Sunday, April 5, 2009

Whirlwind

...outside that is.

The wind was howling and with the tarp opened up so I could go in and out the cover sounded like it was on the verge of tearing loose all day. It didn't. But I thought it might.

Never as much progress as I would like but I did advance in a couple of areas this weekend.




I received the correct fittings and I was able to finish the fuel delivery system. Well almost. I left a spot for a disposable automotive type fuel filter to go just after the shutoff valve and just before the carburetor. A 'last chance' filter. I had to order a package of five fittings and this worked out well as I changed plans and used more than I thought I needed.

Fuel flows from the tank along the port side of the engine to the fuel filter (the elbow on the right as you look at the photo) and from the filter to the fuel pump and from the fuel pump to the valve and from the valve (soon) to the carburetor via the final filter. I also wired up the pump with an inline fuse holder.

And speaking of wiring,



I received the fittings to connect the battery. Almost. I tried drilling a hole for the ground wire but I was working in the blind and at a bad angle and decided to order a slightly longer cable for the ground wire and run it where I can get to it easier. This way I can have a yellow cable too which will keep with my color coordination too. I am using yellow for all 12v DC ground wires and leaving black wires for an optional AC neutral line later. I really only want AC wiring for boat projects and maintenance not for sitting at a dock and I am not sure a proper AC system is the way to go. That's a ways down the line anyway.

I wish I had left a bit more room around the battery for cabling. Short cables are nice and reduce system loss but they also make for difficult connections. A little more slack in the cables would have been nice and I think over this distance the 'loss' would have been acceptable.



With some trepidation I cut the hole in the cockpit well for the transmission shift lever.





I was going to install the shift lever, throttle lever and choke cable and have a nice picture to show for the weekend but I have been hemming and hawing about the need for backing plates on the levers. In the end I decided I had the material so I should use it. That didn't happen until this morning and now I don't have time to install and take a pretty picture. Soon.

I don't have a picture but I connected the choke cable to the engine. I received the choke cable from Hamilton marine this week and I have to say I was not very impressed. For $80 I thought the cable would be a little nicer. There isn't even an end fitting on the engine end and the wire shielding was rusty. I had it and I wanted to install it so I did. Not too impressed though. Hamilton usually does better by me.



G10 is great stuff but it is murder on the tools. That brand new drill bit is now toast. I finished the second cut but burning my way through and using a little practiced hammer action. I used up two saber saw blades cutting the outside shape too. G10 is great stuff though...

I was going to install the back panel for the engine instrument/spice rack but the molded wire channel got in the way. The only recourse was to remove it.



My flap wheel attachment on the angle grinder is a real workhorse.



What a mess.

What a mess.

I thought I was done with the messy part of interior work. If you thought some of my pictures looked a little dirty you won't like how the inside looks now. A dust bomb went off inside and everything is once again covered in white dust. Depressing.

I also sanded the fiberglass liner in preparation for glueing the backing panel in place. I was regretting not bringing along some 40 grit disks. It took seven 80 grit disks to remove the paint and gelcoat. I was going to take a picture but the dust in the air was horrible and un-picture-able. My full face respirator made it all workable but not viewable for others.


I mentioned my head seacocks last week. Here is the inlet for the toilet.



As you can see, the seacock is on a backing plate (marine plywood is so much nicer to make backing plates out of. Not as good. But much easier...) Foam insulation surrounds the backing plate and I have linoleum over it all. The cutout in the linoleum was difficult (for me) and a bit sloppy. The plan is to use cosmetic covers to neaten it all up.



Similar thing on the portholes in the head/hanging locker area. The inside liner is removed and the outside is too thin to clamp the ports too. Eventually, I plan on some type of headliner material here. For the moment, I have frames to make up the difference in thickness so that the ports seal tightly.



This and some work on other-peoples-boats rounded up this weekend. I feel like I am forgetting something. If I remember it I will add it in later.

Progress -Not as much as I would like- But progress.

4 comments:

Tim said...

You need these blades for your jigsaw for fiberglass, especially G-10:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/115/2350

Item # 4106A31 (4" carbide-tipped T-shank)

Or choose the ones with the shank type that matches your jigsaw, if yours doesn't use T-shank blades (Bosch-type)

Britton said...

Thanks, any suggestions for large drill bits like the forstners? Getting two or three cuts out of a bit before it is junk is rather depressing and expensive.

Tim said...

I normally use inexpensive sets of Forstner bits for fiberglass work, since fiberglass just kills these bits (that's not what they're for, after all).

They get dull instantly, but I keep using them. I pretty much only use Forstner bits in fiberglass when I am overboring holes for hardware; I like the flat bottom, which makes it easy to drill through all the core without going through the inner skin. Expensive bits will dull in fiberglass too, so I just keep using the dull ones.

I tried a Freud carbide Forstner bit once, but it was brittle and broke quickly, though I don't recall exactly how it broke. But it was disappointing. I may search for a better carbide bit than the one I had.

I have a whole other set that is just for wood, but it's still an inexpensive set. They are what they are, and when I feel I need better ones for wood, I'll retire the "wood" set for use in fiberglass and get a new set for wood. The hand-me-down system is alive and well.

I am well aware that these are cheap junk, but they work pretty well for what they are, and I have no delusions about what they are. Sometimes good enough is good enough; for $24 for a dozen bits, how can you go wrong, even if they're not ideal? They don't break or anything, just get dull.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200012074_200012074

One simply cannot afford the best of the best for everything when so many tools are required, so it's all about choosing to spend where it truly matters. Sometimes it really makes a difference; other times you can get by with a lot less. Forstner bits don't make that criteria when I can get a couple dozen uses out of the most-used sizes and have a whole set for what one quality bit would cost that would only last a bit longer anyway. That's how I look at it. The larger sizes in my sets remain pristine because I rarely use them.

For super-large Forstner bits, I buy the el-cheapos too, as I normally buy them intending to only use them for one specific project. I have found Rockler and Woodcraft to have a good selection of very large Forstner bits for relatively reasonable prices, given what you are likely to do with them should you need such a large bit.

Save the money for quality router bits, where it matters a whole lot more.

Anonymous said...

This blades and forstners information is very interesting. Again I learn someting new. Thanks, Andre