| Kaholee Refit |
November 1, 2007 I was still waiting for the replacement exhaust elbow for the engine, so until it arrived I couldn't continue with the final steps in the engine installation; all that remains is the exhaust, but I don't want to start any of it till I get the elbow and can configure the hose and muffler properly. After washing and sanding the new fiberglass and gussets beneath the holding tank, I continued work to secure and finalize the installation. I cut and installed some mahogany cleats to secure the tank in both directions, painted out the remaining area of the locker beneath the tank, and began work on a cardboard template for a cosmetic panel that would cover the entire area. |
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I cut a piece of cardboard slightly undersized, and then scribed the contours of the opening onto the cardboard. I first transferred this pattern to another piece of cardboard, made several adjustments as required, and eventually transferred the pattern to a piece of 1/4" marine grade fir plywood left over from the holding tank construction, which I had saved for this purpose. I secured the panel with panhead screws so that it would be removable for access to the hoses, wiring, or chainplates in the future if required, and covered the seams around the edges with caulk, which I let cure before beginning the painting process. |
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For a while, I worked through some of the details for the upcoming head installation and related plumbing, ordered fasteners for the head and its diaphragm pump, and changed the direction of flow on the pump (a simple matter of unscrewing, rotating, and reattaching the top portion of the pump housing), anticipating its vertical orientation on the after bulkhead of the compartment. Then, I left the head area alone for the time being, as I wouldn't do any further installation until I'd had a chance to prime and paint the new panel. I installed the fill hoses for the two fresh water tanks, which required adapters to convert the 1-1/2" fills to the odd 1-1/8" necks welded to the tank. (A note for future reference to anyone having a custom tank built for any purpose: ensure that not only do you request--and receive--the exact hose fitting or thread sizes you require, but also that these sizes are appropriate to the standard hose sizes typically used in that installation. Too many welding shops will just put whatever they feel like on the tank, which leads to unnecessary complication and Rube Goldberg-esque adaptations during installation...all of which could be avoided by ensuring that the specifications are researched beforehand and listed clearly.) Then, I installed 1/2" vent lines to each tank, combining them in a T fitting and then running a single vent loop up alongside one of the fill hoses inside the chain locker. |
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I had the angle grinder and cutoff wheel in the boat for some other purpose, so while it was there I used it to cut off the excess bolt length from the traveler installation. |
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The new power cable for the RayNav 300 GPS arrived, thankfully complete with both positive and negative wires (unlike the old one that had been in the box along with the unit). I attached the wires, and the GPS of course powered right up. While I was fooling with wiring again, I decided to figure out what was going on with the VHF, which I hadn't been able to operate. The wiring and connections looked fine in all areas, but I decided to shortcut excess troubleshooting frustration and simply rewired the VHF to the electronics busses located directly behind the panel. When I powered up after making the changes, the VHF worked properly. |
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During purchase, there had been some concern expressed by the owner about the readability of the displays on the Raymarine ST60 instruments. Therefore, I thought I'd post a photo of the displays on the ST60s: clearly, the numerals are quite large and should be readable from anywhere in the cockpit. |
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Finally, I installed a new 1-1/2" bronze through hull for the bilge pump outlets. Then, I installed a threaded Y fitting directly to the through hull, and installed a 1-1/2" hose nipple for the large pump, and a series of bushings to reduce the other side to a 1/2" hose nipple for the smaller, automatic nuisance pump hose (which we're intentionally reducing from its 1-1/8" size at the pump to minimize the amount of water that backflows when the pump is shut off). |
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