Month: August 2018

Repairing Leaky Ports

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The windows leak when it rains, as well as when the sea is bumpy. At first I thought it was just the frames, but eventually I realized that, as well as leaky frames, the putty holding the glass in the aluminum frames is rotten.

This results in a wet boat inside, and as the two biggest villains are over the chart table (starboard side) and the galley (port), I get wet charts, wet electronics, wet logs (as in “Captain’s Log”). A good reason to buy waterproof notebooks, btw.

Having just upgraded the coolbox, I decided to reglaze and refit the port over the galley. My first effort was done in the dusk and dark, and it was not very good. So in the morning, I started again. Because the glass slides into the 2-part frame, it is quite a challenge to get the 3M marine silicone to stay in place whilst sliding in the glass. Hopefully, I will discover that it is waterproof.

I also repaired the hole, where the frame sits. The outer skin had partially separated, so I mixed up some West System epoxy and used it to glue the skin back, clamping it into position.

Some pics:

Aircon Water-Cooling Pump System

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After a bit of tooing and froing with Groco over hose fittings and positioning of the strainer (it can be above the waterline, if the raw water inlet cock is fitted with a shut-off valve), I started on the water supply system for the to-be-bought (either this one or this one) aircon system.

I managed to buy some 1″ (hose is always inside dia, whereas fittings are outrside dia) water hose from West Marine in Corpus Christi and worked out that I could fit the pump and strainer under the sink, both below the waterline.

I was planning to fit the pump vertically, but decided that it could go horizontally. I also toyed with putting the pump in the old fridge compartment, but that would mean drilling bigger holes to route the water inlet hose, which is around 1.5″ o.d. The water hose to the a.c unit is 5/8″ , so around 1″ o.d. – a lot smaller and easier to route.

I need to build a cabinet that will fit into the hold where the fridge used to be. This cabinet will shield the a.c. from the engine bay and from any bilge fumes, so that I don’t end up recycling bad air. The unit will sit in the cabinet, which is to the left of the cooker (the pump is to the right, hence my concerns about routing the water hose). Waste seawater and condensate will be pumped to the transom and overboard.

The pump installation is not quite finished yet, and I may move the strainer to the left and down a tad. But we have progress!

Pics below:

Ice-Box Conversion to Fridge

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Last year, I posted a blog about my plans to install an Isotherm Self Pumping refrigerator conversion – and this year I have finally completed the job. It works!

The ice-box, now refrigerated, is to the left of the cooker, and the compressor gubbins is to the right, in what was the trash container (that I used as a dry food store). I fitted the compressor to the bottom half of the compartment, and put a clear Lexan cover over it, to protect the unit from spilled water from the taps. I will fit a drain, to take spilled water down under the sink.

The evaporator is fitter to the ice box, which had no insulation on the engine-side, where the fridge used to be. So I fitted some closed-cell insulating foam board – the purple stuff, an offcut of which I have used to act as extra insulation for the lid. I will seal this piece to make it more durable.

Now, I need to seal the windows, to stop rain and seawater from leaking in and draining into the icebox. The great news is that a couple of cooler blocks and some bags of ice in the bottom of the icebox stay frozen, and there is no compressor noise, nor is there any pump to consume battery power whilst under sail.

Elbow Grease

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After the engineer from Rockport Yanmar Dealer Gatewood’s did the engine service last year, he told me that the elbow had a leak, and that it was a simple job for me to replace it myself. So I bought an elbow and gasket and put it on the to-do list.

The job came to the top of the list.

It was difficult to remove. The bolt heads were corroded, and the bolts were seized. And I could not see where the leak could come from. I cleaned it up, and convinced myself that it was sound. Running the engine, I saw the leak, so I had to tackle it.

To remove it meant cutting it off bit by bit, so that I could get a mole-grip locked onto the bolt heads. I used a Dremel with a metal cutting blade:

The new Elbow, with new exhaust host:

After doing this, I found an article online, telling me that the elbow is a consumable item, to be chnaged between 200 and 500 hours, or every 2-5 years. So I then read the Yanmar manual, which reinforced this, on the low side. So I will remove the elbow and inspect it every 6 months. I used a small amount of anti sieze grease in the bolts (new 316 bolts and spring washers), applied to the part of the bolts and washers that are not screwed into the water mixer.