Salt Water Inlet, Rigger, Windlass Switch

[I forgot to mention in my entry below that I measured the thickness of the hull where I drilled the 1" hole for the fitting. The thickness was 14 mm, or just over 1/2 inch.]

Arnold visited in the early afternoon and we got cracking on drilling the 1" diameter hole in the hull for the new salt water galley pump inlet. The hole cut by the 1' hole cutter that Arnold brought was snug as I had expected but a bit of work with sand paper produced a very tight fit. After a but of effort with the sealant and wrenches we got the job done. The accompanying photos show the various stages of the work. The top photo shows the curious setup where the salt water intake was tee-d off the galley sink drain. The job will be completed when I have obtained a new manual salt water pump.

While we were working Dan the rigger visited. He went up the mast and spent 20 minutes inspecting and photographing. An hour later he provided me with the best presentation on my rig that I have seen. I learned a lot about its strengths and weaknesses, what is urgent and what can wait. He said that the rigging work that Ron had done in Honolulu was very good. There was no glaring problem with the rig but next week we will get together and agree on a plan. In the meantime I will remove the port chain plate for inspection.

Another chap, also named Dan, wandered over and started to speak with Arnold about his motorcycle. It turned out that he works for BUMS, Bottoms Up Marine Services. One thing led to another and I have engaged BUMS to do all of the below-waterline maintenance work. What convinced me was his descriptions of materials and techniques that are far superior to the primitive methods that I have been using.

Arnold and I then turned our attention to the engine water temperature sensor and we concluded that it does indeed need replacing. Unfortunately SABB has not responded to my query of several days ago so I may have to find the VDO part elsewhere.

The Arnold looked at the problem that I had with the anchor windlass foot switch. After some electrical sleuting he found the fault: the master switch at the cockpit was faulty. When he jumpered the switch the widlass worked just fine. I'll try to find a replacement tomorrow.

The boat is a shambles but that doesn't matter. It was a good day of good progress.