Bilge is Clean

Today I finished the cleanup of the engine compartment and bilges.  It was the sort of cramped, hot, sweaty, and dirty job that makes one wonder why he has a boat.  Nevertheless the work had to be done and now we are ready for beginning the engine bed preparation in earnest.  I also managed to remove the two mild steel angle irons to which the engine was bolted, using a hack saw and a bit of patience.

I was not able to solve an electrical problem.  After the Sabb engine was removed I noticed that the boat's main electrical panel was dead.  Anything connected directly to the bus bar, such as the radios, is working fine.  The "house" bank was at 13.2V so that could not have been the problem.  I used the crossover switch to combine the "house" and "starter" banks with no success.  Using the multimeter I confimed that both of the bank switches are receiving power.  I cannot figure out how removing the wires to the alternators and the starter system of the old engine could affect the main panel  and I will have to seek assistance with this.

 The first four photos are "before" and "after" shots of the engine compartment and bilge area.  I have enlarged the side view of one of the engine beds because it will  give us an indication of how to approach the task of cutting down the beds.  The beds appear to be made of wood in several sections, possibly glued together.  There is a gap  of about 2" behind the bed which will be of assistance with cutting tools that we may use.

Following that is a photo of the two pieces of angle steel on which the engine was bolted.

The photo of Pachuca shows her on an impeccably clean concrete  floor.  There seems to be a permanent yard man who constantly sweeps and tidies up.  Note Pachuca's  higher  waterline and the absence of a boot topping line.  The new waterline is uncomfortably close to the lower anchor well drain holes.

Then there is a photo looking through the new cutlass bearing to the propeller shaft stern tube.

The photo of the propeller shaft shows no obvious evidence of bend.  The shaft, propeller, and new coupling have been sent off for assessment and fitting.

Brenda's Bird of the Day is Heermann's Gull. This gull breeds near here and the birds I saw today from the Malecon, were young as are those in the photo (which is again from the web.) Last year on our trip from Port Townsend to Vancouver, we used to see adult Heermann's Gulls each alone on a floating island of seaweed.

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