Breaking All the Rules ...

[SimonV]

Did you get a new fan?

Sent from my GT-N7105T using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[homeless]

Originally Posted by SimonV

Did you get a new fan?

There was a spare on the boat.

[SimonV]

We are just up the road, one is not enough.

Sent from my GT-N7105T using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[homeless]

Originally Posted by SimonV

We are just up the road, one is not enough.

There are fans all over the boat that are often mounted in places that are not suitable for tall people. If the one in my cabin fails again I will just take one those that I keep hitting my head on and solve two problems in one go.

[Mirage Gecko]

Homeless
There is a rigger in the complex you are in first name of Iain.Sorry have forgotten company and surname anyway two people I know have used him and both happy with his price and work.Will try to get more info on him if you want.
Chris

[homeless]

He was scheduled to do the rigging work, but another job came up and he jumped on a plane and said he would be back in 2.5 weeks, and I have not heard from him since. I am currently trying to confirm a new start date and also seeking alternative options.

I have not had much luck with riggers. The one in Sydney was extremely unreliable, delaying a rig inspection by 3 weeks, and then I came close to physically throwing him off the boat when he said he was a few hours late because he could not be bothered getting out of bed. I didn't bother to read the rig report I paid for because I had absolutely no respect for the author.

It would give me great satisfaction if the ATO announced they were going to audit all riggers.

[ahun]

Well done there so far! The most frustrating always to deal with the people who supposed to help you, in exchange for your money. The secret is, do not take it personally, and get over it quickly. Good luck with the project!

[JPA Cate]

homeless,

Even the one rigger in Brisbane that we trust is well known for delays. I really think it is a matter of having too many ongoing jobs at one time, so that "a week" in our case turned into 7 days spread over a time span of 4 weeks. It is aggravating, but in out case, he had the mast, so we weren't paying lay days for it. That would have made me furious.

You said you replaced a solar vent with an s/s one. I'm wondering how you're isolating the aluminium from the s/s?

Ann

[homeless]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

You said you replaced a solar vent with an s/s one. I'm wondering how you're isolating the aluminium from the s/s?

Ann

The vent is screwed to the teak deck, so no contact between stainless and aluminium.

[homeless]

There has been heavy rain non stop for the last 24 hours, so plans for painting, grinding, and welding outside were deferred. While I have reduced the deck leaks by re-bedding the hatches and vents my paint grinding has opened up some new ones around the pilothouse windows, so painting them will be a priority when the rain stops. I also found water dripping from a box above one of the forward windows in the pilothouse that I had always wondered about. A quick google of "AFI" reveals that it used to be a windscreen wiper, but has obviously been disconnected in the past and wipers removed, but the box remains, with the wiper shaft through the window frame exposed by grinding and letting water in. There is now a bucket under that leak, so I will be sleeping to the sound of drip-drip-drip tonight.

I spent the morning in the engine room cleaning and re-assembling fuel lines, coolant pipes etc, and grinding the flaking paint and rust off the starboard side of the engine block, sump, bell housing, and head ready for assembly and painting. I can't clean up the port side of the engine until the fuel pump and fuel lines are removed, which is waiting the front cover removal, which is waiting on the crank shaft pulley removal, which is waiting on the rounded crank shaft bolt to be removed, which is waiting on the welder, which is waiting on the rain to stop ...

Lunch time I borrowed the yard courtesy car and went for a drive in the rain to Enzed to replace the old oil and fuel hoses. 30 minutes later and $311 poorer I have replacement fuel and oil hoses that are shiny and new. So far I have not found anyone who makes steel fuel lines, so will have to order one from Perkins in the UK which "may take 4 weeks". Considering how many planes fly from the UK to Australia each day I can't understand how any delivery can take more than 3 days door-to-door.

In the afternoon I decided to finally close up the starboard fuel tank that had been half filled with water after the welding to check for leaks. I drained it, then while sponging out the last few drops in the bottom I noticed a concretion in the corner, and started scraping. I found another small section of corroded weld that would be best resolved now while the boat is out of the water, the tank is empty, and I have a welder coming (rain permitting).

Still no word on whether the painting contractors have managed to source paint for the starboard side of the hull. Still no confirmation of a date when the mast can be removed.

[homeless]

The rain stopped at 7am, so I called the welder. I removed the stainless steel screw through the hull, and drilled through the corrosion in the fuel tank, and he closed both holes.

We tried lots of different options to remove the rounded bolt in the crank shaft pulley, including heating and welding bolts, nuts, and a spanner to the rounded bolt head, but all broke off before it moved. Eventually the bolt was drilled and removed with an easyout. So ... everything has now been removed from the engine block except the bell-housing and flywheel. Tomorrow I will clean and degrease the engine and parts and start re-assembling it.

I also managed to grind and paint the new welds on the hull, and paint primer over the sanded fairing on the hull, dorado boxes, and hatches, and use sealant on the worst of the deck and pilothouse leaks including the windscreen wiper motor shaft.

[Warby12]

Originally Posted by homeless

We tried lots of different options to remove the rounded bolt in the crank shaft pulley, including heating and welding bolts, nuts, and a spanner to the rounded bolt head, but all broke off before it moved. Eventually the bolt was drilled and removed with an easyout. .

Welding a spanner on. Now that sounds like it can't miss but it did

Gonna be hot tomorrow homeless 35 and 90% humidity, stay out of the sun!

[Jim Cate]

Homeless, I think that I have figured out how you accomplish all this stuff: You are actually triplets! Crikeys, mate, you have gotten more done in less time than anyone I've ever seen. I'm truly impressed with your energy and focus.

HOpe that we run into you later in the year as we wander northward. Meanwhile, keep up the fantastic work.

Jim

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Homeless, I think that I have figured out how you accomplish all this stuff: You are actually triplets! Crikeys, mate, you have gotten more done in less time than anyone I've ever seen. I'm truly impressed with your energy and focus.

HOpe that we run into you later in the year as we wander northward. Meanwhile, keep up the fantastic work.

Jim

And in oppressive heat / humidity / rain; I'm impressed too.

[homeless]

I look like a Smurf, so the engine rebuild must be past half way.

I cleaned the head and block mating surfaces with acetone again, lowered the head onto a new gasket with the dinghy blocks, torqued it down, attached the rocker and the rocker cover with a new cork gasket, then put the front cover on the engine with a new crank shaft oil seal. Hope I did the oil seal correctly, as the instructions are to fit it 6.35mm below the surface of the engine cover, and considering the effort I have had to resolve the crank shaft oil leak I would have liked something a bit simpler with less chance for me to make a mistake. If the oil leak remains after this work I will need to find something with the word Perkins written on it and smash it into small pieces.

I had another round of wire brushing the engine block to remove rust and flaking paint, washed it down with two spray cans of degreaser, then hosed it down with water. Once dry I masked off the injectors, rocker cover, front cover, exhaust, cables, hoses, fuel filter, and floor, then sprayed one coat of high temperature engine primer, then another coat of ford blue high temperature engine paint. Ford blue is close enough to Perkins blue, which is why I have some of the physical characteristics of a Smurf.

It was a hot day, and I spent all of it down in the engine room away from the wind. I was dripping with sweat, which caused quite a few problems, as I had to try to avoid touching anything I was working on or leaning over the engine or gaskets so sweat drops did not impact the sealant or paint adhesion. Being in a small hot room while spraying multiple cans of degreaser and paint I did have to be careful not to pass out from the heavier-than-air fumes, especially when leaning down to check paint coverage on the sump. I guess I must have breathed some of it in and painted my hose hairs, as I can still smell the paint even after a shower and change of clothes, though don't have a headache, so must have avoided the worst of it.

I also wire brushed, degreased, and painted the cooling pump, raw water impellor, crank shaft pulley, and oil filter mount, so tomorrow I will try to mount those though I suspect I may not have all the gaskets I need so will need to make a choice whether to make them myself, or wait for Perkins to send new ones out. I still need to clean and paint the heat exchanger and the fuel pump and fuel lines, which will be a bit fiddly.