Monday, May 25, 2015

Remembering I have a boat on Memorial Day

Did someone say I have a boat?  I seem to have some distant memory of something like that.  Only I don't remember owning a boat.  I remember a boat owning me but maybe that is just semantics.

Well, it is Memorial Day and the weather has dried up and become warm.  Two weeks ago I did some spring cleaning.  If I leave the boat alone too long the mold comes back.  I blame the bamboo flooring.  In hindsight that was a bad idea.  It looks nice but I haven't met anyone that has used it that didn't wind up with a mold problem.  Something about mold in the bamboo fibers.  I am putting a rug down for now but long term I will probably have to epoxy seal it and put a plywood veneer over the whole thing.  I guess an inch and a half of cabin sole thickness wasn't enough.

About $850 worth of 'seacock' parts arrived this week.


Not a true seacock but I know people that have had good luck with these.  The thru hull threads into a flange (middle) with normal threads and the top of the flange has pipe threads to accept a typical ball valve.  Future maintenance should be much easier.  The part that fails is the valve and it just threads off. I don't expect more maintenance however.  I have gone with the traditional all bronze components - no more awful Marelon - so I expect to retire with these fittings.  If the ball valves do seize up they should be easy to replace.

I ordered six of these - three in 3/4 inch size and 3 in 1.5 inch.  My plan last year was to add two for the deck drains but that is going to take more planning and not a high priority so for now I am going to continue letting the deck drain into the cockpit.  I am not terribly happy with my initial decision to go that route.  I find on sloppy days the bow scoops up a lot of water and sends it aft where it winds up in the cockpit, soaking the feet of my unsuspecting friends.  Its a little funny when they panic and think the boat is sinking but it also gets annoying after the first few times.  Another solution might be to cut a slot in the toerail with something on the deck to direct the water through the slot.  Those two inch toe rails definitely contribute to the volume of water sent aft and if I could redirect it before it gets to the drains I might be okay.  A plan for another day.

Today, I measured the thru hulls for length but found I couldn't do a decent job of cutting them on the tailgate of the pickup.  The old bolt holes have been cleaned and filled.  I decided to continue with my original plywood backing blocks.  I would never use plywood again but they are glued in solid and they are doing their job so I didn't feel like starting a fresh fight with them.

Next week I should be installing the assemblies and hopefully I won't have any significant problem lining up with the existing plumbing.  Hopefully...

5 comments:

Edward said...

I would love to see your deck drain solution. My Triton is still on the trailer but I hate those deck to cockpit drains! I've been pondering notches/slots in the toe rail to let it all overboard. But not sure about cutting through that box joint. maybe just reroute the drain to the exterior topsides just below the sheer?

You know who said...

...and forgotten by July 4, apparently. ;)

Britton said...

Well, not quite forgotten but seacocks make for some dull reading. Work has been slow. Weather, family, balanced life, the normal stuff. I am also trying to change my financial outflows and get the direction coming in for a change. The current location is not fun and its hard to get motivated. That and the fact that I am not terribly excited to launch the boat to use for day sails every other weekend (on a realistic average) is slowing the process down. I have no doubt the work will pick up but this is definitely a slow patch.

Edward, the deck drain solution is in redesign at the moment. The new fittings are bigger and it is a bit tricky getting it all to fit in there the way it was so I am looking at re-routing some lines and correcting the deck drains while I am in there. Start one thing and suddenly everything needs to be adjusted. Par for the course I guess :)

-Britton

David said...

I'm guessing you must have left one of those new seacocks open and that's why I don't see any new posts...
You have a great blog- keep it up and help keep me inspired!
David

Britton said...

Well you have reminded me that an update is in order :)

I bought an old house with some land this spring which should make working on the boat much easier but in the short term I have a bunch of new house projects to attend to so... one step back will hopefully become two steps forward!