Another Month of Progress

I was away for most of the month of September on a 3-week trip to visit family in the USA.  I departed knowing that I was leaving Pachuca in good hands and that Bruce would maintain his usual brisk pace of progress.

The first thing that I noticed on my return was the splendid look of Pachuca's hull now that Bruce had laid 3 of 5 coats of 2-part epoxy primer below the waterline.  Pachuca's sleek lines are striking and I received several compliments from admirers. 

Hull with 3 of 5 layers of  2-part epoxy  primer

Several other less grand but very important tasks had been completed. 

I had managed to circumvent the planet with plastic thru-hull fittings and no shut of valves at the stern and Bruce corrected this.  These outlets were above the waterline in calm water but would have presented a danger in rough seas.

The new fuel gauge had been fitted above the companionway, so that for the first time I would not have to guess how much fuel I had on board.

New Fuel Gauge

The two "Seabird" vents on the cockpit coaming that had caused me so much grief because they could not be blocked off from taking in water during heavy seas had been replaced with vents that could be rotated in any direction and capped off in heavy seas.

The new larger solar powered vent had been fitted above the head.  A larger hole had been cut through the deck and Zelko had fabricated from teak a level base for the vent.

The old-style Whale Gusher manual bilge pump on the starboard side of the cockpit had never worked.  Its role was to pump water out of a dead spot in the bilge below the cockpit.   Consequently that part of the bilge was always full or nearly full of water.  At some difficulty Bruce and Zelko fitted a new all-plastic Whale Gusher  pump to match the one at the rear of the cockpit.  So Pachuca now has two manual and one electric bilge pumps.

View to Foredeck

Solar powered vent

Bruce took delivery of the two new water tanks and new diesel fuel tank. 

The rebuilt rudder arrived at about the time of my return.  Rebuilding the rudder cost approximately $2,900, and this does not include the cost of the hours of labour in dropping and reinstalling the rudder.

I resumed my work of tidying up the electrical breaker panel, steadily removing redundant wiring. One afternoon Bruce gave me a had in pulling out a bundle of redundant wiring running from the lazarette to the main electrical panel.  The wiring was from the SABB diesel engine that I had replaced in Mexico.

One afternoon's worth of redundant wiring

We also spent the better part of 2 days fitting a relatively heavy copper strap between the HF tuner and the Dynaplate strapped to the hull.  This strap was heavy enough to last for many years but was extremely difficult to work into position.

Bruce and I discussed the installation of a light prism in the head and an order has been placed.  These prisms are very effective in gathering external light and directing it into the space below deck.

Zelko fitting batteries

Batteries strapped into position

The rudder was installed on Tuesday.   It took more than an hour of effort to jack the rudder stock into position.  New bushes were  used, which has eliminated a bit of play at the lower end of the rudder.  The packing also new, as would be expected.  I am looking forward to sailing the boat with the rudder contributing buoyancy rather than dragging the stern of the boat down because it is full of water.

New thru-hull fitting and valve.  Note backing plate.

At left is connection of earth strap to HF tuner

This morning Zelko showed up and set up the new bases for the stern batteries that he had fabricated.  One by one the heavy batteries were lifted into position then strapped down with the specially fabricated aluminium frames. Everything had worked out as planned and the result was pleasing in every way: neat, professional, and strong, and.  We figure that those batteries will now remain in place during a rollover. 


Then we installed the new diesel tank that Bruce had been carrying around in his van for about 2 weeks.  Once again everything has gone as planned and the new tank fit nice and snug on strips of rubber that Bruce had glued on the supports.  Zelko will strap the tank down after the tank has been plumbed into the boat's fuel system.  The tank is constructed of 3mm marine grade aluminium.

Greg Hansen the semi retired boat electrical man with whom I've been dealing with since the1980's visited late yesterday and we had a very productive session. 

He will start by cabling the batteries in their new location. 
Then he will also wire up the anchor windlass so that it will have a switch above the steering wheel for both raising and lowering the anchor.  The foot switch at the bow for raising the anchor will remain.  There will also be a switch at the cockpit for deactivating the entire circuit.  In order to accommodate the new windlass switch we will have the welder extend the stainless steel tube frame at the binnacle by 130mm.  While we are at it we will have slots cut into the vertical tubes of the frame so that the binnacle instrument (i.e. compass, autopilot head, GPS, windlass switch) can  pass into the interior of the boat without being seen and with much better protection than having the wires strapped to the legs.  For the first time I will be able to raise and lower the anchor while at the steering station rather than the bow, a great help when sailing solo.  Previously I had to lower the anchor manually at the bow.

Greg will also bring the 240V electrical cabling up to current standard: the cabling will be in conduit, an RCD will be installed at the switch panel, and the switch plywood panel will be replaced with non-combustible material.

Greg will also lead the way in wiring the starboard side of the boat, using the latest techniques for bundling the wiring.

This electrical work represents more mission creep but it represents a major step in making the boat safer and easier to handle.

I finished off the day by discussing with Bruce my selection of new interior lights for the boat.  After some helpful suggestions by Bruce we completed the order list which is going to be a big one: 4 reading lights for the forward and cabin bunks, two dome  lights for the  aft bunks, a dome light for the head, and large  lights for the galley and cabin.  All lights will be LED's

Strap bolted to the Dynaplate

Strap run  to lazarette

New coaming vent (sealed off) and Whale Gusher pump below

Rebuilt rudder in position

Top of diesel tank with inspection plate and fuel sensor at right

Drain will be fitted at the bottom of the tank.

New diesel tank in position

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