Splash Guard Design

The drawings I gave Multicraft Plastics for our splash guard. The length had to be reduced to 18" when we moved the plexiglas inside the nav station.

Splash Guard, Racor Filters & Barograph

Several folks have told us that it would be a good idea to put a splash guard between the galley and the nav station. We have always thought this was a good idea, so we've been trying to come up with a design that prevents spill-over from the galley on to the nav station while not compromising visibility and the openness of the space. We came up with the idea of through-bolting a piece of plexiglas in between the galley and the nav station. We designed the piece, and emailed the design to Multicraft Plastics, a local plastic manufacturer. They emailed right back and said it could be done the same day. In about three hours, they called and said it was done. We picked up the piece and took it to the boat. We thought drilling the holes and mounting the plexiglas was going to take 20 minutes. Four hours later, we were still trying to get the plexiglas on! The problem was the hardware we used to mount the plexiglas prevented the gimbaled stove from gimballing, so we had to mount it inside the nav station. Mounting on the inside of the nav station presented another problem though - it didn't fit! We finally cut the plexiglas cut so that it would fit. After that, it took about 20 minutes to mount.

After polishing the tanks through the Racor filter, it was time to replace the filter element. I thought it would be a shame to replace the element and leave the gunk at the bottom of the plastic viewing bowl, so I took the whole Racor housing apart and cleaned all the different pieces. After putting it all back together, I put the new filter element in, and used the filter pump to fill the filter with fuel. Afterwards,  we were a little worried about having air in the fuel lines, so I asked Dave Kane for help bleeding air out of the fuel system. He came over and showed us how to bleed air out of the fuel system and gave us a bunch of tips on engine maintenance and repair. Dave and Kathy sail "Lightspeed" a 42 ft. catamaran and have been a great help to us.

Racor Before & After

I bought this digital barograph a while back. It runs on batteries or 12vdc. The batteries last a long time (3 months), but I thought it would be nice to wire directly to the boat's dc system. Plus, if the batteries are installed, they are on standby in case of dc power loss. Luckily, we had disconnected a CO2 detector wired to dc and replaced with a CO2/smoke detector that runs on batteries (for years), so I used that connection for the barograph. It fired right up and started recording barometric pressure. The display toggles from current reading, to one day display, to five day display and back to current reading. It also has rapid rise and rapid drop alerts. Power Consumption: 5.0 mA backlight off / 160 mA backlight on. While I was wiring the barograph, I noticed the stereo is wired to the starter battery, which is a no-no. Nothing but the engine and the battery monitor should be wired to the starter battery, so I need to rewire the stereo to the house battery.

Before we left the boat, Geralyn asked "did you squirt the ram ball joint?" The ram ball joint is the end of the autopilot hydraulic arm, which is rusted around the sleeve. I can still steer and use the autopilot (probably why the previous owner never noticed), but it needs to be corrected. So I went down below, and paid my friend the ram ball joint a little visit. I gave a couple of squirts and a couple of taps, but still no movement. I have an idea on how I'm going to get this sucker out with a C clamp, so stay tuned.

Fuel Polishing

The previous owner told me that I could polish the fuel tanks with the fuel system that came with the boat. Since one of our tanks is now empty, I thought it would be a good opportunity to polish the fuel by transferring all the fuel from one tank to another. I had no idea how to do this, and there's a plaque next to the system that says "Consult with a diesel mechanic before operating this system" or something like that. So I asked for help on the Caliber group website, and a fellow Caliber owner came to my rescue. It was actually quite simple.

One of my tanks was empty, so I transferred all the fuel from the other tank into it by setting supply knob on the Caliber Smart Fuel System to the source tank (in this case, tank 1). Then I set the return knob to the destination tank (tank 2). Up until today, I wasn't using tank 1, so the fuel valve was closed. I opened the fuel valve on tank 1 since I set it to supply. I also opened the fuel inspection plate on tank 2 so I could hear and see the fuel entering the tank and to make sure I did not overfill.

I then set the small fuel pump in the Caliber smart fuel system to "manual" and fuel started transferring from tank 1 to tank 2. The fuel pump is rated for 50 GPH, so it takes a couple of hours for one tank to transfer to another. I believe you can transfer fuel while underway by using the engine fuel pump (?), and that it transfers quite quickly that way

I left the "Filter In" and "Filter Out" knobs set to the same filter as it is the one I have been using while motoring and I plan on changing the filter element shortly. Otherwise I guess you could set one filter for "in" and another filter for "out" and run the fuel through both filters.

After the transfer is complete, make sure and put the smart fuel system knobs in the desired position and close or open the appropriate fuel valves.

I drew myself a diagram so I could get my head around how this system works. I'm not sure it's 100% accurate, so I'll take a look at the hoses when I'm on the boat and verify.

Rub Rail Project and the 2011 "Supermoon"

This weekend we completed the starboard rub rail project.

Things you need for this project:

12x1-3/4 FH S/S fasteners to secure the rub rail to the hull sheer. And 6 x 5/8 FH S/S fasteners to secure the S/S rub rail striker plates. 1 tube of white 3M 5200 (not quick cure) for approximately 20 feet of rail. Acetone for clean up. A small amount of UV resistant silicone.

To remove the rub rail you will need to remove the S/S rub rail striker plates. Once the S/S striker plates are removed from the rub rail you will see the fasteners which secure the rubber rub rail section to the hull, remove those. Then, remove the old 5200 and clean the hull and striker plates with acetone.

Line up the rub rail and attach it to the toe rail with string about four inches from where you will screw it on to the hull (see pic below). When you reinstall the rub rail, one thing which is very important is to apply a liberal amount of 5200 sealant between the rub rail and the hull flange. We added a large blob of 5200 to the backside of the rub rail and another blob on the fastener hole of the hull flange. We also coated the fastener threads with a liberal amount of 5200. The 5200 begins to drip once the fasteners are secured, so make sure to keep an eye on the drips and clean up BEFORE they hit the water.

Once the rub rail is attached. Attach the S/S rub rail striker plates with fastners dipped in 5200. When you're finished, clean the area immediately with acetone. You will need to add a blob of silicone on the aft portion of the rub rail.

This project took about six hours. The cure time is seven days.

The largest full moon in 18 years - the "Supermoon" at Salpare Marina! http://www.space.com/11179-supermoon-photos-full-moon-2011-skywatchers.html

The ducks came for a visit and were not happy when we said we did not have cookies.
"QUACKWhat?!"

Shore Power Contacts

The shore power connection to the boat had suffered some sort of surge or sudden disconnect that caused one of the contacts and the shore power cord to burn a little. We found out we could replace the inside contacts and not the whole frame, so we purchased the new contacts and installed over the weekend. Below, a picture of the burnt contact and the shiny new contacts.

Wenko

Geralyn's sisters run an Ace Homeworks store in Iowa. They are really good about letting us know about new products or things that might work on our boat.  

They swear by this stuff called Wenko. Wenko makes accesories for hanging or storing, without having to drill holes. The Wenko widgets use a turbo suction cup, so they're really strong.  The soap dispenser fell off eventually, but the toilet paper holder and cup holder are going strong!

Companionway Doors

This project has been in the works for a long time. The companionway into the boat has four slats that have to be removed every time we come in or out of the boat. This is a major pain, especially when we are working on a project or have our hands full. The slats are pretty hefty and they get very slippery when wet, so they are a drop hazard. Even though they are a pain, they are necessary to keep water out of the companionway in case a wave comes into the cockpit.

We wanted companionway doors, but we also wanted the ability to put the slats back in. After looking at several options and speaking with several vendors and craftsmen, we went with a company called Zarcor out of Texas. One of the marine products they specialize in, is companionway doors.

Geralyn measured the companionway, then I measured the companionway and we checked each other's measurements. We then sent the measurements to Zarcor, and they checked them against a previous Caliber order. The measurements checked out fine, so they cut the doors.  We installed them today.

We're pretty happy with how it turned out. Check out the before and after pictures.

Portlight Repair & Dinghy Inspection

This weekend we repaired another leaky portlight and checked out the dinghy. The portlight repair went smoothly. Dave's tip to put tape on the stainless steel frame has reduced the amount of cleanup needed.

We had inflated the dinghy before, but never ran the motor. We put the motor on the dinghy using the boat crane and then filled it up with fuel. It took a few times to start at first, but after that, it started every time. We may hang on to the dinghy and motor throughout the summer so we can scoot around the river.

We also did some reverse maneuvering practice with Bliss. Geralyn wanted to practice reversing with a technique of applying throttle with the wheel centered and turning in idle. It worked!