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Tuesday

I got started in the morning with some final preparations for the engine’s first test run.  I filled the coolant reservoir, checking it several times and topping off as needed as the coolant found its way into the deeper engine passages and the hoses leading to the potable water heater.  I’d continue checking this level once we started the engine later.  The reservoir took about a full gallon of antifreeze at this point (and more later on).

Next, I filled the oil pan.  This required approximately 3.75 quarts of 15W40 oil.  I’d recheck this later as well.

I bled the fuel system at the engine-mounted secondary filter, a quick and easy process with the primer bulb in the fuel line.  This photo shows the bleed screw on the filter.

To fill the transmission with fluid (ATF), I first removed a drain plug on the side of the transmission (as directed), then added fluid through the large fill hole on the aft side of the transmission.  After three full quarts, oil finally seeped out of the drain hole, at which point I rethreaded the plug and checked the level on the dipstick.

After completing setup of a temporary intake hose, fresh water source, and bucket. we were ready to fire the engine the first time.  The owner was on hand for the event.  The initial firing was slightly delayed when we found there was inexplicably no power to the engine panel in the cockpit, but I quickly traced that to the wire harness plug at the engine, which had come undone, perhaps when I was leaning over it while filling the transmission or doing some other job earlier.  With the plug reconnected, the engine fired almost without touching the key, and never hiccuped.  I noticed a water leak in the exhaust hose behind the engine, which is shown briefly at the end of this video and in the photo below.

I’m not much on video editing, so you get several separate and raw videos showing different parts of the process.  After the initial running of about 5 minutes, we shut down so I could check the fluids.  As expected, I topped off the oil level and coolant a bit.  Then, it was time for a more extended test run, allowing the engine to come up to temperature.

During the final stage of the test run, we checked the prop rotation when the gear lever was moved one way or another.   With no documentation as to which way was which on the transmission lever itself, and no simple way of reversing it, I’d simply hooked up the cable and hoped that pulling up on the pedestal control would be reverse and down would be forward.  Inevitably, the lever was backwards, so to correct the problem the only solution in this case was to reverse the control lever and cable support bracket on the transmission–fortunately not a terrible process in this case.

Afterwards, pushing the pedestal control lever down produced righthand (forward) rotation on the prop, and vise-versa, as intended and required.

Later, with the excitement of the engine out of the way, the owner finished up work in the lazarette (work he’d requested to do), securing the blower and vent hoses and making their final connections as required, and painting out the other half of the locker.  There he is, hard at work sanding in the first photo.

Meanwhile, I worked on removing two of the four cabin top winches, which the owner wanted to replace with self-tailers.  Removing two teak cover plates from the cabin, I exposed the nuts and washers, which I removed easily, then, from on deck, I removed the fasteners and the two winches, quickly scraping off excess sealant from the deck as I went.  The first set of new winches the owner had purchased were not what he wanted–single speed only–so installation of new winches would come a little further down the road.

Afterwards, I cleaned up the boat and shop from the engine test, dismantling the hoses, exhaust piping, and removing the excess fluid containers and so forth from the boat.

Total time billed on this job today:  6.75 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
25°, clear.  Forecast for the day:  sunny, high 50s

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Monday

Preparing ahead for an engine test-run in the shop, I set up some hose and piping to route the engine exhaust out of the shop–as much to avoid the mess as the fumes.  I clamped a length of 1-1/2″ hose to the outside of the exhaust outlet, which allowed me to lead the exhaust forward, where I connected the hose to a series of plastic pipes and flexible connectors I had on hand, leading forward towards the shop door.

The boat–decks and hull–had been painted elsewhere several years earlier, and in some areas of the deck (mainly the cockpit), the paint had not adhered properly, and when someone masked off the brightwork, the tape pulled away the paint.  This was a pity since the decks looked good otherwise.  These photos show a few of the worst areas in the cockpit.

The owner wanted to improve the appearance while stopping short of what the cockpit (and perhaps other areas of the deck) really needed, which was to start over to ensure proper preparation and adhesion of the topcoat.  But accepting the existing conditions for what they were, I thought we could patch in some new paint to hide the ragged edge and primer beneath, though the repairs would be necessarily imperfect.

The cockpit was painted with Imron paint, which I thought would be a compatible base beneath the Alexseal I normally used, and which I preferred to use for the repair since I had it on hand and was used to using it.  To check for compatibility, I soaked small rags in some of the topcoat solvent and taped these rags to the existing paint in a few areas.  After 15 minutes, I removed the solvent-soaked rags and checked the paint beneath.  There was no sign of failure, or anything beyond an almost imperceptible softening of the Imron coating, so the existing coating, for all its known shortcomings in this particular cockpit, would be compatible as a base beneath the new paint where they blended together.  I’d move forward with this touch-up job in the near future.  This also meant I could more easily prime and paint the large patch at the forward end of the cockpit where I’d repaired the old gauge holes.

Total time billed on this job today:  1 hour

0600 Weather Observation:
24°, clear.  Forecast for the day:  sun, high in the 40s

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Friday

Next on my agenda was to install the new propeller, a 3-blade feathering J-prop.  Unpacking the components from the box, and looking through the instructions, I dismantled what I needed to and prepared all the parts for installation.  The first pieces were a spacer–clearly marked in the box (there was another type of spacer in the box also) and a sacrificial anode.

Next, I installed the hub center and Morse taper.   This process took a little while, as the center was grooved to match the grooves on the Saildrive shaft, and there were two small keys that needed to line up after the threaded Morse taper was installed and tightened–a trial and error process requiring a few repositionings of the grooved center piece.

With the center hub in place, and the little keys secured, I installed the propeller itself, slipping it over the shaft and aligning it with the holes in the center hub.  Then, I used the supplied wrench to tighten the internal prop nut, located within the prop hub itself.

Afterwards, I finished up the installation with a smaller Allen bolt inside the hub, followed by the external zinc at the end of the prop.  For now, I did not make any adjustments to the propeller pitch, so the blades were basically flat when opened all the way.

Later, I applied two coats of bottom paint to the area around the leg, including the rubber boot.  I did not apply any bottom paint to the leg, which came from the factory with a white paint.

Back inside the boat, I continued work on the starboard water tank.  I build a new plywood cleat for the aft end of the space, and modified an existing cleat from the forward end, to accept longitudinal braces, as I’d done on the port side earlier.  Here, the amount of available room was less, so the new braces had to be smaller in their height dimension.  The smaller, outboard brace required two screws into the plywood top to hold it in the center of the field, as it tended to bow upwards slightly.

The locker spaces forward of each water tank were worn and dirty, and after some sanding and cleannup, I applied Bilgekote in these areas to brighten them and make them easier to keep clean in the future.

Total time billed on this job today:  5 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
36°, clear.  Forecast for the day:  Sunny, 49°

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Wednesday

I began once again with some sanding at the Saildrive leg opening, sanding smooth and fair the epoxy compound I’d applied earlier.  This completed the prep work for the area.  Afterwards, I thoroughly cleaned the inside of the opening and the surrounding area.

It didn’t feel right not to coat the inside of the opening with something, so I used some bottom paint to paint out the new work within.

There was now nothing standing in the way of installing the rubber drive boot, supplied with this engine package. The instructions called for using a “suitable glue” to secure the boot, but otherwise was non-specific.  Searching online for clues and others’ experiences, and wading through the usual fluff , I eventually determined to use polyurethane adhesive (4200) to secure the rubber.  Not only was this product compatible with both materials in question, but it was strong and flexible and durable, with the added benefit of quick tack time, and a stiff-enough consistency to ensure that the boot would stick in place immediately and on its own without a need for substantial clamping means.

The boot was a cosmetic/hydrodynamic thing only, and was not designed for–nor would it provide–watertightness.  In fact, cooling of the leg internals required that the entire length of the leg be submerged in water, including within the large foundation/hull opening.  There was a small drain/air release hole in the boot as well.

To begin, I used sandpaper to scuff up the bonding surface of the rubber, then cleaned it and the hull’s bonding area with solvent.  With the boot held in place dry, I marked its outline on the hull as a guide for placing the adhesive, then applied an even coat of the 4200 to the hull and boot before pressing the boot into its final position.  I used a J-roller to press out the boot and excess adhesive and ensure a good bond, and smoothed out any excess from around the edges.

A little later, the initial adhesive had tacked up to the point that I could use additional material to create a sort of fillet at the edges of the boot, further smoothing the transition and adding (I hoped) additional strength and resistance to the edges lifting off with time.

Earlier, attempting to test the potable water pump after reconfiguring the hose situation, I’d tried powering up the ship’s electrical system, only to find that the main panel was dead with no power.  Investigating, I found that someone, in an overenthusiastic attempt to clean up unnecessary wiring during the engine room reconfiguration earlier, had clipped off the main wires leading to the panel and negative distribution.  (I’m not sure who it was, but with such a small shop surely I’d soon locate the culprit.)  So I led new positive and negative wires from the battery switch and new negative distribution buss in the battery locker, and reconnected the main DC panel, after which various components tested operational.

Now I test-fit the forward panel of the engine room, initially thinking of reassembling it (it would be nice to have companionway steps again), but it impeded the engine access a bit more than I wanted at this stage, at least until we’d done the test-firing of the engine in the near future.  The panel was semi-permanent, secured with screws, so I didn’t want to jump the gun.   While I had it in place I noted that I could remove some additional material on the starboard side to ease future access to the secondary fuel filter, so I marked the extent and took the panel down to the bench for cutting and surface prep that would lead into the next phase of the project.

In the icebox drain line, I plumbed in a shutoff valve, located within easy reach of an engine room access door, to control the drainage from the icebox for collection and disposal.

To complete the water heater installation, I installed a new plastic outlet box in the compartment, then wired up a GFCI outlet using the wiring that already existed in the space, leftover from an older water heater.  For now, I left the water heater cord unplugged to ensure that the element wasn’t fired electrically until the tank was full of water.

Turning to the starboard water tank, I found that it was installed similarly to the port tank, but at least here the metal stiffener on the top panel hadn’t yet been bent out of shape.  As before, I removed the cleats securing the plywood top, and then unbolted the stiffener for disposal.  Later, I’d build new support members like those on the opposite side, but for the moment I was out of time.

Total time billed on this job today:  6.25 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
48°, cloudy.  Forecast for the day:  clouds, 58°

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Tuesday

I continued work on the saildrive opening.  As needed, I sanded the latest round of fiberglass and, after cleaning up, applied a coat of fairing filler around the opening.

The owner wanted to reroute the icebox drain, which had led to a small hand pump that he said had failed to work satisfactorily.  To this end, I removed the pump and prepared new lengths of hose for the drain, and removed the old discharge hose that had led all the way to the galley sink drain, where I installed a plug in the old line since there was no way to completely eliminate the original fitting.

This opened up additional space in the engine room near the water pump, and this turned into the ideal location to remount the water tank selector valve that I’d removed from near the port water tank earlier.  I mounted the valve on a block and led the hoses as required, marking the handle and bulkhead accordingly.

I installed the hose fittings on the new water heater, then installed the heater in the quarterberth locker, securing it to the locker’s floor with screws.  I made up the final hose connections to the tank.  For the electrical connection, I ordered an outlet and box to install, since the heater was equipped with a normal plug and I thought it best to keep it as is rather than reconfigure it otherwise.  I’d complete that hookup as soon as the parts arrived.

Next, I turned to the port water tank, and a means of better securing it in place.  The old system, with a cleat against the settee bulkhead and a metal stiffener bar across the top of the plywood, had failed to properly constrain the tank.  To better secure it, I cut a plywood cleat to fit across the aft end of the space, and notched the cleat to accept two longitudinal beams that would hold the plywood tank top in place.  I secured the cleat to the bulkhead with screws.

At the forward end, I repurposed an original plywood cleat, notching it as well to secure the beams.  I installed new, larger screws in the cleat against the settee front, and secured the forward cleat with four bolts through an intermediate bulkhead at the forward end of the tank, securing the beams in place yet making removal easy should it be required.

With a new fuel primer bulb now on hand, I finished up the fuel system by installing the bulb on the suction side of the filter.  This worked well to easily fill the filter with fuel, once I opened the fuel valve for the test.

Total time billed on this job today:  6.75 hours

0600 Weather Report:
24°, clear.  Forecast for the day:  sunny, 48

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Monday

With a grinder and cutting wheel, I removed the excess cured fiberglass draping beneath the saildrive leg opening, then sanded the remnants flush with the hull and cleaned up the inside of the opening as needed.  I sanded a radius on the opening’s edge to help fiberglass lay over this area later.

After cutting fiberglass tabbing for the next step, I prepared the surfaces with an epoxy coating, which I spread over the inside of the opening, the edge, and the hull.  I allowed this to slightly tack before wetting out and installing tabbing spanning from the inside of the opening to the adjacent hull on all sides.

The owner arrived for a meeting about some additional work he wanted to do on the boat, and afterwards we worked on resecuring the bilge pump and ventilation hoses in the lazarette (the blower hose required an adapter flange to secure it to the bottom of the clamshell vent, which I ordered later), then he cleaned up and began painting the lazarette, completing half of it now; the other half could be done later, once the first side was dry.  He also painted the hull inside the locker where I eventually planned to install the water heater.

Meanwhile, I got started on one of the newer tasks on the list:  a reconfiguration of portions of the fresh water system.  The way it was originally (and now) set up, the supply from the starboard tank, located beneath the settee, ran all the way around to the port tank location on the opposite side, where there was a valve to select between one tank or the other.  The owner requested that this valve be relocated to the engine room for easier selection of the tank supply.  Also, he reported that the original system for securing the tanks in place–a plywood top with a metal brace secured to it as a stiffener–had failed, and the tank was free to expand when being filled, forcing this plywood top up.  Over time, this expansion had bent the T-shaped metal stiffener.  I planned to reconfigure the system to better hold the tanks in place.

Removing the top, I removed the metal stiffener, and left the plywood aside for the moment.  I removed the selector valve from the interim bulkhead and, after tracing the hoses as needed, I removed back to the engine room the line leading around to the starboard tank, and reconnected the main supply line to the port tank supply.  At the engine room, I pulled free the starboard supply hose from its circuitous route around the aft end of the engine room, leaving the excess free on the starboard side near the water pump, where I’d soon reconnect it to a selector valve along with the port supply hose.  I’d take care of that, and some other related water system tasks, next time.

Total time billed on this job today:  7 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
40°, clouds and a shower.  Forecast for the day:  Becoming sunny, near 50°

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Friday

In the engine room, I ran lengths of 5/8″ water heater hose from the barbed outlet and inlet provided on the engine’s fresh water cooling system.  These hoses would provide engine heating to a new potable water heater in a nearby locker.  I secured the hoses to one another and out of the way as necessary, and left the lengths long in the water heater locker for later connection.

The new water itself was a stainless steel 6.5 gallon cylinder, fired by both engine coolant bypass and 110V AC electric.  For now, I squeezed the tank into the locker to check the fit, and noted the pipe-hose connections required for the four connections.  Previous experience with this heater had reminded me that at least one of the connections was an odd thread type (BSPT thread); the remaining three required 1/2″ NPT female threads.  I ordered the requisite connectors so I’d have them on hand when I was ready to complete the heater installation.

In the cockpit, I made up the connections between the engine control cables, which I’d earlier fitted with the original clevises from the old cables, and the controls on the pedestal. This was straightforward, and afterwards I tested the cable throw to ensure that both levers moved their respective engine controls the requisite full throw, particularly the transmission lever. The adjustments were good, so I secured the locknuts to hold the cable ends a their current point of travel.  On the throttle lever, I replaced a temporary fixing screw with a new bolt to secure the handle tightly in place.

Afterwards, I made up new removable wire ends for the compass light connection, then reinstalled the binnacle and the compass itself, completing the pedestal work.

One of the reasons for installing a new fuel gauge and wiring was that the owner reported that the old gauge had not worked.  I’d hoped a new gauge and wiring would take care of the problem, rather than needing to replace the fuel tank sender, so now with the boat’s electrical system reconnected, I could do a quick test to see if the new installation worked.    With the engine key switch on–that’s where I’d drawn the power for the fuel gauge–the gauge lit up and provided a realistic reading, so presumably all was well with the sender.

Most of the engine installation work was now complete.  Still ahead I’d need to make up the final hose and power connections for the new water heater, and secure the heater in place, and also finalize the fuel supply line to the filter, which I’d held off on while awaiting a hand primer bulb to install in the line to make filling the filter easier now and in the future; this had been a last-minute decision on my part, so I’d not had the bulb on hand.  I checked the engine fluids for future reference:  all were empty, as expected, including the transmission.  Final engine testing would await spring and the time just before launching.  I started some of the reassembly of the engine room, including a cross beam at the after end, and a cleat and removable panel on the port side.

Later, and after final preparations, I installed fiberglass within the Saildrive leg opening, bonding the engine foundation to the hull inside the opening.  To begin, I wrapped two layers of lighter cloth (10 oz. roving) over the patches in the widened part of the opening, and over the top onto the molded edge of the circular opening above.  I used the lighter material here as I thought it’d hold the firmer corner better than biaxial fabric.  With this part of the tabbing in place, I installed two layers of 1708 biax all the way around, letting the excess run wild below the hull for later trimming.  Then, I added one more layer of tabbing over the widened patch area for good measure.  Access was tight, but do-able, though the work was less aesthetic than I’d normally like.  But what was important was good bonding between the layers themselves, and to the hull and foundation, and I ensured that I got out any air bubbles, mainly using a gloved hand since there was no room for tools within.

Once this material cured, I’d cut and sand away the excess, then apply a final layer, which I’d wrap out onto the hull itself along the lower corner.  I’d get to that next time.

Total time billed on this job today:  4.5 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
42°, rain.  Forecast for the day:  Rain, 45°

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Thursday

First thing, I finished up tapping the hole for the last engine mount bolt.  I timed the process:  almost 45 minutes to tap through the fiberglass (easy) and  stainless steel plate, and this was one of the easiest of the four holes.  Just lots of backing off the tap to clear the chips and to prevent breaking another tap, and minute cutting progress each time.  Given the access and limitations of the tools (and, frankly, the operator), slow and steady was far safer than trying to accellerate the process, much as I wanted to.

Now that all the mounts were finally secure, I could move on with finishing up the final engine connections.  While access was still as clear as possible, I started with the intake vent hose, which I led over to the port side of the space and secured with a wire tie to the bulkhead to keep it out of the way of the nearby muffler.  I left the exposed end near the transmission, where it could provide fresh air into the compartment.  I lulled any slack in the hose back into the lazarette, where I’d eventually make the final connection to the clamshell vent on deck.

Next, I installed the 2″ exhaust hose from the engine elbow to the muffler, securing it with four clamps.

From the outlet side of the fuel filter, I led a fuel hose across the engine foundation and connected it to the little mecnanical fuel pump inlet on the starboard forward side of the engine.

I secured a length of water intake hose along the side of the foundation between the raw water intake strainer and the engine’s water pump.

Now, I used the pre-existing lengths of battery cable, to which I affixed new terminal lugs, and made up the battery connections to the engine’s positive and negative connection points (starter solenoid and an engine ground bolt), as well as cleaning up and finalizing the cabling at the batteries themselves with new terminal lugs and rerouted cable runs.  I also secured bonding wires, which I’d removed early in the project, back to the engine intake seacock and engine ground.

With the electrical system back up and running, I could test the engine panel.

Next, I secured the new blower to its plywood panel, then attached the panel to the bulkhead at the aft end of the engine room, securing it with bolts and attaching the length of blower hose I’d led into the engine room earlier.  At the blower’s intake end, I installed another short length of hose, mainly to shield the blower fan for safety reasons.  The blower in this case was intended to evacuate excess heat, not fumes, so there was no  need nor desire to lead the intake hose lower into the space.  Again, a little later I’d finish up the other end of the hose connection, but for now, this was enough to run a blower test as well.

There were still some tasks to expunge from the list, including making up the pedestal control cable connections and fiberglassing the inside of the Saildrive leg hole from the bottom, but now most of the final engine connections were complete.

A little later, I applied a couple coats of white antifouling paint over the patches in the bottom, as I’d grown tired of looking at the scars.

Total time billed on this job today:  5.5 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
30°, mostly clear.  Forecast for the day:  sun to clouds, rain overnight

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Wednesday

Awaiting new taps to finish up the engine mount bolt holes, I worked on various final connections to the engine, beginning with the throttle and gear control cables.  There’d likely be final adjustments to the cables later when I connected the pedestal end to the controls there.

When I pre-arranged some of the fuel lines, for reasons unknown I’d been envisioning the fuel connections on the engine’s port side–I knew better, but perhaps the configuration of the old engine, which had the fuel connections in the aft port corner,  was was stuck in my mind.  In any event, the fuel supply and return connections  were actually to starboard, so I needed to change things around.  Fortunately, this was easy, and there was ample hose to make the change.  To begin, I led the fuel return line across the aft part of the engine foundation, just forward of the transmission, then up to its connection at the engine, near the aft starboard side.  I secured it with cushioned clamps and, on the engine itself, with some chafe gear where I secured it to the nearby control bracket.

I’d temporarily removed the fuel filter during engine installation to increase space, and now I reinstalled it.  I moved it a little higher than I’d originally placed it since I found that the bowl ended up close to the top of the foundation, and access to the drain in that original location would have been awkward.  Moving the filter up improved access and kept the filter unit well out of the way of any engine interference.  I also spun the filter 180° to reverse the position of inlet and outlet ports to better fit the reality of the eventual hose leads.

Now I test-fit the engine exhaust elbow, which had been shipped separately from the engine, and I’d left it off during installation.  I found that the raw water inlet at the top of the elbow ended up directly in way of the engine room after bulkhead (natch), so I had to mark and cut away the bulkhead in this area to allow the elbow and its hose to fit.  This also required me to move up the pre-existing wire and hose bundle that I’d led across the bulkhead earlier, but other than resecuring the clamps this didn’t require any other substantial changes to the bundle.  Afterwards, I permanently installed the elbow with its four bolts, and attached the supplied injection hose.

I led the engine wiring harness across the aft end of the engine, securing it as necessary, and made the connection at the engine plug.

In the afternoon, with my new tap on hand, I worked on the remaining bolt holes to secure the engine mounts.  Despite the fresh tool, this was still slow going.  Progress was incremental, but eventually I finished the forward hole  on the port side, and moved on to the port after hole.  Access here was awkward, with various obstructions limiting the torque I could put on the tap handle, and completing the threads in this hole was an exercise in frustration, though ultimately successful.  As I felt I was getting close to finally threading the hole all the way through, the bad angles conspired against me and I broke off the tap–the very thing I’d tried so hard to avoid all along.  To my great relief, I found that not only did the tap break with enough exposed above the hole to grab easily, but the tap was also loose and not bound, so I was able to remove the broken part without difficulty and then finish the hole with another tap–I was right, the first tap was just breaking through the bottom when it broke, so although I knew I was pressing my luck at this point, I finished the third of the four holes, but knew better than to approach the final hole on the other side till next time, as I’d clearly used up the good Karma for the day.

Total time billed on this job today:  4.75 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
34°, Clear.  Forecast for the day:  becoming cloudy, chance of a shower, high 44