Wiring, propane hose replacement - safety first!

The wiring was a nest of wires, some that were still connected and other hot wires sitting in the bilge.

The latest round of work is correcting items on the survey that had not been dealt with by the PO.

The propane set-up was an explosion waiting to happen, with no warning device built in and no fire fighting equipment in the bilge.

New neoprene hoses have been run from the propane locker which is now properly vented, to the oven in one piece, replacing corroded copper tube with hose clamp connections.

It was a good thing to pull out the fridge and oven. There was nothing holding them in place! Just wedged in place.

The old style breaker which was outside in the cockpit, under a spot that was not sealed and subject to drowning in any sort of rain, has been moved inside. A proper breaker panel has been installed and the wiring from the batteries and 120 house side has been completely rewired with marine approved wires and ignition protected battery charger and inverter.

Heavy duty cable has been run for the master switches and parallel switch. The old switches were also in an area prone to getting wet and were moved inside the aft locker for easy access.

Lifesaver and ships bell replaced on the aft deck, close at hand and an orange ring for visibility.

The work continues to continue back on the dock

A sneak preview of the new upholstery in place. The walls are almost completed with the new almond arborite. The second side is awaiting completion of the wiring.

The final coat of wax is almost completed and her topsides are as fresh and shiny as she was new.

The new vents are in place and the tender is heading for winter storage.

Doug has replaced the leads and has timed the engines to book specs. With the new dedicated batteries and cables she should roar to life. There was barely any charge getting through before. The old wires were in a shambles.

The pump pictured was hidden under the old hot water tank. The now closed inlet was inaccessible and noted on the survey as requiring attention. The old bilge pump works beautifully and the drain plug that was used for a salt water wash-down has been properly sealed off.

Doug is moving the water tank to centre line of the boat, and the batteries have been moved aft and to the starboard side to help level the boat. There were three bags of sand in the boat to off-set the appliances and helm on the port side. The sand bags have been removed and the boat is pretty close to level and her nose is out of the water slightly more. We have yet to fill the fuel tanks.

New upholstery and arborite for the interior

The old wallpaper had to go! It had lasted the first 40 years well. The factory installed heavy duty fabric backed vinyl. It had been painted over twice, the first time was a blue similar to the Uniflite blue and the second coat beige.

Strips of door-skin plywood have been cut by Blue Ocean Yacht Services to use as templates for the arborite to be cut to fit. Using a glue gun Joanie is able to stick together a frame that follows the shape exactly. Above the power outlet has been trimmed around the area to be removed in the shop before fitting.

The hot glue gun is handy way to tack everything in place and pop off once the template is completed. The template pattern making can be used for headliner panels as well. Anywhere you need to find the exact fit and shape. It's simple to cut small strips to quickly go around small trim details.

Above Joanie has gone around the sliding cupboard and allowed for a join for the arborite sheet size.

The vee-berth is packed with new upholstery covered in Sunbrella fabric. It is tucked away until the cabin is finished. We had to have a quick fit and see how it all looked in place.

This is the passenger helm seat, feeble at best. The second best seat in the house and it is two skinny slabs of foam, no extra support or comfort or detail.

The work continues back on the dock

She's back floating! Not only is she floating, she is sitting about 4" higher in the water with the old bottom paint gone. Each can of bottom paint weights about 25lbs, forty years of layers and the weight adds up.

It was a beautiful day in Vancouver. Perfect for working on your boat.

Paul has been busy cleaning the old sealant and dirt from the combing around the cockpit preparing for the trim and handrail to be reinstalled early this week. The front cabin trim is ready to go and she should be water tight and trimmed out before the rains start for the winter.

If you click on this picture you will see the oxidation that was all over SSN. This is the last area to be cut and polished. We were in the sandbox on the hardstand, one of two areas in the boatyard that isn't paved. Getting to the transom was impossible. Having this picture will help illustrate the difference achieved overall.

She's a little beauty! Almost ready to serve Captain Paul and his buds.

Two Eagles, One Engine

After five weeks on the hardstand, one would have hoped for a more triumphant return to the dock. Two 318's rumbling out of the lift bay, SSN shinning like a new "nickel". It would have been nice to run her back to her dock under her own steam. But woe the PO's poor repairs would throw a spanner in the works, despite Dr D's best work. The little ship had to be hand-bombed to the dock. A feeling of indignation shadowed the occasion, the proud moment dashed.

The running gear has been completely gone through from one end to the other. The engine mounts have been removed, serviced, cleaned and replaced, one at a time, their wood mounts epoxied to the stringers, with lag bolts replaced with permanent engine mount studs with nuts replacing the bolts. The shaft logs have been sleeved, the shafts straightened, the props tuned, the packing glands serviced, the rudder stuffing boxes repacked and everything aligned to a thousandth of an inch. True as true can be.

The port side solenoid was glowing red-hot, it had almost rusted beyond recognition, no chance of any ignition today. The handcrafted wood engine hatches/cd storage racks have been leaking onto the entire electrical harness of that engine.

Spike The Foreman

Spike the big boss in the boat yard came past SSN to inspect the days progress. He gave it all a wag and sent Paul and the boys over to Bridges Pub to have a couple of beers.

After another long day in the boat yard the Canadian was ice-cold and well appreciated by all.

From left to right; Alex, Captain Scotty, Chevy "The Turk" and Paul.

Alex a great buddy of Paul's has been getting right in there helping to make Sudbury Saturday Night gleam. With Alex's help the windows frames have been completed, the stanchion bases and the cleats forward have been taken off, cleaned-up and re-bedded one at a time.

Captain Scotty was under the boat for two solid weeks of scraping and sanding in the bubble. 40 years of anti-fouling paint was removed and the 4 coats of Interlux epoxy barrier coat was applied before two coats of the new red anti-fouling paint. She's lighter and her bottom as smooth as new but protected like never before.

The Turk has been a great help offering ideas and driving Paul around town picking up bits and pieces all contributing to getting the job done.

Paul, is getting into the swing of being a "hands-on" owner, very good news for his new girl!

The best kept boats have owners who get their hands dirty. "Cheque-book-maintenance" is a longstanding term for owners who spare no expense in maintaining their yachts. However you can have the deepest pockets and be entirely clueless as to the operating systems of the vessel if you don't roll up your sleeves and muck in.

Paul is getting to know every inch of SSN and by paying attention to every detail he is gaining confidence that will help him stay calm and in control - no matter what the weather does. If anything should go wrong, he will know how to assess the problem and understand what is involved to effect the repair and be able to make the call to run for home or stay put.

Dr Doug at Blue Ocean Yacht Services has been great allowing the crew access to his shop and loaning the right tools for making the best job. He has been happy to jump in when a rusty nut won't let go, to check on the quality of the work and to offer his expert opinion on how to best tackle each task.

Over budget and schedule, well and truly - blown...

Old boats. What can one say? The usual joke is " a hole in the water into which one pours money" and that is true for any boat. It is like a house or condo, leaky. Worst, it is leaky all round. Top, sides and the bit that is always wet.

This old boat is all original and in very well cared for condition, she was well loved for many a year, the proof is in the name on the brow, buffed to death. The gelcoat is thick under the original name and thin all around it, which suggests the original owner had her buffed every year.

A bit of a whack build here, the window frames were screwed into the cabin walls. Water penetrating the window frames was seeping through the screws inside the cabin. The worst effected areas were the aft corners in each frame, where the water was pooling in the slope of the design which intended water to run off aft.

Accessing the areas affected meant removing the aluminum trim on the interior side, which trimmed off the wallpaper. Trying to carefully remove the screws without having to replace the wallpaper was futile in the end.

more to come...

Work In Progress - Updated

The second shaft log has been sleeved. Dr Doug has been busy on the port engine freeing up the frozen engine mounts and aligning the shaft, strut and engine.

The shaft packing gland has been taken apart and acid bathed, cleaned, repacked and replaced. New hose and stainless clamps - double clamped of course.

The strut was removed and re-bedded to the correct angle for perfect alignment.

Ron at Leading Edge Propellor in Mission has tuned the original Michigan wheels. The are date stamped 1968 and in really nice condition and now balanced beautifully.

Window Frames Re-bedded

A dry boat is a good boat. Fresh water kills.

The windows were leaking front and rear bottom corners. The pics show the wet plywood, which dried out in hours with no damage. Left another winter and more damage would be likely.

The weather stripping tape used in the factory had long lost it's adhesion to the metal and electrolysis had eaten some areas under the window tracks.

The windows were completely taken apart and every screw re-bedded in Sikaflex 291. The old screws were plated bronze and was causing electrolysis in the aluminum. Most have been replaced with stainless, and all have been well sealed with caulking to help keep the metal contact down.

New track has been installed and the windows went in for an over-haul at XXXX Glass. They removed the PO's dark tinted film. The guys found one panel was household glass, which was replaced with safety glass. The cabin looks 50% brighter with the one side done. It is really going to look great with all the film off. Original.

Spike has signed off on the work.

Final coats and running gear repairs

Dr Doug has the one log sleeved. Tomorrow he will fair this side and sleeve the second log.

The solution to getting 2" fiberglass tube to slide inside a 2 1/8 copper log was to take a slice out of the one side with a circular saw, enabling the tube to be squeezed together as it was slipped in. Lots of epoxy was used to seal the tube to the copper, the excess is easy to sand fair.

With 7 coats of gloss varnish now applied to the interior cabinetry and the colour is glowing in the rich light mahogany stain.

With the return of the upholstery she should be looking factory fresh, inside and out

Shaft log repairs - getting SSN aligned right

The shafts are back today, the props returned yesterday looking like a new pair - Ron has done a beautiful job (again). pics to follow

Feeling the inside bottom edge of the shaft log, Dr Doug could sense that a worn spot had developed where the copper had been in contact with the shaft, being pressed down by the poor alignment.

As is the way these days, alignment seems to be an option not offered by most mechanics? This is the most important aspect of a good smooth running vessel! The meeting of power and water. If the shaft is pressing against the hull, or strut bearings the boat is working against itself, sending power into the hull causing vibration and deterioration of the shaft, bearings and log. The 1 1/4" shaft is easily bent to force a poor alignment - any monkey can do it.

The second picture shows clearly how far down and over to the right the shaft was misaligned.

We searched for a replacement in Washington with two of the specialist parts companies, to find that they are custom made and they require a week to construct replacements.

Since we have been up on the hardstand long enough at this point Dr Doug has decided to save time and money by sleeving the copper tube with a length of fiberglass tubing, epoxied in place. He has been sanding down a lenghth of two inch tube to slip inside the 2 1/8" copper tube, allowing enough room for the shaft to turn freely.