September 23, 2016
Acadia 5
Friday
The new fiberglass had cured overnight, so I began with the usual wash and sand, bringing the new patches flush as needed and approximating the contours of the adjacent hull. Inside the hull, where I’d patched over the old stern tube, I just lightly scuffed the new fiberglass to remove any sharp edges.
The new laminate was close enough to the final shape required , so to begin to finish off the exterior patches, I applied a coat of epoxy fairing compound over both areas, using a wide trowel to shape the compound into the curves of the boat.
In the engine room, a few loose ends remained. I needed to clear the space as completely as possible, and the old bilge pump hoses–which were old and in poor condition anyway–were in the way, so I made cuts and removed the hoses into the lazarette for the moment pending further work towards their replacement. I also removed a bonding wire that ran through the engine room; this wire led to the backstay chainplate, and though I didn’t fit in the small lazarette opening, I could reach the bolt to undo it and remove the wire. Then, I pulled it through and secured it out of the way with a couple other bonding wires I’d removed from the original engine installation. This left the way clear in the engine room for better access to the aftermost portions, and to allow me to begin the process of fitting the molded fiberglass base that the Saildrive mount required.
Meanwhile, I removed an old gauge cluster from above the engine room and at the forward end of the cockpit. The project scope called for me to patch these holes and repaint that portion of the cockpit well to match.
The boat was nearly level as placed, but there was room for improvement side-to side, so I adjusted the stands slightly to correct the slight list.
The longitudinal attitude of the boat was slightly off-level, at least according to the cabin sole, but there was no way to easily adjust this, and I’d simply align the new engine mounting to the same orientation when the time came.
Now I lugged the molded fiberglass base up into the boat and placed it in the engine room for a reality check and to see how much fitting and modification would ultimately be required. I’d already warily eyed the bulkhead opening at the aft end of the space, thinking it looked too narrow, and while the width was actually OK for all that, the opening was not centered, so the new foundation base ran into interference with the port bulkhead–and with the electric water pressure pump just behind it. Not only did this prohibit good access to the area, but it also forced the forward end of the foundation off-center by a bit, so clearly modifying the bulkhead and pump installation would be the first priority. While I had the base in place, I eyeballed the overall position to guess how much material I’d end up removing off the base itself to fit it to the shape of the hull, then removed it for access into the engine room once more.
With the time remaining in the day, I made a cozy nest in the empty engine room and crawled back to remove the water pump from its base, and to remove the clamps securing the multitude of hoses to the bulkhead. I decided to leave the cutting for a new day, as it was growing late.
Total time billed on this job today: 4.75 hours
0600 Weather Observation:
60°, clouds and a shower. Forecast for the day: showers, then clearing and growing cooler.