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Thursday

I’d forgotten to run a wire pair forward for the owner’s planned and eventual Sat Phone, which would mount in the electronics locker, so to begin, I completed that circuit, adding another terminal block for easy connection and disconnection at will.

During the rest of the morning, I finished up the wiring on the port electrical panel, including the rest of the negative distribution buss and all the positive wires, many of which I attached to a separate terminal block to reduce the number of wires leading to the panel, and to minimize wire numbers on any single terminal stud.  The top half of the terminal block serviced the various electronics, which shared a panel circuit, and the lower half serviced three separate power and charging outlets on the port side.   Then, I connected the circuits to the new panel, completing various panel wiring that was required as well (side-by-side panels don’t come with the two sections jumped together).  Afterwards, I installed the panel in its opening, and added appropriate labels to the six circuits.

I spent the remainder of the day repeating the process on the starboard panel, where I terminated all the wires and finalized the installation there.  To prepare ahead for an eventual stereo speaker installation in the molded panel beneath, I led the wire down through the aft side of the electrical enclosure and into the space beneath, covering it with some split loom as there was no way to interconnect without this short exposed span.

Total time billed  on this job today:  8 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
40°, cloudy.  Forecast for the day:  possible shower, clouds, high around 65

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Wednesday

Moving forward with the battery buss assembly, now that the epoxy-coated platform had cured, I pre-assembled the various components on the board.  Considering how the wires would eventually lead, I decided to turn the ACR around so the wires would come out cleanly on the free side of the platform.  Before final installation, I pre-wired anything I could, including a negative lead between the shunt and negative distribution, and a small fused  ground wire from the ACR  Then, with the hull prepared in the bonding area and a small block hot-glued in to hold the platform against sliding, I epoxied the assembly to the hull and left it to cure.

To wire the stern light, built into the Monitor windvane, I led aft a wire pair along a pre-determined route behind the cockpit coaming, then, next to the support tube base containing the stern light wire, installed a side-entry cable clam to accept the wire.  This section of the deck was non-cored, so I didn’t need to do any special hole preparations.   To allow for possible removal of the windvane, I made up the stern light wiring with removable connectors, leaving enough slack belowdecks to allow the wiring to be disconnected if needed.  Back at the electrical panels, I ran the bitter end of the wire across from port to starboard, so I could join it with the bow light wiring to a common breaker on that side.

Meanwhile, I continued with the final wire runs on the port side, beginning with three circuits up into the new electronics locker, where I installed terminal blocks to allow easy removal of the entire front panel (which would include the various electronics), which the owner had requested.  For now, I tucked in spare speaker and VHF cable wire while awaiting the final connections of those items.

I connected the required five wires to the RTE control box, including a power supply from the panel, then the three wires from the mast wiring.  I led aft the two wires that would supply power to the masthead all-round white light, which would be switched separately.  I wired the RTE box from the bottom, highlighting why I needed the extra space carved out of the back of the panel.  To access the screws that clamped the wires in place, I had to remove the control box from the mounting kit temporarily.  There was a set of back wire terminals a little higher up, but I didn’t have any sort of connectors in my inventory that fit the terminals therein.

Later, I installed a simple pull switch to operate the LED night light in the panel (which would be incorporated into the cabin lights circuit), and secured the various wiring in the new electronics locker.

I thought that was pretty much it for bulk wiring circuits, and now I was ready to move on to the final termination of all the new wires.  To begin, I untaped the glued-on terminal blocks in the two locker areas, and, on the port side, secured up and out of th e way a mass of transducer cable for the knotmeter.

To connect the panels and distribution busses with the battery system, I ran battery cable into each of the two electric locker areas through the hidden wire conduit behind the bulkhead, hopefully the last wires I’d have to lead through.

Then, I made up the ends, connecting the yellow wire to the negative distribution buss on each side, and leaving enough slack in the positive wire to allow for connection to the panel later, and to allow removal of the panels for wiring and servicing.

Finally, I began to make up the negative wire ends, starting on the port side.  I labeled each wire with its circuit number as I went.  I’d continue this process with the remaining wires, and eventually make up the positive ends to the panels and terminal blocks as required.

Total time billed on this job today:  6.75 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
25°, clear.  Forecast for the day:  Sunny, 50

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Tuesday

Not wanting to let the varnish work fall too far behind, I sanded and varnished (5) the tiller once again.

I wanted to minimize running wires back and forth across the aft end of the boat, but I couldn’t avoid it entirely.  The red LED light in the electronics locker would best be tied in to the cabin lights circuit, and operated separately on its own switch nearby.  I didn’t have a switch on hand, so I ordered one, and then I pre-wired (to the extent possible, other than connecting to the new switch) the back of the light fixture and, using the messenger lines I’d run in when I removed the old wiring, pulled the wire across through the after wire chases so it could connect with the cabin lights circuit on the starboard panel.   At the same time, I pulled through a length of speaker wire to service the starboard speaker now or in the future, and pulled through a new length of messenger so I could run additional wires as needed.

Mast wiring requirements on this boat included a VHF  antenna cable, as well as three wires for the combination steaming/deck light (two leads plus a negative), and five wires for the masthead unit containing the radar target enhancer and all-round white LED light.  The wires from the mast would need a point of easy connection in order to allow for unstepping the mast.  To keep the wire runs easy and clean, I used multi-conductor cable for each.  I’d had to order a length of 5-conductor cable for the RTE, so I started now with the 3 wire cable for the mast light, leading the wire forward into the hanging locker on the port side, where I installed a terminal block for the wire connection.  I labeled each wire accordingly, and left the panel end to run long for now while it awaited final termination there.

Next, I ran in a length of VHF cable, leaving the after end a bit long and unterminated for now, but because the connector from the mast end would be too large to pass through the smallish opening in the beam to reach the wiring area, I made up the connection end near the new mast wiring deck fitting, where it would be hidden inside the small cover box on the overhead.

Later, with the new 5-conductor cable on hand, I installed a second terminal block for the RTE and anchor light, and made up the five wires there before securing the mast wiring runs along the bulkhead and pulling aft all the excess wire from the various runs, leaving the aft ends unterminated for the moment.   I labeled all the new wires and the terminal block as needed to ensure proper connections when the mast was stepped, now and in the future.

To the two power outlets in the angled panel, I led two short wire pairs, and made up the ends at the outlets’ terminals.  With other wiring going on nearby, it’d be a little bit till I could do the final cleanup and securing of the wiring in this area.

The question of where to install the various components of the battery system–distribution busses, the Automatic Charging Relay (ACR), and the shunt for the battery monitor, had been on my mind for a while.  These connections needed to be readily accessible for installation, but also well-protected and out of sight.    The challenges involved in running in the various lengths of larger battery cable also dictated (or eliminated) various possibilities, particularly with an eye towards minimizing cable runs, and I considered the various possibilities for how to lead the cables to and from the new house battery compartment and wherever the start battery would end up (hopefully the forward end of the engine room), and at this writing there were a few possibilities in play that could work, which was all I really needed to know at the moment.  When the time came soon to  actually run the cables, I’d figure out which option worked the best for me, and for the future.

The engine room didn’t really have the space (not once the engine and its ancillary installations were complete, and in any event wasn’t the best location for most of this anyway.  There wasn’t room in the battery locker itself.  Eventually, I decided to build a small wooden platform–which would be the surface to which I’d actually install the distribution busses and other items–that would fit in the port settee locker against the hull.  This would give the access required for maintenance and installation, and with the components well-covered would protect the wiring within, without impinging too much on available storage space.  This particular locker already contained a bilge pump and related hoses, plus the depthsounder transducer.  As a bonus, it was also convenient to lead in the Ethernet cable for the battery monitor, which was located directly above (well, semi-directly), and since the batteries were also on the port side, wiring would be as efficient as possible.

To this end, I laid out a plywood panel to contain the positive and negative distribution busses, the ACR, and the monitor shunt.  I built plywood “legs” so the platform would only rest on  the hull in specific areas, and, after a test-fit, I epoxy-coated the whole platform in advance, leaving it to cure.  In the locker, I prepared the eventual bonding surface by sanding the factory locker gelcoat where the legs would rest.

It made sense to install the new battery switch on this side as well; the old switch had been to starboard.    I mounted the new switch from the back side of the locker side, beneath the companionway steps.

Now I could run in the Ethernet cable for the battery monitor–the only direct connection between the display and the other wiring.  There was room to run it hidden through the settee bottom and into the locker behind, then up into the new electronics locker above, where I tied up all the excess cable (I decided it was best to have it here) and connected the cable to the monitor.  Inside the locker, I protected the cable with split loom, and secured it out of the way as much as possible.  I also led in, through the same opening from above, a length of speaker wire for the port speaker, which would eventually be installed just aft of the sliding locker doors on each side.

To prepare for the final wire termination in the two electrical panel locations, at the end of the day I used adhesive to install negative distribution busses and terminal blocks on each side, against the hull liner.  I lightly sanded and solvent-washed these areas before securing the components with adhesive and tape to hold them while the adhesive cured.  The terminal blocks would help minimize individual wire leads to the circuit breakers on the panel for some of the circuits containing multiple installations, such as cabin lights, electronics, and power outlets.

Total time billed on this job today:  7.25 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
Showers, 35°.  Forecast for the day:  clouds, showers, and eventual clearing; windy.  HIgh in the 40s

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Monday

To begin, I assembled the various components into the small, angled piece of the electronics locker, and installed the panel semi-permanently with screws.

Forward of the mast step, I drilled a hole through the deck for the mast wiring chase, and installed it and a cover panel (to cosmetically cover the old, patched wiring holes) with plenty of sealant.  The cover plate was secured only with sealant, and of course the through hull itself.

While I was in the area, I also applied new sealant around the dug-out edges of the mast step plate.  I’d leave the tape in place till the sealant cured in this instance.

After loading aboard wire reels, tools, and related needs, I spent the rest of the day on bulk wiring, starting with the wire runs on the starboard side.  Before beginning, I thought about how I wanted to lay out the circuits on the two switch panels, since I wanted to minimize  wire runs from one side of the boat to the other,  There was limited space in the hidden wire channels at the aft end of the cabin, the only way to communicate invisibly from one side of the boat to the other, and keeping this sort of run to a minimum would avoid extra-long wire runs also.

I started with the bicolor light on the pulpit, and ran a new wire forward through existing wire runs to interconnect with a leftover stub of the original wire in the forward cabin.  There was no other wiring to run this far forward, so I could go ahead and secure the new wire in the pre-installed wire tie mounts.  I pulled the slack back towards the starboard panel area, and, leaving plenty of excess wire for final termination later, cut off the wire and began the next run.

Working my way aft, I ran new wires to the forward cabin and head on the starboard side, where I installed new LED lighting fixtures in both locations, as well as another USB charging port in the forward cabin (located so as to be hidden behind a cover panel in the head).  In the head, where the wires had to be exposed, I led the wires through split loom and secured it neatly against the overhead.

With an existing wire chase spanning the passageway in the head, near the mast step, I could run wires across the boat from starboard to port in order to service the lighting fixtures in the port v-berth and port galley, and then to the starboard galley lighting fixture as well.  Where the wires would be open to view, I secured them in more split loom secured with rubber clamps; in the hanging locker, where the wires would be behind a partial bulkhead (currently removed for access), I used glue-on wire mounts for simplicity.  Each fixture had its own wire pair led aft to the panel location.

The galley stove required power for ignition and fan operation, and I led the new wire in from beneath to connect to the stove itself.  The connection point beneath the stove was a simple plug that could be removed easily enough from beneath should the stove require removal someday.  Meanwhile, I reconnected the stove’s fuel supply and exhaust vent.

This completed all the wire runs forward on this side, so I could straighten out and secure the wires along the wire chase at the far edge of the deck liner, leaving the wire ends at the panel location for eventual termination.  I’d continue with the port side wiring next time.

Total time billed on this job today:  7.5 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
Cloudy, 32°.  Forecast for the day:  Rain in the afternoon, high in the 40s.

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Saturday

At my request, the owner provided me with a quick sketch of his proposed layout for items in the new electrical locker, which I used to lay out the actual sizes of the listed equipment on the panel, which I covered with tape for layout purposes.  I tried to leave a full 3″ buffer at the bottom, plus more than an inch at the top, to account for support cleats, hinges, and other obstructions (like the backrest)  Then, I test-fit it in the boat with the backrest in place to see how it worked out in reality.

While it would work with this layout if necessary, the two items at the forward end were pretty scrunched in, and the stereo was lower than ideal, and partially hidden behind the backrest.  I thought it might work better if I moved the small control box at the top (for a masthead unit combining a radar target enhancer (RTE) and an anchor light) to the angled after panel, where it could share space with the battery monitor and other installations, and this would open up the forward end of the large panel for the stereo to move up.  This seemed to work better, and the owner approved the change, though with final decisions still pending on some of the installations and whether or not they would happen nor or in the future, we decided to wait on cutting any of the large panel till later.

Still, I could proceed with the cutout for the RTE in the angled panel.  Using a supplied flush mount kit, I laid out the opening and cut it as needed.  The flush-mount kit and control box itself appeared to have been designed for a thin metal panel, and the way the wiring connections to the control box worked required that I expand the cutout on the bottom edge–basically extend it as far down as I could while still allowing the coverplate to cover the hole–and even use a router with a chamfer bit to pare away material on the back side to allow access to the wiring block on the control.

With the panels complete for now, I lightly sanded as needed, then applied coats of teak oil to match the other woodwork.

The owner re quested a second 12V outlet on the port electrical panel, so I went ahead and prepared the opening for that now.

Later, I installed the new rudder cheeks, now that their varnish work was complete.  I thought I could install the side pieces loosely, then insert the center part at the top, but this didn’t work well at all, so after some frustrating moments I removed the cheeks and pre-assembled the three sections on the bench before installing the whole assembly on the boat.    The whole process was more difficult than I imagined it could be, since, despite having copied the original cheeks exactly–including the bolt holes–I had trouble aligning things, and had to ream out the bolt holes, which had gotten some varnish in and didn’t make it easy to install the threaded rod.

In the event, I got the cheeks installed with new stainless steel threaded rod and acorn nuts on both sides.  What I thought would be a 5-minute job ended up taking over 30 minutes, but why this sort of thing continued to take me by surprise was the only real question.

After the usual light sanding, I applied another coat of varnish to the tiller.

Continuing with various small and loose ends, I cleaned up the excess ( and now-cured) sealant from around the chainplate covers.

Meanwhile, I applied a coat of paint to the battery box pieces.

Total time billed on this job today:  4.25 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
30°, cloudy.  Forecast for the day:  Clearing, high in the low 40s

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Friday

Tying up one loose end from earlier in the week, I installed the discharge hose for the cabin bilge pump.

Throughout the boat–including around the bilge pump hoses in the settee locker–I installed wire tie mounts, planning ahead for running wiring and for securing other installations as required.  The special adhesive required (based on experience) plenty of cure time before applying any loads to the mounts, so whenever I could I liked to get these glued in well in advance.  This is just a representation of the mounts that I located throughout the boat in planned wiring areas.

Among other places, I installed two larger mounts in the locker beneath the cabin sole, so that later int eh day I could install a strap to hold the icebox reservoir in place.  I kept the strap intentionally loose enough to allow the jug to be removed as needed.

Using my cardboard template as a guide, I prepared the base plywood panel for the front of the electronics locker.  I left it long on the aft end while I test-fit it and marked where it overlapped the angled panel, and then I cut the aft end to the corresponding angle.

With the panels’ sizing and shaping complete, I cut pieces of 1/4″ teak plywood to cover the substrate, letting the teak run wild over the edges to allow for later trimming, except at the two sharply-angled sides, where I pre-cut the teak to the correct angle and, when gluing the veneer to the substrate, carefully aligned this section on both pieces.  I laminated the teak to the plywood with waterproof wood glue, and clamped the pieces securely for several hours before continuing.

While the panels were in the clamps, I worked on other loose ends, starting with the engine control cables.  I installed these now so that I could wrap up work in the starboard cockpit locker with the fuel tank, since access to the back side of the controls was best right now, while the fuel fill hose and vent were not installed.    The existing control unit was in good condition, so I purchased new cables and, using the old cable ends saved from the originals, I reconnected the throttle and gear cables to the back of  the control.  I had to put the gear cable on the opposite side from original, since the new engine’s transmission was “pull for forward, push for reverse”.  SImilarly, the throttle cable clamp system needed to be inverted for the new engine from how it’d been originally, as the new engine required a “pull to advance”.

This video shows the full action in both directions:  first clutch into forward, then full throttle; back to neutral, then the same in reverse. Wicked excitin’.

Now that the control cables were in place, I could install a new fuel fill hose.  First, though, I wanted to test the fuel in the tank for water.  Earlier, I’d determined that the fuel (and tank) looked clean and good, but now with some thieving paste spread on a stick, I checked the tank for the presence of water.  The first photo shows the stick after applying the paste, and the second shows it after I’d inserted it in the tank.  Had there been any water present, the green paste would have turned bright purple.

I installed new fuel fill hose with new clamps, and a new vent hose as well.  The fuel supply line would come later.

By now, the glue had had ample cure time, so I unclamped the electronics panels and trimmed the excess teak flush with a router and sanding where necessary.  Then, I cut a strip of solid teak to trim out the angle at the aft side of the main panel, covering the only exposed plywood end grain.

I temporarily installed the backrest once more to determine exactly the space available on the large panel so we could lay out the desired installations.  Allowing for the support cleat  at the top, and the overlap of the cushion, the space was fairly constrained, but offered enough room for what the owner intended.

On the angled panel, I went ahead and prepared mounting holes for a red LED night light, and two power outlets–a USB plug and a standard cigarette lighter-type outlet.  Later, I’d install a small battery monitor display here as well, and there’d be room for other mounts or installations later on .

 

Total time billed on this job today:  7.25 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
20°, freezing drizzle.  Forecast for the day:  Freezing drizzle and rain, eventually turning to rain, temperature slowly rising into the 30s

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Thursday

The built-in icebox had been draining into the bilge, which the owner didn’t like, and he suggested adding a small container in the bilge, into which the icebox could drain naturally; the jug could be easily emptied as needed.    To this end, I chose a container size that would fit easily in the storage area beneath the cabin sole and be easy to maneuver, and added a hose fitting to the cap to connect the icebox hose.  I’d add a simple means of securing the jug later, but I’d need to glue in some anchor points.

In the engine room, I added a support clamp for the bilge pump hose, to hold the hose clear of the engine beds, and also secured the waste tank hose beneath the engine pan so it didn’t droop down into the sump.

I led a new 1″ hose from the cockpit bilge pump into the bilge sump, equipping this hose with a suction strainer as well, then completed the bilge pump discharge to its overboard fitting.    Later (not shown), I added a hose support clamp at the forward end of the pump to keep the suction hose clear of the nearby battery box.

I’d be turning to the new wiring soon, and before I got to that I wanted to be sure the electric panel locations were ready.  I knew I’d need to modify the existing openings in the angled panels at the aft end of the cabin, so I used my paper templates to prepare two teak panels to cover the area, and laid out and cut out the openings in the new panels to accept the chosen six-position service panels.

With the panels and openings prepared, I could trace out the new opening on the existing panels and cut out what was needed.

To match the existing interior woodwork, I finished the new teak with teak oil, applying a few coats over the balance of the day.

Meanwhile, I continued work on the tiller varnish–coat #3.

The mast wiring was to be rerouted outside the mast base and through a new deck fitting, and, wanting to drill and properly prepare the mounting hole, I worked on layout now.  Ideally, I would have liked to have the wire come into the boat in a hidden area, like within the port locker forward of the galley, but this was simply too far outboard and away from the mast to be practical.  The closest possible location is represented by the through hull nut placed on the deck aft of the solar vent, and the corresponding area below would be to the right of the solar vent inlet–any closer to centerline would be exposed in the main passageway.  Unfortunately, this location wasn’t going to work.

However, there was already a teak cover, left over from the old wiring installation, that would hide the area in the center of the passageway, so I thought the fitting could be installed there, directly ahead of the mast, and then the wires routed through the existing trim system below.    This would also help me hide the old–now filled–mast wiring locations, and kept the mast wiring conduit close to the spar and out of harm’s way.    So from some 3/16″ thick fiberglass sheeting that I had on hand, I built a little panel that could cover (cosmetically) the old patched holes, and also give me a mounting location for the new 1-1/4″ through hull that would serve as the main wiring conduit.  Afterwards, I applied some primer to the new panel to prepare it for paint before installation.

With my electronics locker concept winning approval from the owner, I moved forward with the actual construction.  Using my rough cardboard mockup as a guide, I scribed the shape of the area on each of the two panel sections, and used this to create–over a series of test-fits and adjustments–the after angled panel first.    To support the panel now and in the final construction, I added a hardwood cleat on the bottom shelf, and later, with the plywood panel in place and properly plumbed, added a second cleat on the overhead to hold the panel vertically,  For now, I left the end of the panel to run wild, as the front panel would overlap it and I needed to complete some additional layout before I could make the final cut.  This was the structural part of the new panel, made from 12mm marine plywood; when all the cuts were done, I’d cover it, and the front panel, with teak plywood.

The front panel was to be flush with the edge of the molded shelf and, at the forward end, with the molded galley cabinet.  The final panel thickness was to be 3/4″, so support cleats and layout lines needed to reflect this when I transferred the layout marks aft to the angled panel.   Also, the angle at the forward end, where the panel would meet the galley, wasn’t necessarily a plumb line, so I glued together a simple jig at the same angle, and used it, along with another piece of wood cut at an angle on top, to mark the aft end appropriately.

From there, I could cut and install (with epoxy and, to hold it while the epoxy cured, some dabs of hot glue) an upper support cleat along the overhead.  The bottom edge of the panel would feature a hinge that would secure it to the existing cabinet, but for layout purposes I glued in some temporary support blocks.

With the inner edge of the front panel thus determined, I could now mark the angled aft panel at the correct spot top and bottom, and cut the end on an angle so the front panel could pass over it.  This angle (which mirrored the angle of the molded electrical panel area) turned out to be 45°.

With the cardboard version of the front panel in place, I could scribe its edges, and I’d use it to prepare the structural front panel next time.

Total time billed on this job today:  7.25 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
25°, clouds and flurries.  Forecast for the day:  Chance of snow or sleet, high around 33°

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Wednesday

Now that my epoxy-filled bolt holes were ready for further work, I could get on with the final installation of the Monitor frame.  I started with the deck brackets, and went through all the usual steps to prepare the bolt holes and install the brackets:  drill, tap, countersink, apply sealant, bolt, clean up.  Because of the way the top framing tubes worked on this particular installation, I decided to add 1/2″ fiberglass backing plates beneath the deck brackets; it just seemed prudent, particularly since part of the bracket fell over an uncored section of the poop deck.   (Oops, I didn’t get all the masking tape off the bottoms of the holes…)

With these brackets now permanently in place, I installed the two top frame tubes, which were ready for their last installation since I’d already drilled the pin/bolt holes at the frame end, and secured the metal compression spacers within.  I led the stern light wire through the port tube as required.   At this time the Monitor frame was still secured to and supported by my wooden framework behind the boat.  During the several times I’d installed and removed these tubes during earlier steps, I’d found the fit to be extremely dry–tight–so for the final installation I added some waterproof grease to ease the way.  Once I’d twisted the tubes in all the way and to the correct orientation, I put in the bolts at the frame end, and also at the deck bracket end, but for the moment I left the bolts untightened.

Now, with some lines running between the frame and the pulpit, I adjusted the Monitor frame till it was level side to side, which process also lifted it just clear of the wooden framework so I could remove that now for the last time, along with the staging so I could clear the way behind the boat for the lower frame installation.  I taped a level in place on the upper frame tubes so I’d have a constant reference as I worked on the lower supports.

Down on the ground, I installed another level on the pendulum arm, and with a line running forward to the rudder I adjusted the frame till it was level in the fore and aft direction as well.  With the frame now properly aligned in all directions, I went ahead and tightened the bolts on the upper frame tubes–at both the deck bracket and the Monitor frame itself.

From the ground, I prepared and installed the two hull brackets on the transom.

I’d already cut the lower support tubes to length during the initial setup, but now I checked them again; they still fit the way they should.  So with the tubes fully inserted at the top end, into the mounting sleeve at the Monitor frame, and secured with their bolt at the hull bracket, I prepared to drill the bolt holes at the top end, which would pin the tubes in place at the frame and ultimately hold everything rigidly.

Drilling these 5/16″ through holes in the stainless tubing–there were eight locations requiring it on this installation (including the deck brackets and upper tubes, plus the diagonal supports that would come later)–was the most challenging part of the installation.  The instructions rather breezily indicated that drilling stainless was “easy”.  Well, it’s certainly possible, but “easy” is not an adjective I’d have chosen under any circumstances in the real world and under the less-than-ideal conditions found in the midst of an installation on a boat like this.  The issue was less with the physics of drilling the tubing (which isn’t that bad, honestly, if one does it right) and more of the fact that access and drilling position (likely to be the case on nearly any installation in the field) made the job much more difficult, or at the very least extremely time-consuming and taxing.

Every installation is bound to be different, but on this installation, the nature of the frame position and how it all interacted with the boat meant that for me, I felt I had to choose to drill all these bolt holes while the framework was in place on the boat, since nothing held the frame rigidly through the process (in fact, it was only after I finally installed the diagonal braces–the very last step–that the frame became rigid and immobile on its own.  This was largely because of the way this frame worked on this particular boat, with very long support members that allowed movement till braced together).  So since the bolt location was critical, I didn’t feel comfortable trying to remove the tubes and do the drilling down on the bench, where it probably would have been much easier.  But even a slight mis-step in the position or angle of one of these holes could throw off the whole carefully-aligned installation, so drilling the tubes in place seemed the smartest–if least easy–option.

The bolt holes at hand now were at the top end of the lower braces, where they slipped into the sleeves that were bolted to the bottom of the Monitor frame.  These pieces came with the bolting locations well marked with labels, and with a small pilot hole on one side to start the process.  All very helpful.  But there were still four layers of stainless to drill through.  If I were to do this again, I’d probably pre-drill the sleeve first, down on the bench.  (Actually, I’m not sure why the manufacturer couldn’t provide the sleeves with the holes completely pre-drilled on both sides.  This would make marking and drilling much easier in the field.)

In any event, I’d probably try to drill the sleeve first, given the lessons learned this time around, which would then allow me to mark both sides of the tube where it needed to be drilled, and therefore much easier to remove the tube and do the drilling somewhere down-hand where it would be quicker and less taxing to drill.  But now, I needed to drill through the sleeve and tube with it in place.

I’d started the installation the other day with one new 5/16″ bit on hand, and several used ones available.   Drilling the first sets of holes (in the tubes where they met the deck brackets, and then the tops of the upper tubes where they met the frame) hadn’t been too bad, as my bit was still good, and the drilling position was suitable for the pressure and patience required to get through the stainless.  I’d ordered several new bits in the meantime (they’d be here later in the day), but for now I didn’t have them, and I needed to continue.  So a duller bit didn’t help, but again, the toughest part of the drilling was because I was standing on a ladder, with limited access to the hole for the drill and operator (me), and no ability to drill down-hand.  So, frankly, it was simply long and tiring to drill these holes.  It would have been nice if it’d taken half as long, as keeping up the pressure on the drill was exhausting after a time.

None of this is to complain.  Stainless steel is what it is.  The installation process and instructions (not to mention the quality and sheer beauty of this windvane) were all second-to-none.  Perhaps my experience will make the process easier on someone else, and certainly will on me if I get the chance to install another one of these.  Scanmar, the builder of Monitors, clearly has listened to–and implemented–scores of owner/installer-based suggestions, changes, and recommendations over the years, and the overall process seemed pretty well-tuned.  Yet still, each individual case presents its own challenges and specifics.

In any event, I got the next pair of holes drilled, not without effort, but in the end being done was all that mattered.

I removed the two lower tubes and, down on the bench, prepared to install the compression sleeves within.  Here I ran into another small problem:  the compression sleeves were just slightly too long to fit into the end of the tube.  Maybe there was a burr there from cutting the tube to length, or maybe the sleeves were just a bit too long, but I had to shorten them a bit (I did this by grinding them down on an inverted belt sander).  Once the compression sleeves fit, I installed them (holding them in place with the bolts themselves) and used some quicker-drying sealant (just latex caulk in this case–all it does is hold the sleeves in place) to secure them, accelerating the dry time with a heat gun since I wanted to continue the installation.  Once I felt that the sleeves wouldn’t move, I reinstalled the lower tubes on the boat, and put in the bolts loosely.

Now that the four main support components were in place, I could move on to the diagonal supports, which were critical in this installation since all the other members were so long, and oddly arranged by requirement, that the frame couldn’t be truly rigid till the diagonals pinned it all together.    Because the sleeves for the frame end of the diagonals shared the bolt at the lower end of the frame with the lower tubes, I’d already installed the sleeves during an earlier part of the installation (they fit above the lower sleeves), so those were already where they needed to be.  The other end of the diagonal braces would fit into a clamping bracket that fit around the large upper support tubes.    I could have installed those brackets just about anywhere on the upper tubes, but I chose a location that triangulated the braces nicely and simply looked right to me, and, with the clamps in the same place on both sides, measured and cut the diagonal tubes to fit as required.

There were two more bolt holes to drill through the diagonal sleeves, but at this point in the day–early afternoon–I didn’t yet have my new drill bits, and I wasn’t going to attempt these holes with the now-dull bits I had on hand.  So briefly, I shifted gears and began the installation of the cockpit-mounted bilge pump, which I’d laid out and prepared the opening for a little earlier.  There was no reason not to install it now, and in fact I wanted to get the hoses run and in place, so I completed the basic pump installation, but fortunately my delivery containing the drill bits arrived just before I finished, so I got back to the Monitor installation.

The marks and pilot holes for the diagonal brace bolts were on the inside of the frame, and to drill these holes in place was awkward.  Again, perhaps I could have or should have removed the braces for the drilling, but I felt the alignment and position  was too critical to risk this, so I drilled them in place.  This was laborious, but I’ll spare the details and move on to the happy moment when the drill came through the other side of the second (and final!!!)  hole.  As with the other installations, I could then remove the diagonal tubes, install the compression inserts (I also had to sand these down to fit within the tube), and reinstall the braces permanently.

At this point, I could–and did–tighten all the bolts securely, which finally allowed me to remove the control lines, as the frame was now extremely strong and rigid thanks to the diagonal braces.  At the bottom end of the frame, through the special bolts-with-a-hole-in-their-heads, I installed mousing wire supplied in the installation kit to secure these bolts to the frame and prevent them from loosening.

This completed the basic installation, other than running the pendulum lines forward to the tiller (eventually), so I celebrated by taking lots of pictures of the completed frame and knocking off a little early.

Total time billed on this job today:  7.25 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
32°, cloudy.  Forecast for the day:  clouds, mid-40s

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Tuesday

Before I could truly finalize the Monitor installation, I needed to properly prepare various fastener holes for the mounting brackets, which meant disassembling everything; I couldn’t complete the diagonal braces (which would run between the bottom of the Monitor frame and the upper support tubes) till I could properly and permanently install the main support tubes.

But before going down that road, there were a few more things I could and should do first, starting with drilling holes through the main support members at the windvane frame itself, in two pre-marked (at the factory) locations.  This would ultimately pin the upper support tubes to the frame.  All the frame and support members would eventually be pinned like this, and I’d do the remaining drilling and pinning later, but this set was the most critical, and the upper tubes weren’t going to change their position at all, nor did I want them to, and I also had to install inserts within the tubes that would prevent compression when the tubes were bolted together though the new holes.  So while the upper tubes were in this position, I drilled through the two required locations with a 5/16″ bit.

The locations of the upper brace brackets were already marked on the masking tape on deck, as were the lower brace brackets,   So now, I could remove the support tubes so I could finalize the hull and deck bracket installations.  With the windvane frame supported by and secured to the wooden framework I’d built, I removed all the support tubes as needed, then unbolted the brackets and made final hole preparations by boring out the locations with a 5/8″ bit to remove any core.  I found that the two forward holes on the deck brackets were actually in an area of solid fiberglass, just forward of the transition to the plywood core, so as it turned out I’d not needed to overbore those two holes, but who knew.

The upper set of holes on the transom brackets were in a section of the transom cored with plywood; I knew this because I could see the outline of it from inside.  The lower holes were in solid fiberglass, but with the upper holes properly marked based on the bracket position, I overbored the holes to remove the core from the upper locations.

Preparations complete, I filled the new voids with thickened epoxy, leaving it to cure overnight, after which I’d be able to complete the installation.

Down on the bench, I installed the stainless steel inserts in the two main support tubes, using some sealant to hold them in place.  I kept them aligned by running through the bolts that I’d eventually use to secure the frame and tubes.  I set them aside for now.  I’d have to repeat this process with other frame support members later.

This windvane came with an LED sternlight built into the upper part of the frame, and the light was wired through one of the upper supports.  With the extra-long upper support tube on this boat, the wire length supplied from the factory (which would have been adequate for most installations) was not long enough to extend all the way through the tube, so while things were disconnected I added a wire extension that I could run through the whole tube during final installation.  Then, secured the light fixture to its welded bracket (it had been shipped pre-wired, but not bolted in plate, presumably to prevent damage during shipment).  The light came with a little stainless steel cover that I snapped on afterwards.

That was it for the Monitor for the moment, and I wrapped up the morning with a new coat of varnish on the tiller and rudder cheeks.

The owner asked me to build an enclosed locker above the port settee for various electronics mounting, and through various discussions we’d arrived at a raw concept.  Before beginning to lay out the ideas in a mockup, I wanted to see how the new electrical service panels were going to fit in the two locations at the aft end of the cabin, where the originals had been located, since the panel layout might affect certain aspects of the electronics locker.

The new panels–one per side–were slimmer than the originals, and so to cover the old holes I’d need to build some covers for the original surface.  I made simple patterns of each side (of course they weren’t symmetrical from side to side), which I’d use later to make veneer panels.  Then, on the port side, I taped in a representation of the panel’s outside dimensions so that I could see how, or if, it affected any decisions we might make about the electronics locker.

The rough idea for the new locker was to mirror the angle of the electrical panel at the aft side, leaving a little nook for securing and charging the usual small devices of today, then extending forward to the galley with a flat panel suitable for flush-mounting things like a VHF radio, stereo, and other things.  So I measured the angle and reproduced it on the forward side of that little wooden fiddle, choosing a more or less arbitrary starting point by eye, to leave some space between the fiddle and the new panel for storage of small items.  From there, it was a pretty simple matter to cut some cardboard into the rough shapes required to produce a 3D representation of at least the first run at the new locker.

The backrest was going to have an impact on the amount of usable space on the new locker panel, and would also enclose securely the little shelf at the aft end, so I placed it in position to determine how it affected things.  It did create a very nice, cozy area to place a camera, phone, or other handheld device, but effectively reduced the height of the flat panel by a few inches.  For now, I didn’t try to construct a panel that might span between the electrical panel on the left (aft) and the new angled panel on the right (forward), but the angles involved would make it tricky to shape, and the overall size of the new electrical panel on the aft angle meant that any depth available behind such a connector would be pretty minimum, perhaps an inch or so, in order to clear the panel.

With these basics in place, we had something to work with, and I could make changes as needed from here based on the owner’s feedback.

Now I moved on to several smaller jobs, starting with replacing a round access panel into the holding tank beneath the cabin sole.  The existing deck plate was missing its screw-in cover–no one knew where it was–so I bought a new one,  Of course the cover from the new deck plate was a slightly different size from the existing ring, so I had to remove the whole ring and replace it with the new one.  One should never expect the easiest way to actually work.  Meanwhile, I reconnected the waste tank pumpout hose, which led aft through the engine room and up to a deck plate.

With new hose freshly on hand, I began to replumb the cabin-mounted bilge pump, and started with its new suction line, which ran through the engine room on the port side and down into the sump beneath.   I installed a filter on the bottom of the hose and led the end forward, where I reconnected it to the existing pump.  I thought it best to run these lines now, while I still had the best engine room access, rather than fight them around the engine later.  I’d planned and expected to continue with the discharge line, which would run back aft to the new through hull valve, but the lengths of hose I’d planned to use, and which I’d previously determined I had on hand (and thought was adequate) turned out to be a little too short to make the run, so I had to order a longer length, delaying the completion of this pump’s plumbing for a bit.  I also planned to work on the new cockpit-mounted pump in the immediate future.

Continuing with the sort of stream-of-consciousness knock-off-the-list jobs that seemed to be making up my afternoon, I reinstalled the galley sink in new sealant, and installed a new drain hose to the new through hull.

Thinking ahead to some of the engine’s ancillary systems, and looking to fill a final void in the day, I prepared the new raw water strainer for installation by securing two 90° pipe elbows to the housing, ready for hose connection.

Finally, I prepared the new fuel filter for installation, first by installing the special and required adapter fittings into the filter housing, then a pair of 5/16″ brass elbows for the fuel hose.

To make maintenance easier, particularly in tight spaces, I liked to add a valve to the drain fitting on the filter bowl.  In this case, with limited headroom, I planned to mount the filter as low as possible, to leave room for cartridge replacement from above, so I installed the drain valve on a 90° elbow off the bottom of the bowl, replacing the original drain plug.

Total time billed on this job today:  7.5 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
20°, clear, 6-8″ new snow from yesterday.  Forecast for the day:  Sunny, high around 40.

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Monday

I started the day with another light sanding on the rudder cheeks and tiller, preparing them for their next coats of varnish.  I’d intended to get back to this later, but it didn’t happen.

To finish up the main construction of the battery box in the cockpit locker, I had to build a top–a simple-enough proposition complicated by the fact that the locker and the box’s position within were not neat and square, and the height of the box meant that I couldn’t access the inner part of the lid for basic patterning and fitting.  So I started with a narrow strip of cardboard so I could scribe the shape at the forward end, which was the most critical cut to make.  I transferred this to a slightly oversized piece of plywood, and with the back side of the box removed, and a temporary cleat on the inboard edge of the locker to hold the top, I could finalize the shape of the top along the two locker edges–both of which required various contours and shaping–before marking the two straight cuts at the plywood edges of the box.  It just took several rounds and ups and downs from the shop to eventually complete the new top.

After making some reference marks inside the locker, and with the top in place, I prepared and installed with epoxy some hardwood cleats to support the top on the two locker edges, and a second pair of cleats slightly above, into which slots the top would slide.  This would hold these two edges securely, and I’d install some sort of latch to complete the security of the top.

Meanwhile, I permanently secured the aft support cleat on the battery platform with epoxy, and added a little cleat to the inside of the back panel, just for ease of installation and alignment purposes.  This cleat would rest on the shelf cleat and help the user install the back panel whenever it was necessary.

Next on my agenda was the new Monitor windvane, which installation I looked forward to, though I knew it’d likely present some challenges.  When the unit arrived several weeks earlier, I’d taken the time to remove all the packing material–of which there was a huge trash bag full–so now I could more easily remove and lay out all the frame and support pieces on the bench for inspection.

I’d already read through the extensive instruction manual once, but now I did so again, now with more attention to the specifics of this boat.   I also reviewed the photos available of other Contessa 26 installations available on the Scanmar website.

The first–and main–challenge was to somehow position the frame where it needed to be, suspended in mid-air.  The manual suggested lines, but that wouldn’t work in this case because the frame would actually be mostly above deck level, and also had to be so far aft in order to clear the outboard rudder–which, with the strong transom rake and low topsides of this boat, probably made it one of the more challenging overall installations.  All along, I’d been thinking that I wanted to build a wooden framework to support the windvane during the installation, and now I prepared to move forward with that idea.

Before beginning the installation steps, I had two small details to deal with.  First, I removed the old hailport from the  transom, which the owner had requested, and to ensure that it wouldn’t end up beneath any of the frame pieces (it didn’t, but that’s neither here nor there).  Then, to ensure proper clearance and positioning of the vane, I temporarily installed the old rudder cheeks just to give me the ultimate top/aft point of the rudder, which would ultimately be the defining point of the vane’s positioning.  The rudder, and the space between the cheeks, would also be the ideal centerline for the vane.

The final position of the windvane depended on the actual waterline:  the center of the main frame tube was supposed to be 42″ above the boat’s waterline, which, with the overall dimensions of the various parts of the vane, would position the vane’s paddle in the correct position, with approximately six inches of the paddle above the waterline.  There was a fairly clear idea of the actual waterline on the boat in the form of a scum line–it was (as past experience with sisterships suggested) well higher than the factory’s DWL–and the owner provided me with key photos showing the boat in the water, which confirmed what the scum line suggested.  Working from the photo, and from the actual line on the boat, I marked the waterline position with masking tape.  This mark was 63-5/8″ from the floor in this case, and now I could add the required 42″ to this to achieve the from-floor measurement of 105-5/8″ to the center of the main frame tube.

Now, working through a series of calculations based on the existing height of a staging platform that I set up behind the boat, and using the bottom portion of the vane’s frame as a support point (15″ below the main tube), I constructed a simple frame from 2x4s that, when added to the staging platform, would support the vane at the correct final height.  On deck, using the center of the rudder as my guide, I made some basic marks to show the centerline and the centers of the main windvane support tubes (15″ on center, or 7-1/2″ on each side).  As it turned out, I needed only the visual key of the rudder itself in this case, which was a far better centerline indicator than any measurement.

With my supporting framework secured to the staging platform, I moved the whole arrangement to roughly where I though the vane would want to be–as close to the top corner of the rudder cheeks as possible.

Next, I could rest the windvane frame itself on the platform and see how I did.  I clamped the vane to the top support,  and added a couple safety lines to secure the whole arrangement.  The center of the tube was right where it should have been, or possibly just a touch higher, which is the direction I wanted to err anyway.

 

I temporarily installed the vane paddle, and, with a level, extended the waterline mark aft so I could put some corresponding tape on the paddle and confirm that the vane’s position was correct and in accordance with the supplied drawing for this boat.  It was.

Starting with the large upper support tubes, I worked through the installation steps as required.  ON this boat, the upper tubes were deck-mounted, and featured a bent shape to accommodate the vane’s position relative to the boat.  Based on where I had the vane positioned vis-a-vis the rudder, I could shorten the tubes a bit, something that was encouraged (as necessary) by the manual with the ultimate goal of keeping the vane as close to the boat as possible–or, more specifically, no further away than strictly necessary,  So with the mounting brackets temporarily in place, and the support tubes set in, I marked the excess length and also marked for a through-bolt that would secure the tubes to the mounts.  With these basics, I could temporarily secure the mounts to the deck; I’d have to come back and properly prepare the mounting holes and ultimately secure the mounts with sealant, but for now I secured them directly to the deck with tapped holes.  With the tubes cut to length, and the through-pin holes drilled, I secured everything in place temporarily.  Throughout this process, I strove to ensure that the vane was level in both directions, and properly centered on the rudder.

Sometime later, I’d have to drill holes through the vane end of these tubes to secure them there, but for now I was ready to continue with fitting the two lower braces, which would run between the bottom of the frame and the transom.  The provided tubes were pre-drilled at the end to fit into the brackets–something that was normally done for the upper tubes as well, except in cases like this where the final mounting position couldn’t be pre-determined–and would fit into a socket end at the frame, which bolted right to the bottom of the frame in a threaded hole.  Using various guidance from the manual and mounting diagram for this boat, as well as photos of other installations, I determined that the lower tubes as provided were overlong, so once I figured that out I could start to position the brackets on the hull, and from there determine the final length of the tubes.

Starting with the starboard side, I held the pieces in place as needed to determine where the bracket should mount (the tube should angle down about 15° from the frame, and outboard the same amount–with the extra guidance of about 45″ between bracket centers, according to the diagram.  These criteria helped me determine roughly where that bracket should be, though none of the dimensions were absolute,  Then I could figure out where to cut the tube, which I did next, and dry fit it in place so I could begin to secure the bracket on the hull.  For now, I drilled and tapped the lower bracket hole to accept a 5/16″ bolt.  The upper hole was blocked by the tube itself, and I marked the position of the bracket so that later I could return and prepare the second hole.

I repeated the process on the port side, though I first had to modify my wooden support frame a bit, as it blocked access to the point on the frame where the tube needed to go.  I’d used an arbitrary piece of lumber to determine the width of my wooden frame, and this was just a bit too wide.  I cut another vertical support and installed it further inboard, then removed the offending piece for clear access to the vane’s frame base.

I could have just cut off the second tube at the same length as the first, but because boats are frequently asymmetrical, I thought it’d be better to go through the various dry-fitting steps as I did before, though this t ime I had a known point on the transom for the bracket.  As it happened the tube ended up exactly the same length, and before long I had it temporarily installed as well.

These four tubes formed the main support structure for the vane, but there was also a pair of diagonal supports that I’d install between the bottom of the vane (where the lower tubes attached) and the upper support tubes.  But it was the end of the day, and I’d continue with that next time.  Though I’d felt like the installation process had gotten off to a slow start–intangibles like layout and instruction-reading somehow seem like anti-progress, though I know they’re not–I was pleased with the vane’s installation status by the end of the day, and there was no doubt that it was an impressive and artful piece of hardware.

Total time billed on this job today:  8.5 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
Snow, moderate.  Forecast for the day:  snow, 3-6″ predicted, ending in the afternoon and clearing.