110 Cookson Lane | Whitefield, ME 04353 | 207-232-7600 | tim@lackeysailing.com
Patience | Tuesday, May 19, 2015
The old cockpit scupper hoses had done their duty, and it was time for replacement. The original manual bilge pump, which the owner reported did not operate, was also tied into the scupper system, and now it was time to remove the old hoses and pump and prepare for new ones.
The old hoses came off without much problem, though someone had applied sealant to the barbed fittings before installing the hoses; fortunately the hose was thin and weak, and easy enough to cut away. Then, I removed the bilge pump, which was secured through its bulkhead-mount bellows.
The owner requested some changes and simplification to the original fresh water system, which included a tank beneath the port settee, an old hand pump at the galley sink, and the sink drain itself, along with a drain from the icebox. With no need for the tankage or fresh water supply, he requested that I remove these parts of the system, and replace the sink drain and icebox drain hoses, as the originals were old.
Removing the old hoses from beneath the galley was no trouble, with good access, and with those out of the boat I moved on to the water tank, which was beneath a screwed-down plywood panel on the port settee. Removing the panel, which included the tank fill, I found a flexible bladder tank within, so removal of the final part of the water system couldn't have been easier.
To make the old tank area usable for storage, I used the original plywood top and modified it to include a hatch for access. I laid out an appropriate hatch, incorporating the ragged hole from the old tank fill, and cut away a portion of the platform, then prepared a new hatch using some plywood of the same thickness that was in the shop from some other boat, since the original cutout was unusable because of the tank fill hole. I installed plywood cleats beneath with glue and screws to support the new hatch.
Meanwhile, after checking inventory as needed, I determined what I'd need for some of the jobs ahead, mainly plumbing supplies, hose, and a replacement bilge pump, and placed orders for these items as required.
The shallow bilge, built-in structural grid, and other complications limited space for bilge pump hoses to run to and from the keel sump, so I spent some time trying to figure out how to route these hoses nicely to the stern. Possible options for getting the hoses out of the sump area included running them through the fiberglass grid and into either the after locker beneath the dinette (where the battery box was), or into the newly-created storage area beneath the port settee. From these lockers, other cabinets would provide routing for the hoses, till the open parts of the boat aft of the main cabin, which posed no access problems but would of course leave any hose runs exposed. Space was tight in any of these areas beneath the floorboards but other than leading the hoses above floor level, there seemed no other access.
The hardware for securing the dining table in its table position (as opposed to its convertible berth position) was two sets of aluminum track--one on the bulkhead, one on the table--that had been damaged at some point. Without a ready source for new material, I determined to attempt to repair the old tracks to make the system usable once more. Removing both pieces, which were just screwed in place, I spent a little time at the bench playing around, and while the appearance of the tracks would never be stellar, at least it was possible to mate the two together in a usable fashion once more. I'd spend some more time cleaning these up to ensure reliable operation before reinstalling the track.
Later, I removed the damaged battery platform from the dinette to allow for its replacement, and to allow me better access to deal with some of the wiring reorganization that would be coming up.
Total Time Billed on This Job Today: 5.25 hours
42°, clouds and showers. Forecast for the day: Showers, 61°
