January 10, 2019

Dharma Rose 28

Thursday

I continued with work on the engine’s final connections, beginning with a portion of the exhaust hose.  I had hoped to install the aftermost portion of the system first–leading from the transom outlet to the muffler beneath the cockpit, by way of a new heavy-weather shutoff valve that I’d prepared at the owner’s request–but I found I’d mis-measured the diameter of the connection at the steel gooseneck at the transom.  Earlier, I’d thought it was 1-9/16″, at odds with the rest of the 2″ exhaust system, but workable with adapters at the shutoff valve, so I’d reduced the outlet side of the valve accordingly.  Now, however, I found that in fact the diameter was 2″–just a roomy fit for the 2″ hose, so I had to order another 2″ hose connector to re-adapt the shutoff valve.

In any event, I cut and installed the short final length of hose to the gooseneck, leaving the other end in the lazarette for connection to the shutoff valve.  I also cut and dry-installed the hose run that would go from the muffler to the inlet side of the valve, so final connections would be quick once I received the new hose connector.  More on this as it happens.

Next, I prepared to install the two lengths of 1″ hose from the exhaust elbow to and from the vented loop in the cockpit locker, only to find (sigh) that I didn’t have the correct clamp size on hand after all–just one in stock.  I could have used larger ones, but I hate having long clamp tails, at least in exposed spaces, so I left this project for completion later as well.  I did manage to successfully install the little coolant overflow tank in entirety, but clearly engine work wasn’t otherwise in the cards for this day.

In the port hanging locker, I reinstalled the cover panel that I’d removed for chainplate access. then reinstalled the bulkhead face as well.

Across the way to starboard, before reinstalling the cover panel on that side, I first needed to install a new AC electrical panel that the owner requested for the boat’s simple shore power system (one outlet).  Previously, the shore power inlet connector in the cabin side above had led directly to the outlet in the galley without benefit of a circuit breaker.

In order to connect new wire to the shore power inlet, I had to remove the fitting, since access to the side for one of the screw terminals was too tight to the nearby bulkhead.  Given the way of things, I was hardly surprised when the old plastic outlet fell into pieces upon removal, the victim of 35 years of UV exposure.  I ordered a replacement.

Meanwhile, after a few measurements in the boat to determine any clearance issues for the new electrical panel, I laid out and cut the opening in the plywood panel, and prepared the electrical panel by installing a 15 amp breaker for the outlet in the blank hole beneath the main breaker and making all the related wiring connections, both for the shore power inlet and the circuit leading to the outlet.  With the wiring complete, I screwed the new panel in place, and installed a plastic protective back that the owner had also provided, then installed the teak plywood panel back in its spot, running in the wires to the outlet box to await a new outlet later (the original outlet I’d removed, while still on hand, was old and tired; plus, it should be a GFCI outlet).

Next, I reinstalled the original assembly for the water tank fill, which I’d removed early in the process for access.

In the galley, earlier I’d painted around the new through hull fitting I’d installed, and now I finished up the work there with a new length of drain hose for the sink.

Finally, I installed some straps to secure the batteries in their compartment.  I chose webbed straps with stainless steel brackets to secure them to the base of the compartment, and, before replacing the batteries, I installed terminal-mount fuse holders and 100 amp fuses on the positive battery terminals.

Total time billed on this job today:  6.25 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  28°, cloudy.  About 4″ of snow from last evening.  Forecast for the day:  Mainly cloudy, around 32°