went off to hardware store to buy tailpiece. Wire brushed and cleaned up mast step. That was yesterday afternoon which started out as something to do in the half hour before lunch.
Took the cables for the Garmin radome down to the boat this morning and discovered that I could fish the connectors easily enough down through the column that I decided to use unbroken wire lengths from radome to display this year at least. It's less critical with the Garmin's on-board signal processing and digital cable but time will be short when I launch and I don't want to have any in mast problems.
However, the hole in the base of the column had a nasty drill burr on the inside edge that left long peels of plastic insulation when I pulled out the wires. No way to get at it. It was also clear that fishing the connectors through was going to be very hard with the light wiring and VHF coax in the small hole. The fine line between reason and insanity is so easily crossed.
Took a hammer and knocked the semi removable cabin sole section up and out. Took out the lag bolts into the bilge bottom. Inserted a car jack under the sole. Went out and rummaged around the junk piles on the wharf with a saw to scavenge a 2 x 4. Jacked up the cabin top with alarming creeks and pops just enough to bang the bottom of the column sideways with a hammer and drag the top sideways. That little tear in the headliner will remind me that I learned to duct tape up the path for the support flange just a little too late. Painted the deck section around the mast step.
My cabin, which I had already cleaned and stood back thinking, "Wow, I'm ready to start bringing stuff back on board.", now looked like this.
Man handled the stainless steel column down the ladder and over to the machine shop and welder handy on the wharf (I have got the GREATEST place to work on a boat.). Milled the access hole in the bottom slightly larger and drilled a second hole in the side for the VHF and light wiring. Cost, $0.00. Took the column back and used the rotary rasp to clean up the insides of all the wiring holes nice and smooth and polished up the column.
Took a break to buy new coax and new wiring (old wiring was not tinned and coax was old). Hauled the stanchion back up the ladder and put it back in place. Lagged down the bottom with bedding compound in the bolt holes to keep water out of the encapsulated ballast.
Put bedding compound on the bottom of the mast step and set in place.
Inserted the bolts in the top plate and held them up with duct tape. Went up and started the nuts leaving a wrench wedged in the step so the bolts (machine screws actually) could be turned home from the bottom. A half dozen trips up and down for each bolt, four bolts, a few more trips plus another run down the ladder to find a string to check the centerline alignment, you do the math.
Bedded and epoxied the PVC tube wire way and coaming in place. Then filled holes and spaces in step with left epoxy putty stick. Mixed up epoxy resin and poured into remaining spaces and painted inside of step with what was left over. It should be very tight.
Took lucky quarter that came with the boat and dropped it carefully into the wet epoxy. It won't get lost now.
Oh yes, just before putting the mast column back in, I realized that I never again would have such easy access the infuriatingly slow shower drain. Pulled out the plastic thru hull fitting and bronze elbow with nipple. Found it plugged with 30 year old PO hair and debris. Back to Hamilton, bought larger thru hull, Used rotary rasp to enlarge hole to save going home for hole saws. Installed thru hull. Off to Maine Hardware to buy new drain hose for both sink and shower. Drains will now be separate instead of having the clog prone Tee and the hose will run straight off the shower drain so a flexible snake can be run down it if necessary. No fittings now in the runs to the bilge sump. Installed hose somewhere in the above sequence.
Just a day in the life. There's a saying I like to the effect that the last 10% if the job always takes the other 90% of the time. This snowball was way, way bigger than that by the time it got to the bottom of the hill though. Tomorrow, I'll go run the VHF and light wiring up in a heat shrinked bundle and I'll be back where I was at 11:30 yesterday.
(I know this is pretty long but, every once in a while, someone has to let the new sailboat owners know what they are getting into.)
Well, if you ski past that avalanche warning signs to the top of a steep slope and start rolling snowballs down the hill, it will be sort of like my past couple of days.
It started as a quick job to peel away the bedding compound smeared around in the mast step (deck stepped) by the PO to keep rain water from running down the support column and wire conduit. I need to snake in the wires for the new radar and wanted to put the new bedding compound in on sound clean surfaces instead of counting on it sticking to the 20 year old stuff.
So, how did this 20 minute job go?
Once I got all the black gobs out of the way, I could see enough to realize that I could use a hole saw to drill a larger hole and pass the connectors so avoiding the need to attach new ones with attendant risk of mistake or moisture leaving the radar inoperative until the stick could be pulled again. I also discovered that some of the screws holding the step on were loose.
Pulled the bolts to the support column and removed the screws. The screws I could pretty much take out with my fingers. Located the center of the column with the bolt holes and found out that it's 1/2" off center in typical Endeavour fashion. Drilled four holes in piece of plywood to match bolt holes and then drilled hole with hole saw. Bolted this to mast step as guide for the hole saw since pre-existing access hole in step meant I was only drilling half a hole without any metal for the drill pilot. Drilled out mast step.
Temporarily reinstalled mast step and used it as jig and hole saw guide to drill down through fiberglass and 3/8" aluminum plate bonded into layup (Nice touch that instead of plywood). Used rotary rasp bit in drill to enlarge hole in support column top plate. Hole was sized to fit length of PVC plastic cut from a drain tail piece. This will make a raised coaming inside the mast so I won't have to seal up the wire penetration. Went off to hardware store to buy tailpiece. Wire brushed and cleaned up mast step. That was yesterday afternoon which started out as something to do in the half hour before lunch.
Took the cables for the Garmin radome down to the boat this morning and discovered that I could fish the connectors easily enough down through the column that I decided to use unbroken wire lengths from radome to display this year at least. It's less critical with the Garmin's on-board signal processing and digital cable but time will be short when I launch and I don't want to have any in mast problems.
However, the hole in the base of the column had a nasty drill burr on the inside edge that left long peels of plastic insulation when I pulled out the wires. No way to get at it. It was also clear that fishing the connectors through was going to be very hard with the light wiring and VHF coax in the small hole. The fine line between reason and insanity is so easily crossed.
Took a hammer and knocked the semi removable cabin sole section up and out. Took out the lag bolts into the bilge bottom. Inserted a car jack under the sole. Went out and rummaged around the junk piles on the wharf with a saw to scavenge a 2 x 4. Jacked up the cabin top with alarming creeks and pops just enough to bang the bottom of the column sideways with a hammer and drag the top sideways. That little tear in the headliner will remind me that I learned to duct tape up the path for the support flange just a little too late. Painted the deck section around the mast step.
My cabin, which I had already cleaned and stood back thinking, "Wow, I'm ready to start bringing stuff back on board.", now looked like this.
Man handled the stainless steel column down the ladder and over to the machine shop and welder handy on the wharf (I have got the GREATEST place to work on a boat.). Milled the access hole in the bottom slightly larger and drilled a second hole in the side for the VHF and light wiring. Cost, $0.00. Took the column back and used the rotary rasp to clean up the insides of all the wiring holes nice and smooth and polished up the column.
Took a break to buy new coax and new wiring (old wiring was not tinned and coax was old). Hauled the stanchion back up the ladder and put it back in place. Lagged down the bottom with bedding compound in the bolt holes to keep water out of the encapsulated ballast.
Put bedding compound on the bottom of the mast step and set in place.
Inserted the bolts in the top plate and held them up with duct tape. Went up and started the nuts leaving a wrench wedged in the step so the bolts (machine screws actually) could be turned home from the bottom. A half dozen trips up and down for each bolt, four bolts, a few more trips plus another run down the ladder to find a string to check the centerline alignment, you do the math.
Bedded and epoxied the PVC tube wire way and coaming in place. Then filled holes and spaces in step with left epoxy putty stick. Mixed up epoxy resin and poured into remaining spaces and painted inside of step with what was left over. It should be very tight.
Took lucky quarter that came with the boat and dropped it carefully into the wet epoxy. It won't get lost now.
Oh yes, just before putting the mast column back in, I realized that I never again would have such easy access the infuriatingly slow shower drain. Pulled out the plastic thru hull fitting and bronze elbow with nipple. Found it plugged with 30 year old PO hair and debris. Back to Hamilton, bought larger thru hull, Used rotary rasp to enlarge hole to save going home for hole saws. Installed thru hull. Off to Maine Hardware to buy new drain hose for both sink and shower. Drains will now be separate instead of having the clog prone Tee and the hose will run straight off the shower drain so a flexible snake can be run down it if necessary. No fittings now in the runs to the bilge sump. Installed hose somewhere in the above sequence.
Just a day in the life. There's a saying I like to the effect that the last 10% if the job always takes the other 90% of the time. This snowball was way, way bigger than that by the time it got to the bottom of the hill though. Tomorrow, I'll go run the VHF and light wiring up in a heat shrinked bundle and I'll be back where I was at 11:30 yesterday.
(I know this is pretty long but, every once in a while, someone has to let the new sailboat owners know what they are getting into.)
