New Surfaces

The plan that young Paul and I formulated last September to place stainless steel counter surfaces in the galley and head has progressed nicely.

The sheet metal worker produced the surfaces for only about $300.  As I was paying him I told him that I was getting a bargain and he agreed.  I told him that from now on I would see him for any stainless steel or aluminum work for the boat.  I then pass on the observation to Paul that the further from the coast one gets the cheaper the boat work.

Paul and I spent close to two days fitting the pieces.  He cut out the openings for the refrigerator and ice box openings, which was tricky operation because the metal would have to hug the thin wooden lips of the openings.  By then I had new taps: two ordinary kitchen taps for pressure water, and three good quality hand pumps.  There will be fresh and salt water hand pumps in the galley and a fresh water hand pump in the head.

Fresh Water Left, Salt Water Right

New Stove in Position

I had decided to keep the old sinks, which I had taken home and brightened up using a buffing wheel on my angle grinder.  We installed the sinks then it was left to me to install the taps on my time.  Installing the sink before the taps turned out to be a mistake because I found it impossible to install the taps working up that narrow space between the sink and the bulkhead.  I was forced to remove the galley sink, and the sooner the better before the Sikaflex 291 adhesive set hard.  That turned out to be a difficult job because any undue pressure would result in bending the lip around the sink.  I did the job by gently tapping a paint scraper along the lip of the sink then using gentle pressure.

After installing the taps I re bedded the sink using silicone sealant, which is gentler than 291, because I want to be able to remove the sink for future work on the taps.

I then turned my attention to the marine stove.  The connection was simple but the stove would not light.  I found that the cylinder was empty so switched to the spare.  Then I discovered that the manual gas valve at the galley was shut, but still the stove would not light.  I could hear the solenoid clacking as normal which allowed the gas to flow, so I uncoupled the gas hose at the stove end and confirmed that no gas was flowing.

Sink in Head

I eventually tracked the problem to the cylinder selector valve, which worked in one position but not the other.  It was a relief to know that the stove, the main gas line, and the gas cutoff solenoid were OK.  It was time that I gave that gas setup in the transom some attention - some hoses were looking a bit tatty, the pressure regulator was old when I purchased the boat, and too many things were welded together by corrosion - so I removed the regulator-solenoid-selector valve assembly and will visit the gas supply shop to try to get replacements for those items and three hoses.

Hoses and Pressure Components to be Replaced

I am enclosing photos of the galley, with the new stove, surfaces, and taps.  Paul has the lids at his place for fitting of their stainless steel surfaces.  There is also a photo of the gas components to be replaced.