Tick tick tick

The countdown has definitely begun and I can hear the unrelenting tick tock of the launch day countdown timer.  As usual, I feel like I have too much to do and too little time to do it all in.  It doesn't help that my sickness last month has boomeranged and I am getting a second round of it now.  Back then I had the luxury of resting and convalescing.  Not so anymore. Tick tick tick...

I am really happy about having a water system this  year.  I feel so much more civilized. One thing I never did (five or six?) odd years ago when I put the tank in was actually open the access panels and look inside.  With all the grinding and sanding that has occured since then I figured it was a good idea to clean out the tanks before drinking from them.  I was mildly suprised at how clean they were inside.  A minor amount of dust but nothing to worry about.

I brought some nuts this time and was able to bolt down the pumps into place.  Then after rinsing and wiping down the inside of the bilge tank I pumped 5 gallons through the system.  Have  I mentioned I really like my new water system?...  Then to complete the water system checkout I filled the tank through the deck fitting.  A lot more dirt came through after that which means I will be doing some more cleaning in the near future.

While doing this I had a rare moment of memory recall and I remembered that when I spec'ed out the tank I had the welders put a fitting on the top section so that I could drop a rod down in to measure the quantity of fluid inside.  Until now I had completely forgotten about that open hole buried under the cabin sole.  That would have been a nasty surprise the day before launch.

Of course I couldn't remember exactly where the fitting was and I had to resort to a few exploritory drilling operations until I located the center of the hole.  I will be adding a hinged cover apparently  to cover this all up at some point.

Really it isn't so bad.  Of course those shavings in the above photo dropped into my tank adding to the amount of cleaing I need to do.

 



 



My initial thoughts for this season was to leave the sink drain hose extra long and simply pull up the sink to gain access underneath just until I was happy with how it was all working.  The problem was that the drain hose kept kinking so today I cut out a proper access to the under sink area.  The eventual plan is to add a dropleaf to the countertop which will cover this access door.

I had intended to install the engine exhaust today but ran into a few snags.  The first is that I had forgotten the gasket and it took a bit of searching to find it.  The second is that it is really awkward to hold it in position and get the bolts started; expecially since the fittings all need to be 'tweaked' into their final position ( I will be sure to ask, cajole, bribe, kidnap a helper next weekend).  Finally, the box of cloth wrap I bought from Moyer Marine was too short.  I need to purchase another roll.  I will do that locally and save some money.

I have compiled a list of "things that need to be done before launch".  It is a long list.  I haven't set up an offical launch date yet but I was thinking about the last weekend in May until I realized that was Memorial Day weekend - a weekend I usually stay far away from the water and inebriated boat skippers.  Maybe the following weekend.  Certainly not the weekend after next.  I should probably quit my job so I have more time for the boat...

Tick tick tick...