Dan & Sue have come to Media and tomorrow we will head down to Nepidae to spend the rest of the weekend. Jane & I have taken the day from work to spend with them.
This is Memorial Day weekend so they will be heading back to Vermont on Sunday and Jane & I will stay on board until Monday afternoon.
No specific plans at this point just having the relatives enjoy Nepidae as much as we do.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
03/21/2011
As we move toward our spring splash launch there is a lot to do.
I think I previously mentioned that the marina we purchased our boat in was tasked to do some work before we left CT. They did a good job of not doing the work. They were suppose to do a repack, they didn't or used the wrong size packing material. They were suppose to address the steaming light, it was still burnt out. They were suppose to put extra RACOR filters on board, they did that. They were suppose to put extra engine filters on board, they did that. They were suppose to put extra belts on board, they did that.
I guess they figured we were leaving and wouldn't be back so the things you couldn't see, they didn't address or did a p**s poor job. I guess they figured if our boat sank, then they would have heard from us.
If you are ever going to CT and want a place to do some work, get in touch and I'll tell you who to stay away from.
In order to tackle the packing glands we had to have some engine room modifications on the starboard side. It will make future gland packing much easier.
While doing the packing glands, the shafts had to be removed. If you are removing the shafts you remove the props. We had them checked and found out while doing this job that the props were out of pitch. One was over and the other was under so they have been re-pitched.
We also replaced the rubber coupling (over 25 YO) of the packing gland to the boat and all of the associated hoses.
We have new Zincs all around, which includes new ones, the first ones, placed on the rudders.
We also looked at the engine stop buttons, which didn't seem to be working. To stop the engines, you pulled back on the throttles. Not a good solution when you are trying to maneuver in a close environment, cutting your throttles back to 'inch' ahead. One switch works, the other doesn't. We addressed that.
We are also putting in an additional bilge pump and a high water alarm, checking all thru-hulls and installing a new depth gauge. The old one is original to the boat and on the trip from CT we were getting 4' depth in 90' of water.
We will be inspecting the transmissions fluid (the CT marina was suppose to change this before we left, but how can I trust anything they have done) and levels and addressing what needs to be addressed.
We had plans for other items but the 'war chest' has been hit hard with the surprise expenditures of a 'newer' car, for Jane, a new furnace for the house, a new washing machine and my car is in the shop (can you say Mercedes, ka-ching-although in fairness, Carl does treat me well, but that is another story). So with these surprise expendatures we have had to cutback a little on the boat expenses.
What I have tried to do is to address the safety items as well as items that really need addressing.
I am having Nepidae detailed by a company who does that type of work. They should be doing it around the beginning of April, weather permitting, but we are looking at a launch around the middle of April so it is getting close. We were going to attack that ourselves but I got to thinking that we want to enjoy the boat and not make it seem like we are working every weekend and the quote to do the job was reasonable (I tell you how the work goes afterwards) so I decided that this was the way to go.
There are still plenty of other jobs that need to be addressed so we'll still have plenty of work to do during the summer. All the brightwork needs to be addressed. More GFCI receptacles will need to be put in, I want 1 in each 110V receptacle (remember electricity & water are not 2 items that go together) and there are other tasks that will be addressed as we go along.
Last weekend, Jane was under the boat wire brushing all of the metal; struts, trim tabs, rudders in preparation of painting which she hopes to do this coming weekend, weather permitting.
Jane also attacked the MSR cleaning the wood, that I'm sure hasn't been cleaned since, who knows when.
I changed some light bulbs to the Eco-friendly type (that is until you go to throw them away) and worked on getting the GFCI's installed as required by the insurance company. The time consuming part of the GFCI installation is that the wall box which holds the receptacle is not high enough to hold the wires behind the GFCI and still screw the plate down.
The receptacles on the sundeck had a single receptacle and putting the double GFCI into that box required a major operation to 'chip out' the inside of the box for the receptacle to fit. The purchase of a Dremel tool earlier made this an easier job, but the nails and screws in the box that are being used to hold the box to the fiberglass do get in the way.
I'm hoping that this week I can stop down at the boat and do some work after work but the weather is wet and raw so I'll be putting that off until the weather breaks.
I think I previously mentioned that the marina we purchased our boat in was tasked to do some work before we left CT. They did a good job of not doing the work. They were suppose to do a repack, they didn't or used the wrong size packing material. They were suppose to address the steaming light, it was still burnt out. They were suppose to put extra RACOR filters on board, they did that. They were suppose to put extra engine filters on board, they did that. They were suppose to put extra belts on board, they did that.
I guess they figured we were leaving and wouldn't be back so the things you couldn't see, they didn't address or did a p**s poor job. I guess they figured if our boat sank, then they would have heard from us.
If you are ever going to CT and want a place to do some work, get in touch and I'll tell you who to stay away from.
In order to tackle the packing glands we had to have some engine room modifications on the starboard side. It will make future gland packing much easier.
While doing the packing glands, the shafts had to be removed. If you are removing the shafts you remove the props. We had them checked and found out while doing this job that the props were out of pitch. One was over and the other was under so they have been re-pitched.
We also replaced the rubber coupling (over 25 YO) of the packing gland to the boat and all of the associated hoses.
We have new Zincs all around, which includes new ones, the first ones, placed on the rudders.
We also looked at the engine stop buttons, which didn't seem to be working. To stop the engines, you pulled back on the throttles. Not a good solution when you are trying to maneuver in a close environment, cutting your throttles back to 'inch' ahead. One switch works, the other doesn't. We addressed that.
We are also putting in an additional bilge pump and a high water alarm, checking all thru-hulls and installing a new depth gauge. The old one is original to the boat and on the trip from CT we were getting 4' depth in 90' of water.
We will be inspecting the transmissions fluid (the CT marina was suppose to change this before we left, but how can I trust anything they have done) and levels and addressing what needs to be addressed.
We had plans for other items but the 'war chest' has been hit hard with the surprise expenditures of a 'newer' car, for Jane, a new furnace for the house, a new washing machine and my car is in the shop (can you say Mercedes, ka-ching-although in fairness, Carl does treat me well, but that is another story). So with these surprise expendatures we have had to cutback a little on the boat expenses.
What I have tried to do is to address the safety items as well as items that really need addressing.
I am having Nepidae detailed by a company who does that type of work. They should be doing it around the beginning of April, weather permitting, but we are looking at a launch around the middle of April so it is getting close. We were going to attack that ourselves but I got to thinking that we want to enjoy the boat and not make it seem like we are working every weekend and the quote to do the job was reasonable (I tell you how the work goes afterwards) so I decided that this was the way to go.
There are still plenty of other jobs that need to be addressed so we'll still have plenty of work to do during the summer. All the brightwork needs to be addressed. More GFCI receptacles will need to be put in, I want 1 in each 110V receptacle (remember electricity & water are not 2 items that go together) and there are other tasks that will be addressed as we go along.
Last weekend, Jane was under the boat wire brushing all of the metal; struts, trim tabs, rudders in preparation of painting which she hopes to do this coming weekend, weather permitting.
Jane also attacked the MSR cleaning the wood, that I'm sure hasn't been cleaned since, who knows when.
I changed some light bulbs to the Eco-friendly type (that is until you go to throw them away) and worked on getting the GFCI's installed as required by the insurance company. The time consuming part of the GFCI installation is that the wall box which holds the receptacle is not high enough to hold the wires behind the GFCI and still screw the plate down.
The receptacles on the sundeck had a single receptacle and putting the double GFCI into that box required a major operation to 'chip out' the inside of the box for the receptacle to fit. The purchase of a Dremel tool earlier made this an easier job, but the nails and screws in the box that are being used to hold the box to the fiberglass do get in the way.
I'm hoping that this week I can stop down at the boat and do some work after work but the weather is wet and raw so I'll be putting that off until the weather breaks.
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