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Monday

The owner requested spreader lights, and I found some nice little aluminum-housed LED lights that would do the job well.  With the spreaders on hand in the shop, I began with the basic installation and spreader-side wiring.

The lights featured a small stainless steel bracket that allowed light rotation up to 90°, which is where I needed it for this installation so that the lights would face directly down to the deck below.    After determining the position for the light and its bracket, I installed the bracket with a single machine screw into a threaded hole in the bottom side of the spreader; the bracket was designed for a carriage bolt, but that type of fastener wouldn’t work in this blind installation.  The two lights, ordered at the same time from the same vendor and while essentially identical, apparently were different “model years” and had slightly different wiring harnesses, one with a shorter black wire with a factory plug.  This did not impact much for this installation and had no practical ramifications when all was said and done.

With the lights secured in their brackets, I completed the wiring that would lead to the mast for eventual connection.  Since the spreaders might be removed in the future, I planned for plug-in connectors for the wiring.   The white wire lead on one of the lights was pretty much the right length as it was, but the black wire on the other side was shorter, so I began by extending the wires to the same length as the other side.  I added water-resistant plugs at the ends of the wires–male for one wire, female for the other, so that the mast side wiring couldn’t be accidentally reversed–then secured the wires to the spreaders with wire clamps and  flexible conduit for looks and protection.

I made up a quick test lead connector and checked the lights’ operation with a battery.  I was impressed by the light produced.

This photo shows the light bloom on the shop ceiling, about 15′ above the light itself.

With the sealant securing the chainplate covers now cured, I removed the excess and cleaned up as necessary.

I completed the electrical panel by installing a few final panel labels that I’d had to order.

Taking advantage of another decent day outside, I picked up where I left off with the mast and, using the messengers I installed earlier,  ran in the wires for the light at the masthead, spreader lights, and the steaming light, along with the VHF antenna.  At the spreaders, I led a short wire pair across from one side of the mast to the other so I could wire both sides of the spreader lights.

At the masthead, I wired up the connector for the new tricolor/anchor light. The light came pre-wired with a short harness and a waterproof (according to the light’s literature) connector, so for the moment I just connected the other side of the connector to the new mast wire.  This part of the harness was long enough that I could make the wiring connections inside the mast and just run the small harness out through a pre-existing hole in the side of the mast.

I postponed installing the fixture itself on the masthead, which had some stainless steel strops over the top that were in the way of the mounting location.  I had a plan for mounting the light and would take care of that soon.

Continuing down the mast, I made up the connections for the spreader light wiring, with the corresponding connector plugs for those I’d installed on the spreaders themselves.  I interconnected the wires from both sides of the mast and left short harnesses on each side to allow room for connection of the wires when the spreaders were installed.

Finally, I connected and installed the steaming light, using a small traditional-type fixture that fit on an existing little platform.

At the base of the mast, I led all the wires out through the wire fitting I’d installed, and, leaving ample slack for running into the boat, made up the wire terminal ends for later connection to the terminal block in the head.  I tucked the wire ends back into the base of the mast for now to limit exposure.

Total time billed on this job today:  7 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  16°, clear.  Forecast for the day:  Mainly sunny, increasing cloudiness in the afternoon, around 40°

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Friday

With most work on board now complete, I loaded most of the gear back on board.

The riggers asked me to remove and send to them the masthead sheaves, which were to be replaced, so I headed out to the mast where, despite a recent large snowfall, the weather was surprisingly pleasant and benign.  The two sheaves and aluminum divider plates were held in place with a single bolt, and the assembly came apart easily.   I packaged up the sheaves and shipped them off.

In order to remove the sheaves, I first had to remove the existing all-wire main halyard, which led to an old Barient #3 reel winch that the owner planned to replace.  One thing led to another, and while I’d not planned on doing much in the way of mast work till better weather in a few weeks, once I got looking at the winch I decided to try removing it now.

Disaassembly was straightforward.  There was a single screw inside the winch handle socket on top of the drum, and after removing this the drum came off with minor prying from beneath, as the surfaces were dry with age.  Six machine screws held the base to the raised platform om the mast, and happily these came out without trouble, releasing the winch.  This left behind some piles of aluminum-y corrosion, but later I scraped clean the original winch pad and found it to be acceptable for re-use.

The “new” winch, a recycled Lewmar #16 self-tailer that I’d had on hand, fit the winch pad well, and I laid out, drilled and tapped the fastener holes for 1/4=20 machine screws.  I lightly coated the base of the winch with Tef-Gel, and coated all the fasteners as well during installation.

The cast mast base was just loose inside the spar, as someone had drilled out the old fasteners sometime, and I found I could slip it right out.  As with the other work this day, one thing led to another, and I decided that with the base loose and the sheaves removed from the masthead, it was a perfect opportunity to at least run in some messengers for the new wiring I needed to install.

First, though, I used a drum sander to open up an existing wiring exit hole near the bottom of the mast so it would fit my new fitting.  For this mast, since I knew the wiring hole would be accessible from inside the mast, I chose a basic plastic through hull fitting for the other end of the mast wiring conduit.  Sometimes I use surface-mount fittings, but here it was easy to install the fitting from inside.  I chose plastic for this end because I’d need to modify the fitting to accept the hose leading to the deck fitting, and in any event strength wasn’t an issue here. Since the full length of a through hull with hose nipple would be too long here, I chose this fitting based on the size of the threaded portion, which was a close match to the 1-1/8″ pipe nipple on the deck fitting.  By cutting off the hose end of a 1″ plastic through hull, I could (after installation) pare down the threads (overall diameter about 1-3/16″) accordingly to accept the other end of the hose securely.  For now, I just installed the fitting.  Later, when I had a piece of hose, I’d sand down the threaded portion to fit.

I finished up my bout of mast work for now by running in messenger lines for the masthead lighting and VHF, as well as spreader lights and the steaming light further down the mast.  I used a wire snake to pull in the small messengers, and I’d use these messengers later to pull in the wires.  I find the small messenger lines to be easier to pull wires through tight mast spaces than the unwieldy metal snake.  I was tempted to just run in the wires now too, but decided to wait till another time.

Later, the new anchor roller I’d ordered to fit the owner’s Rocna 20kg anchor arrived, and I went ahead with the installation.  The roller, a Kingston KR-2025, was a great fit for the anchor, one of the few designed specifically for this brand and size, and featured a long, deep  channel that would protect the bow platform from damage from the anchor shank.

Because of the stem fitting at the end of the platform, the roller couldn’t be absolutely perfectly aligned with the windlass and remain parallel with the platform itself.  I used a length of line to determine the most practical lead for the roller, and with just a slight misalignment from the edge of the platform, I was able to provide a lead that would work well for the anchor chain later.

Installation was straightforward with three bolts through the after end of the roller.

I test-fit the anchor in place afterwards.  This roller provided two mounting locations for a pin at the aft end:  one further aft, designed to go through a shackle or link of chain aft of the anchor itself, and one further forward (shown in use here) that fit perfectly through the  eye at the end of the anchor shank to pin it in place.  When chain through the windlass, this roller would hold the anchor tightly against the dual rollers at the forward end to prevent movement.

Total time billed on this job today:  5.5 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  30°, partly clear.  Forecast for the day:  Clouds and sun, light wind, low 30s

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Thursday

Just a few jobs remained on my list, and I started with the main mast step, which installation I’d delayed while I built a 1-1/2″ riser to make up for the amount that needed to be removed from the mast base to eliminate a corroded area there.  Earlier, I’d used the original mast step to locate and drill holes through the riser; the riser was just a bit larger in diameter than the original step.

Using the new base as a guide, I masked off the deck areas around the base, and drilled pilot holes in the deck for the new lag screws that would secure the step.

Afterwards, I applied sealant heavily to the deck and installed the riser, then applied more sealant to the top of that and installed the mast step and lags, drawing the whole assembly down into plate tightly.

I used excess squeezeout to fill the space around the bolt head recesses, and cleaned up the residue as needed.

To finish off the chainplates, I installed stainless steel deck plates that fit over the slots and provided a harbor for sealant.  At each location, I masked around the perimeter of the new plate, then applied sealant heavily around the slots and chainplates before pressing the deck plate into the sealant.  I saw no need for fasteners.  I left the squeeze out for later cleanup once it had cured.

With work belowdecks complete, I cleaned up the entire cabin and related spaces, then turned to some minor reassembly.  Early in the project, to gain access to various hardware I’d removed some cosmetic covers from the forward cabin, along with a shelf and fiddle in the hanging locker, as well as the doors to the hanging locker , and now I reinstalled these items.  With tools and supplies gone, the cabin was empty and ready for me to start reloading the gear that had been on board when the boat arrived here.

In the cockpit locker, I’d earlier removed the connection at the aft end of the exhaust hose, which had allowed greatly improved access to the spaces there for hardware and wiring work.  Now, with work complete, I reinstalled the hose, securing it with clamps and heavy wire ties as needed to route it along the cockpit locker opening and up along the coaming before turning down to the existing outlet.

Still ahead, I’d finish up a few minor things and load gear back on the boat.  In addition, I had a short list of work to do on the mast, including running new wiring and installing light fixtures, and I would take care of that in due course as allowed by the vagaries of late winter and spring weather.

Total time billed on this job today:  6.25 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  29°, heavy snow and windy, about 6″ from overnight.  Forecast for the day:  Heavy snow during the morning, then tapering off later in the day, around a foot total accumulation expected

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Wednesday

The owner had a small solar panel already on board, though when the boat arrived here the panel had just been temporarily wired and had no mounting system.    Now, he requested that I install the panel on the stern pulpit using some hardware that he provided.  Holding the panel against the port side of the rail, I ensured that it wouldn’t affect the windvane operation or otherwise be in the way, and I made some marks to show roughly where I needed to install brackets on the panel frame.

Down on the bench, I installed the two brackets on the panel frame itself, bolting through the aluminum frame.  These brackets would accept the business end of a pair of clamp-on rail mounts and would form the basis for the support of the panel.  Because of the way the two hardware parts interfaced, the machine screws supplied with the rail mounts were a bit short, but for now the threads just engaged so I could use these screws in the immediate term for fitting the panel.

I clamped the fittings to the rail and installed the panel, which held it securely enough so that I could prepare an angled support from beneath, which I’d make from 1″ stainless tubing.  Using the hardware on hand, I installed a swivel mount for one end to the center of the panel on the aft side, then cut a piece of tubing to run down to a third clamp-on rail mount, which I installed on the nearest vertical stanchion.  I cut the tubing so that the panel ended up horizontal; there was some adjustment possible by sliding the lower rail mount one way or the other as needed.

This completed the main panel support, and the panel seemed sturdy and solid, with only a hint of movement between the tubing end fittings on the lower angle support–a function of the hardware itself.  To better secure together the panel mounts and upper rail fittings, I replaced the short machine screws with through bolts and secured them tightly.

To run the wire belowdecks and to the panel controller (already installed by the owner the previous year), I installed a through-deck cable fitting, choosing a location near a stanchion and far enough outboard to pass through the solid area of the deck.  I secured the wire along the pulpit and stanchions, then through the fitting and forward to the controller, securing it along the way to the wire mounts I’d installed before.  I left the excess wire bundled beneath the deck near the deck fitting, so the panel could be dismounted and moved as needed and within the limits of the excess cable available.

The boat’s pair of 6-volt deep cycle batteries was charged and ready, and with the panel in place I decided to reinstall the batteries so they could benefit from the trickle charge from the panel, both while inside the shop and, later, outdoors again.   As I installed the batteries, I realized that I should have run the power feed from the service panel through the existing battery switch, not from the positive buss, since the buss was on the battery/always hot side of the switch.   Since I didn’t install or change any of the basic battery and engine-side wiring, which the owner had installed the previous season, it hadn’t immediately occurred to me.  So I re-led the supply cable to the proper terminal on the battery switch, and finished up the other battery connections.  I led a pair of wires from the new battery gauge to the battery terminals as required, a simple installation that didn’t require a shunt like most battery monitors.  The battery boxes fit securely in the space I’d built for them on the new platform, and I strapped them down with the nylon straps.

Once my new, longer bolts arrived for the chainplates, I got to work on the final installation of the remaining nine chainplates, beginning with the port after three, which serviced the mizzen stays and mainmast backstay.  I’d install deck cover plates and sealant for all the new chainplates later.

I finished up the day with the six chainplates for the mainmast.    Access to the knees for securing many of these chainplates, particularly on the port side, was tight and at the limits of practical workability, so this chore took time, but by quitting time all the new chainplates were in place and bolted securely with the new bolts and large washers.

Total time billed on this job today:  7.5 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  30°, cloudy.  Forecast for the day:  Clouds, snow showers, then steadier and heavier snow overnight.

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Tuesday

Working through the morning, I finished up the wiring in the port cockpit locker, routing and terminating the remaining 8 or 9 wires to the negative distribution buss and leading the positive ends out through the panel hole for later attention and connection to the panel itself.

I moved my operation into the cabin, and prepared for the final connections at the new service panel.  My first step with the panel was to connect the little wires included with the panel–but left disconnected–that powered the panel’s backlight system.  These are the little bundles of yellow and red wires shown below.

The first wiring task for the panel was to prepare a double pole, double throw (DPDT) toggle switch to control the combination masthead light unit the owner had provided.  This light, requiring just two wires to the masthead for the owner’s desired functions, would light as an all-around white light (anchor light or for use during motor operation) or a tricolor navigation light for sailing, but to make the two wires function in different ways this crossover switch was needed.  I added a ground wire from the negative buss to the wire pair leading to the mast, and, following the wiring diagram included in the instructions, prepared the switch for installation, then installed it through the small hole I’d prepared earlier in the teak faceplate.

Leaving enough extra wire to allow the panel to be removed and laid flat on the countertop for service, I labeled and terminated all the positive wire ends from the various circuits.  Then, I made the connections to individual breakers on the back of the panel.

I prepared and attached lengths of #2 battery cable from the negative and positive distribution busses in the electrical area to the back side of the new service panel, then used these to help route and tie down the other wires neatly, while allowing panel removal and installation.

Now I could install the panel.

With a temporary battery hookup, I tested everything I could for now.  I didn’t bother hooking up the battery gauge for this test, and the mast lighting would await completion and a test at a later time.  I ordered a few additional labels to complete the panel and replace my temporary and ugly tape label that I installed just for my use at the moment.

This mainly completed the wiring work on the boat, though I had the simple wiring for the solar panel still to come.  For this, the owner asked that the panel be mounted on the stern rail, using some hardware he’d already provided for the purpose, so with this in mind I went back into the cockpit locker and prepared the overhead so I could install a series of wire mounts leading aft to the transom, so they’d be ready for wiring next time.

I finished up by working on the new chainplate installation, beginning on the starboard side aft, the most difficult three to reach.  Although I got these installed successfully, I decided that the bolts I’d ordered were just a bit shorter than I liked.  I’d measured the old bolts after removal and ordered accordingly, but the originals must have been cut off flush with the nuts, as new 2″ bolts were only barely long enough for the new installation.  Instead, I ordered longer bolts that I’d use to do the remaining 9 chainplates later.

Total time billed on this job today:  8 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  31°, cloudy.  Forecast for the day:  Mainly cloudy, high 30s

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Monday

I continued the wiring work on the starboard side, leading wire runs forward from the starboard cockpit locker (to start) to the galley, v-berth, and  after part of the cabin where the running light was located.  I left ample extra wire to eventually lead over across the forward end of the cockpit and into the port side wiring area.

With the bulk wiring runs in place, I worked my way through the installations on this side:  light fixtures in the v-berth and galley; a 12-volt outlet in the galley; and the starboard running light.  As I made the connections, I neatened and tied up the wiring as needed through the existing locker spaces, and using more flexible conduit to cover and route the exposed wiring to the running light.

With the excess wiring pulled into the cockpit locker, next I led the bitter ends through a length of rigid hose as a conduit to protect the wires at the forward end of the locker where they were exposed.  I brought the wire ends into the port cockpit locker/wiring central area where I’d eventually make the final connections.

Meanwhile, I ran an additional wire, along with the antenna cable I’d started previously (leading to the mast wiring area in the head) to the starboard side of the cabin next to the companionway, where the owner requested I install the VHF radio he had purchased for the boat.  I made up the wiring and antenna connections and completed the installation.

I used up what remained of the day sorting out and beginning to make connections for the final wires in the port wiring area, working through the additional two lighting circuits and preparing others by trimming excess length and removing sheathing.  I hoped to finish up the connections and organization next time.

Total time billed on this job today:  6.75 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  32°, partly cloudy.  Forecast for the day:  Mostly cloudy, 41°

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Friday

To finish up the mast step riser, I applied a few coats of gloss white paint, using a disposable sprayer for the job.

At the port aft cabin corner, I finished up the wiring work in the wooden trim box, installing and connecting the wires for a lighting fixture.  I secured the fixture to one of the new wooden panels I’d made to fill in the fronts of these pre-existing boxes, and, once complete, I secured the wires for this lamp and the port running light in some flexible conduit leading along the cabin side and beneath the sidedeck.

Returning to the mast wiring conduit I’d begun earlier, I used the same hole saw I’d used for the original hole to drill down from above and provide a center point through the temporary epoxy plug so I could drill the larger recess from beneath.  Then, with a 2-1/2″ hole saw, I drilled up from inside the head, eventually drilling out a plug about 1/4″ in depth to accommodate the mushroom head of the through hull fitting and leave enough threads above deck to secure the nut.

Satisfied with the setup now, I went ahead and permanently installed the fitting with plenty of sealant.

I finished up the wiring in the head compartment by terminating the ends of all the mast wiring circuits, using a terminal block to secure the boat end of these cables. Later, the mast ends of these wires could lead through the new deck fitting to the other side of the appropriate terminals, making connection and disconnection straightforward.  I hid the wires in flexible conduit and led them along the edge of the bulkhead, then neatened up and secured all the wiring beneath the sidedeck in the little locker and leading aft through the main cabin.

With all the wiring connections made up on the port side, and the wires tightened and secured, I decided I had to make some order of the wiring area in the cockpit locker before I could continue with the wire runs on the starboard side.    With the  wiring left over from the bilge pumps in temporary disarray, the numerous long wire tails from the port side wiring, and a need to make some general order of things, I started by cleaning up the new wiring that I’d led through some chafe gear at the top of the bulkhead.  I secured this bundle with a cushioned clamp, then pulled these wires out of the way for the moment.

Next, I resecured the battery switch and exisiting negative buss, which I’d removed while cutting out the panel openings above.  This led to some minor changes in the position of these items and of the engine-side battery cable leading to the switch, which I repositioned a bit to make better use of the space for the wiring that lay ahead.  From here, I focused for some time on re-securing and re-leading the wires from the bilge pump counter, switch, and alarm/switch panel that I’d removed earlier.  Eventually I sorted these out, lengthened one or two of the wires as needed, and made the connections back to the panels as required, securing the panels and the wiring behind.  This made a significant difference in the chaotic space and cleared things up for the new work.

I spent much of the afternoon terminating the cabin lighting wires (4 from the port side).  I installed a small auxiliary negative buss, which I made up from a terminal block and terminal jumpers, to help spread out the negative connections, since there was only a 4-terminal buss in place already,and also a positive buss for the cabin lighting, which allowed me to connect all the individual lighting circuits (6 total including the yet-to-be-run starboard side) without overloading any single terminal.  From the positive buss, I connected a length of larger wire that would eventually lead to the circuit breaker in the main panel.  I set aside the remaining circuits from the port side–mast wiring and running light–for later termination, as I knew I didn’t have enough time left in the day to complete these now.

To wrap up the day,  I pre-wired and installed the 12-volt outlet located in the main panel area, as well as the battery monitor, which required only two wires for the existing battery bank.  I left the wires hanging long behind the panel, where they’d await securing and termination next time.

Total time billed on this job today:  8.25 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  32°, cloudy.  Forecast for the day:  Clouds, wind, some rain later in the day, around 40°

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Thursday

With a short day planned, I focused on a few small tasks, beginning with the running lights.  I’d left the original holes in the cabin sides near the aft end, and now I installed basic new LED sidelights here, which I chose because converting the original el-cheapo fixtures with LED replacement bulbs cos nearly as much as new LED fixtures, and the fixtures I’d removed were nothing worth heroic effort anyway.  On each side, I prepared screw holes for the mounting, then applied butyl sealant to the bases and in the wiring holes as needed before installing the lamps.  Inside, I filled the wiring holes with additional butyl for a tight seal.

For running mast wiring through the deck, I went my usual route, which involves a stainless steel through-hull fitting mounted inside out through the deck, with the hose barb pointing up.  I like stainless for this application since bronze would tend to weather and stain the deck with its runoff.   With a similar fitting on the spar, wires could run between the spar and deck inside a length of hose, creating an easy and waterproof path for the wiring, with all connections made inside the boat.

In this case, the mounting location would be in the corner of the head compartment.  With this in mind, I’d already run the various wires into the head, where they awaited termination.  After confirming the location for the wiring exit on deck with some basic measurements, I drilled a small pilot hole from inside where I wanted the through hull, then finished the cut with a hole saw from on deck.  The location I chose was within the solid fiberglass area I’d built up around the mast step during  the deck work, and between the deck laminate itself, plus the liner, plus (I think) some fill material between the two, the deck here was surprisingly thick.  The plug from the hole saw came out in two sections, but the appearance of the hole though the deck showed no apparent gap between liner and deck itself.

The fact that the deck was solid here should have streamlined installation, as originally I’d expected and anticipated the need to remove coring and epoxy fill before installation.  But so much the better to simply be able to install the fitting now–if only I could have.  I got as far as preparing the deck around the hole with masking tape, and all other steps, before realizing that the deck was thick enough that it might be wise to test-fit the through hull.  To my dismay if not surprise, I found that the threads of the fitting didn’t extend beyond deck level, which meant I’d have no way to secure the mounting nut.

To deal with this issue, I needed about another 1/4″ of thread length–or needed to recess the through hull head by a similar amount, which, given all the details of the installation, was the approach I decided upon.  To create the recess on the headliner, I needed a center point in the hole I’d already drilled.  I thought I could temporarily hot-glue a little piece of plywood over the opening, and did so, but the torque of the hole saw spun the plywood off before the teeth got any bite in the fiberglass.  I could have tried again, but I’d already spent far too long on this little installation, and with time running out before I had to leave anyway, I decided to tape over the hole and add some epoxy from above to create a temporary plug that would work better to redrill a larger hole from beneath later.

To use up the time I had left, I installed the lighting fixture in the head.  Since the wiring for this fixture needed to enter from the side, I used a drum sander to create a small opening through the side, removing part of the raised lip that surrounded the base plate of the fitting to allow clear passage for the wire.  Then, I connected the wiring and installed the lamp on the bulkhead, leading the wire through some flexible conduit secured against the corner of the bulkhead and nearly invisible.

Since the wires were already in place, I finished up my short day by wiring the port running light inside the little wooden box at the aft end of the cabin.

Total time billed on this job today:  2.5 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  35°, cloudy,  Forecast for the day:  Mainly cloudy but becoming sunny in the afternoon high near 50°

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Wednesday

I don’t like loose ends, so first thing I finished up work around the bow platform, beginning with cutting off the excess bolt length beneath the stem fitting.  I’d sent the solid bobstay out with the riggers for inspection and recommendation, so I’d install that final piece later.

Next, I installed the bow pulpit, re-using the original stainless backing plates that fit neatly beneath the overhanging toerail.

Moving aft to some loose ends there, I installed a little draw latch to secure the hinged helm seat.

Then, I installed the mizzen step.

After some finish sanding, I applied a few coats of epoxy primer to the new main mast step riser, which would add 1-1/2″ to the height of the spar to make up for the 1-1/2″ that needed to be cut off the corroded base.

With that work out of the way, I turned to the electrical system, the last significant job on the work list for this project.  To begin, I test-fit the new face panel for the electrical control area, and found that I had to open up the area for the main electrical panel a bit so it would fit.  With this done, and after checking the other installations to ensure they fit in their holes as well, I secured the face panel with some black screws to match the general appearance of the controls that would be installed.  Nearby, I installed the quick and temporary cover panel over the old holes from the bilge pump switches; the owner hoped to do an interior rebuild phase down the road a bit.

The 12-position electrical panel came loaded with 10 circuits and two blanks, but I always like to fill out the panel immediately, which is much more convenient somewhere down the line when additional circuits are needed, so I added two additional breakers to the panel.

Installation and connection of the service panel and other switches would come soon enough, but for the moment my focus was on the bulk wiring runs.  After listing the various circuits I needed to run down each side of the boat, I started on the port side, where there were the most wire runs.  Where the wiring needed to pass through or by a bulkhead, I cut holes as needed to allow for short lengths of hose to act as chafing gear.  Then, I led wires forward along the port wire run.  For now, there was no need to lead them through the individual wire mount areas, so I let the wires drape over the shelf above the port settee.  These wires, leading forward to the head and beyond, would service a v-berth light; head light; three mast lighting circuits and VHF; and the port forward saloon light.  Mast wiring would run through the head and to a fitting I planned to install in the deck near the mast step.

At the aft end were two shorter runs leading to the small wooden box at the aft corner of the cabin, where the port running light and another saloon light would be installed.  I left the wire runs long and loose for now, leading all the wire ends back to the port cockpit locker that was and would be command central for all the connections.

With the bulk wiring on the port side complete, my impulse was to continue with the wire runs on the starboard side, which would have fewer wires overall, but my reel of wire was looking a bit thin and I figured I’d run out first anyway, so, after ordering more wire. I decided to start cleaning up and terminating some of the port wiring, starting with the port v-berth light, which I installed at the outer corner of the berth.

Moving aft, I repeated the process with the forward port saloon light, which brought things to a close for the day.

Total time billed on this job today:  8 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  26°, clear.  Forecast for the day:  Sunny, high near 50° again

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Tuesday

My next step with the electric panel was to bring the new teak faceplate up to the boat, where I laid it over the bulkhead and traced out the openings.

Behind the bulkhead, in the cockpit locker, I temporarily unscrewed the existing battery switch and a negative buss, along with any other wiring as needed, to keep them out of harm’s way while I made various cuts in the bulkhead.

Access to the bulkhead for cutting tools was tight, but eventually, and using several different tools, I completed the new cutouts as required.

Meanwhile, I prepared a few other small pieces of teak plywood for use elsewhere in the cabin, including a section to cover the holes in a nearby bulkhead where the bilge pump controls had been mounted, and some rectangles that would fit as covers over little wooden boxes that were already in place where the running lights had been mounted at the aft corners of the cabin.  Mainly for color, I applied a coat of tung oil to these pieces now so I could continue work with them soon.

Later, after some business away from the shop, I got to work on the bow platform.  The new fasteners I needed had arrived, and I began with final preparations for installation, masking off portions of the platform and the adjacent deck areas as needed, including around the base of the windlass.

I applied sealant to the flat on deck, concentrating around the boltholes, ledges, sides, and around the windlass location, then installed the platform and secured it for now with the two bolts forward of the windlass.   I should have known, but the counterbores I’d prepared here weren’t large enough for the heads of the 3/8″ machine screws I was using, and I had to enlarge the holes to 1″ to allow the heads to pass.   3/4″ would have worked, but I didn’t have a bit that size.

Meanwhile, I applied more sealant to the top of the platform in way of the windlass, then installed the windlass and four more of the 5″ long bolts.

Belowdecks, I installed the fiberglass backing plate I’d made, and secured it and the platform above with nuts and large washers.  This pulled the platform and windlass down securely into the bed of sealant, creating squeezeout everywhere.  After a few minutes, I cranked on the nuts a little more to ensure that everything was tight and in its final position.

Afterwards, I cleaned up the sealant from around the platform and windlass in all areas and removed the masking tape.

To wrap up the platform installation, I installed more tape over the forward edge to prepare for the bronze end fitting, cutting out the tape in way of the base of the fitting and drilling the eight bolt holes through the platform.  I applied sealant, then installed the fitting with eight 3/8″ bolts before cleaning up the final sealant.  I’d cut off the excess bolt length and bung the two bolt holes later.

Total time billed on this job today:  5.25 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  20°, clear.  Forecast for the day:  Sunny, 40s