New Inflatable Dinghy

A troll through the internet confirmed what I had learned the hard way about inflatable dinghies: It is the glue and not the material that fails over time.  The material can be easily patched but once the glue degenerates the dinghy is a write off.  I've got a Bombard and a Zodiac stored below my verandah for disposal to prove it.  The Bombard was in great shape when I departed on the circumnavigation in 2008.  In the six years of storage in cool, dry, protected environment of the garage the glue degenerated spontaneously.

Dry Run

Last week I purchased an Aristocraft "Bayrunner" inflatable with seams that are hot welded rather than glued.  Like most things, the dinghy is made in China, but I am putting my hopes in the PVC material that is sourced from Germany. 

The vaunted Hypalon material for inflatable dinghies is not amenable to thermo welding because it is rubber based.  Dupont must have seen the writing on the wall because it ceased production of Hypalon in 2012.  The future seems to be thermo welded PVC.

Because the instructions were execrable even by Chinese standards it took Brenda, Stephen, and myself a full 3 hours to assemble the dinghy.  After 2.5 hours I gave up and declared that Youtube was our only hope.  Sure enough we found videos on the Web that showed us the way.

The dinghy is heavy at 52 kg (114 lb) but the weight is distributed over two bags, one for the dinghy itself and one for the aluminum floor.   Installing the aluminum floor is a bit of an effort, but the result is superb and I am looking forward to our first ride in it. 

I wanted the 2.7m version, but they were sold out in the Perth area with no hope of one until March, which is much too late for the upcoming Bunbury Cruise.  So I asked for the 2.4m version (the same length as the Zodiac) but it too was sold out.  I had to settle for the 2.9m (9' 6") version, and the salesman knocked off $100 to make me feel better,  making the total cost $1250.

Gas Work Completed, Boarding Plank

The boat's gas system is now working and the new marine stove is operational.

I tested all of the couplings with a soapy water applied with a paint brush and after eliminating one small leak everything was safe.

Note in the photo how accessible are the gas cylinders and the manual selector switch above it.  The old system was set up terribly, with the cylinders hidden around the corner and the selector switch very hard to find, let alone reach and manipulate.

Gas Detector in Position

Cylinders and Selector Above Very Accessible

I then turned my attention to finding a way to make boarding of the boat from the jetty walkway easier and safer.  The problem is that the Fremantle Sailing Club has anachronistic fixed jetties which means that the boats are constantly dancing around their pens and worse, going up and down with the 1 meter tide.  When the tide is very low even I have trouble getting to the boat, much less passing supplies and equipment to it.  To date I have neither fallen into the water nor dropped anything, which I credit to focusing very hard when I am getting on and off the boat.

I've been nudged into action by my invitation to Bill and Pat, friends that I've met through Brenda, for drinks aboard Pachuca after I return from the Bunbury Cruise.  It is unfair to ask them, other guests, and Brenda to take that big step across the gap onto the moving boat.

I settled on the idea of setting up the boarding ladder as a part-time boarding plank.  The advantage of this is that I will not be burdened with yet another piece of large equipment that I must either carry on the boat or somehow hang from the jetty. To this end I have cut a piece of 18mm marine ply to fit along the length of the ladder.  The ladder will be fixed at the boat end and move at the jetty end.  I'll also rig a rope rail from the jetty post to the boat and drop the top rail on that side of the boat so that guests can step directly onto the boat.  If it works I'll name it either Bill's Bridge or Pat's Plank in honour of the guests who inspired me into action.

Proposed Boarding Plank

Yes, setting up the system for guests will be awkward, but if it work as planned I may be able to find faster ways of setting it up.

Gas System

The attempt to fire up the new marine stove has led to an upgrade of the boat's gas delivery system.  The stove was not getting gas and I tracked the problem to the cylinder selection switch which worked in one position but not the other.  Replacing that switch would require the extraction of the entire gas delivery assembly so I decided to take the opportunity to replace as much of it as possible.

Starting at the gas cylinders the components are as follows:
1. Hoses from cylinders to manual selector switch
2. The manual selector switch
3. The gas cutoff solenoid switch
4. The pressure reduction valve
5. The hose connecting to the copper gas line that supplies the galley

The first item was not critical since I had replaced those hoses in Hawaii about 4 years earlier.  However, I had to assume that the other items dated from 1983 when the boat was built.  I was particularly concerned with the last item, a fairly shabby looking flexible hose.

It took a bit of searching but my friends at Gas Components Australia at 1/4 Panama St, Canning Vale were able to replace everything but the solenoid switch.  I can live (literally) with that solenoid switch because the only consequence of it failing would be the shutting off of the supply of gas into the lines.

New System in Foreground

New Case

Case Ready for Varnishing

The photo tells the story, with the old items at the back and the new ones at the front.  The black rectangular component in the back is the solenoid switch, that will fit between the selector switch and the new 2-stage regulator.

The old setup was terrible, with the selector switch hidden at the back at a bad angle and difficult to see.  I decided to build a new cylinder case and put the selector switch on top of the case, where it will be easy to see and reach.  Besides, the old case is literally coming apart at the joins because it was too small to hold the larger cylinders that were introduced after I purchased the boat.

I then purchased two new gas cylinders because there is no hope of the existing cylinders meeting Australian standards.   I purchased them from Bunnings (sort of an Aussie Home Depot) knowing that I can exchange empty cylinders at any of their branches and any day of the week.  They are 3.7 kg in size, which should be ample for coastal cruising. 

I then purchased a nice piece of 18mm marine ply just large enough to do the job for $42.  I took great care in designing which surface would nail into which in order to maximize the strength against the tendency of the cylinders to break out of the box.  I joined the edges with Sikaflex construction adhesive (waterproof, paintable) held down with 40mm long galvanize nails.  The photo shows the new case with the new cylinders and the regulator assembly in its future position.  The holes at the sides will be for hooking "ocky" straps shown at the right.  The case will be screwed into the lazarette floor.

The final photo shows the case ready for varnishing.  I decided to treat the wood with several coats of Danish oil because it will penetrate the wood.  Neither sunlight nor aesthetic beauty will be issues, given that the case will be hidden to one side of the lazarette.

The gas supply system represents probably the last dark and mysterious corner of Pachuca because over the years I have been forced to deal with just about every other aspect of the boat.  I departed on the circumnavigation in 2008 knowing that I had not checked out the gas system and hoping for the best, placing great reliance on the gas detection and cutoff safety system.  Fortunately I made it back to Fremantle safely with no line ruptures or regulator failure