| Kaholee Refit |
November 5, 2007 Yesterday, I took a few moments to sand, clean, and paint the second coat of finish paint on the back panel in the head; therefore, this morning I could begin, finally, the head installation. Of course, I quickly realized that I needed additional pieces and parts: somehow I had neglected to get the tailpieces for the intake and discharge seacocks, so I couldn't connect any hoses there today. I was also a bit short on the 1-1/2" white hose. This seemed to be the theme of the day, and of the past weeks: the need for pieces and parts required to complete the final jobs and installations. Even reasonable planning can't anticipate every need without a huge inventory stock. Nevertheless, I did what I could. I installed a Y-valve to direct the flow to either the holding tank or directly overboard (when appropriate), and installed the Henderson diaphragm pump for the toilet. I ran a high-looped discharge line between the pump and the inlet side of the Y-valve, and used the remaining hose to run between the toilet itself and the pump. The only line remaining to run was the direct overboard discharge line, for which I needed additional hose and the bronze tailpiece. I ordered these, as well as numerous other, parts for delivery tomorrow. I secured the Lavac toilet to the head sole with 1-1/4" x 1/4" stainless steel lag screws and sealant, and ran a 3/4" intake line from the back of the toilet, up in a high loop, and down towards the intake seacock. As directed, I drilled a hole in the top of the hose loop and installed one of the supplied plastic air vent plugs (the "brown" one, which was actually black in this case, because the head was at or below the waterline). I secured the hose with cushioned clamps, but they were too large; I ordered smaller ones to replace them. |
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Some bulkhead-mount stereo speakers arrived from the owner, so I took a moment to secure them to the bulkhead in the saloon. I ordered some speaker wire for tomorrow. |
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The stock exhaust elbow for the engine arrived, so I bolted it to the exhaust manifold. I removed the supplied short length of water injection hose, since I planned to install a vented loop for this (parts on order for tomorrow). I was pleased to find that the new elbow didn't interfere with any of the myriad obstructions in the bilge; I had been a bit concerned that it might have run into the nearby cockpit scupper drains, or some other thing, as the nearby space had ended up disconcertingly crowded. I also cut the long length of exhaust hose in an appropriate location so that I could install a shutoff valve (parts on order for tomorrow), which we decided would be worthwhile as a precautionary measure against any chance of backflow through the exhaust system. |
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While I was working on the engine, I tightened the mounting bolts (even though the engine had yet to be aligned; but having the engine secure would be important before test-firing later in the week), and added some of the fluids required, including coolant and engine oil. The transmission was already filled with the appropriate oil. I also took a moment to replace a section of chafe gear that I'd installed on the engine raw water intake line earlier; I wasn't happy with my first attempt from the other week, but found a piece of hose that slipped tightly over the intake hose, which I held in place with a single clamp. |
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I spent some time with the exhaust muffler (Waterlok), and ended up cutting the cross piece at the bottom of the engine foundation. I left tabs on each side so that I'd have a bearing surface against which to secure a new brace later. By cutting the brace, and a small bit of the platform forward of the engine, I could slip the muffler into place beneath the engine. With the remains of the day, I cleaned up the tape and excess sealant from around the deck hardware I installed on Saturday. Cleaning out around the bases of this sort of 4-hole cleat is always time-consuming because of the poor access to the area between the bases, so this job took a surprisingly long time. |
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