Thursday, February 26, 2015
Just in from Knock Off 37VT66
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Head/Shower Faucet Washer Replacement
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Saloon Window Replacement on Hiaqua 37VT03 (Tuggers Vol. 63)
Friday, February 20, 2015
How Many Screws in the Rubrail?
There are 157 screws in the rubrail according to Allan Seymour, Sally W 37VT42.
This just in from Carolina 41VT06
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Chef John, courtesy of Al Robichaud
Radiant Heating (Tuggers Vol. 62)
New Spreader Lights (Tuggers Vol. 62)
Grounding Issues (Tuggers Vol. 62)
Winterizing the engine on Dun Wurkin (Tuggers Vol. 62)
With winter passing and the need to winterize your engine passing along with it, I thought I would share how I winterized the engine on Dun Wurkin to possibly help my fellow Tuggers NEXT winter! There is nothing like timeliness, and this is nothing like timeliness!
Tools. The picture below shows some of the tools and materials I used.
Here is a close-up of the label on the bucket. The wide flat bottom was to reduce the chance of the bucket tipping over and making a mess.
Step One: Gather materials.
Step Two: Place a towel or paper towels under the impeller housing. Note: I chose to flush the engine with antifreeze through the impeller on the forward-port side of my engine because that was where I had the best access.
Step Three: Remove the upper end of the raw water intake hose leading into the impeller housing. For me this meant using a flat tipped screwdriver and taking off the two hose clamps (I used this opportunity to replace my SS clamps). I reused one of the old hose clamps to temporarily install the radiator hose.
Step Four: Install the radiator hose using one of the old hose clamps. This is a tight fit because there is not much room on my engine between the bottom of the impeller housing and the bottom of the bilge, so I shoved the bucket underneath the impeller housing and then installed the radiator hose. The radiator hose pressed down into the bottom of the bucket and helped hold the bucket in place. Here is a picture:
Step Five: Fill the bucket with antifreeze. I filled mine with 5 gallons. Here is a picture:
Step Six: Crank the engine and watch until the environmentally friendly pink antifreeze comes out the back of the boat with the exhaust, then turn off the engine. Here is a picture showing the level of antifreeze remaining in the bucket when I turned off the engine (Note: the red gas can in this picture is not for gasoline. It catches the periodic oil that comes from the engine turbocharger).
Step Seven: Take the radiator hose off of the impeller housing and remove the mostly-empty bucket from the engine room and clean-up. Here is a picture of the antifreeze bottle showing how much antifreeze was left in the bucket when I turned the engine off:
You are done.
Waves from the Northeast (Tuggers Vol. 62)
WHERE IS YOUR TUG THIS WINTER?
Photo: BENIGN SETTING Teddy Bear #15, one day after the Blizzard of 2015 in New England. Peter Reich reported 30 inches of snow and 5 foot drifts, just off-camera.
There's a great contrast (and jealousy) between Teddy Bear's winter setting on Long Island, NY and ours in Camden, Maine.
Photo: Sally W's summer home between these pilings that hold the docks at Wayfarer Marine in Camden Harbor. The boatyard must break up the ice 2-3 times per week to prevent ice buildup from lifting the pilings out of the mud.
Sally W #42 has been on the hard for three months, and we're looking at another four before splashing in mid-May. Here in northern New England it's amusing when non-boating friends ask if the tug is in the water. Ha! And it's even more amusing when we tell them we're going to drive 4-1/2 hours from our home in Vermont to visit the boat during winter. They'll ask if we're going to stay on it!
Photo: Sally W high and dry. At least shrink-wrap isn't necessary.
WINTER PROJECTS
Being covered in a shed doesn't put an end to projects though. It merely limits them. Sally W #42 relinquishes her exteriordoors and floorboards to her captain for a light sanding and fresh coat of varnish at home in a warm workshop. Allan also polishes the brass hardware.
Peter Reich on Long Island, NY is able to keep Teddy Bear #15 in the water during these non-cruising months. The off-seasondoesn't seem to restrict the "To Do" list. He replaced all 9 dome lights with LEDs, finding brass warm white/red lights at www.cruisingsolutions.com. They are an exact replacement of the original ones, and he's "very happy with them."
In January he began installing new refrigeration. "The unit we had installed shortly after we bought the boat, 30 years ago failed beyond repair after about 7 years. We have been using ice since. My business partner recently sold his hotel/restaurant and that ended my unlimited supply of free ice! We purchased a Frigoboat unit from www.great-water.com. Our original until was water-cooled. The strainer would constantly clog and had to replace the Marchal raw water pump several times. The Frigoboat unit is keel cooled http://great-water.com/store/keel-cooler-thread-mount-no-zinc-p-3970.html and uses no piped water. The copper tubing with refrigerant actually passes out through the hull in a sealed copper block to condense the refrigerant. The compressor is also variable speed and supposedly (hopefully) very efficient."
"Rather than cool the WHOLE icebox, I replaced the removable plexiglass shelf with a permanent insulated shelf. The shelf is made of 3/4" Starboard that I rabbeted and sits on the shelf ledge. Below that are 2 layers of 2" Dow Board foam insulation. They rest on light aluminum angle irons. I cut the Dow Board very loose and foamed in place with spray foam. The Starboard shelf is a tight fit and sealed with silicone. l built the shelf on the boat while under her fitted canvas winter cover. Since it is dark, the new lights have come in handy! Since the boat is in the water, I obviously can't complete the project until we short haul in the spring and install the new thru hull.
The other project we are considering is replacing our 30-year old Raytheon radar with Furuno's new First Watch Radar. The radome only needs wires for power and it sends the image to multiple iPad/iPhones. I've played around with the free simulator app on my iPad and like it, but since it just came out I'm waiting to hear some more reviews before pulling the trigger on this project."
COLD WEATHER CRUISING
Around these parts if you don't choose to haul for the winter, you'd best head south. Roger Lee and Martha Burke left their home in nearby Belfast, ME aboard Fram #71 on November 3 to cruise down the east coast's Intracoastal Waterway. Early on, they spent the night in Fairhaven, MA where John and Ellen Isaksen keep Neptune #35. An LNVT on the move is a magnet. Wannabees Al and Diane Robichaud who live near the Isakensjoined the party, and we couldn't pass up a good time either.
Roger and Martha's trip south was filled with many adventures that were enhanced by weather challenges. The voyage is documented in their excellent blog: www.framscruisinglog.blogspot.com. To date they have left Fram in Charleston, SC and returned to Maine for a short hiatus. With Belfast receiving two feet of snow in the recent blizzard, we guess they'll be back aboard soon.
CHRISTMAS MESSAGES
We love Christmas cards from LNVT friends, especially when they have tug themes. Dean and Pam McChesney, Fun #76, of Old Saybrook, CT sent this great shot.
Photo: Summer memories aboard Fun #76.
This just in from Callisto #19 (Tuggers Vol. 62)
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Repairing a Failed VDO Hour Meter/Cummins Engine (Tuggers Vol. 63)
1. The repair cost is about the same as the price of a new unit.
2. A new unit would have a different bezel than all the other instruments on Nellie's panel.
3. The repaired hour meter can be updated to include all the hours since the meter broke (a new VDO's hour meter can't be updated--it must start at 0 hours).
4. New VDOs require a different wiring harness. The old one is plug and play.
Pictured above is the unit repaired by Lauderdale Speedometer and Compass. The hour reading was updated from 5642.35 to 5835.00. Total cost for repair and rejuvenation was just under $200. Hopefully it'll last another 5,600 hours.
Dave Howell
Nellie D. 37VT63
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Finish Failures Can Darken Wood (Tuggers Vol. 63)
There's evidence that Cruz-In's wood darkening is happening on Nellie D. 37VT63 too. And as in Cruz-In's case I believe the explanation has to do with water (humidity) and the OEM wood finish.
The above picture is of a darkened spot in Nellie's pilothouse. I suspect that water or humidity penetrated the finish. I'll follow Cruz-In's example in the repair process.
Dave Howell
Nellie D. 37VT63
New Circuit Labels for the Breaker Panel
A neat solution is to have a trophy shop laser etch new, black plastic labels for the breaker panel. And, rather than have them do individual placards for each breaker, one big placard can service an entire column of breakers. This gives a much more integrated look.
Three placards are needed, one AC and two DC. Here's the measured diagram for the AC circuit. The placard's outside dimension was chosen as it covers all traces of the old breaker labels. To make the new label easier to read a single line of all capital letters was specified. The trophy shop determined the proper font size, which was used for all three placards, by fitting the longest label, FLOOR LIGHTS WHITE, in the given space. Affixing the placards was a breeze using the provided, double sided, sticky tape. At $5/placard this project is not only effective it's affordable.
Hat tip to Jay a Sterling, Cruz-In 37VT74, for coming up with this idea.
Dave Howell
Nellie D.
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Port Side Deck Leaks (Tuggers Vol. 62)
Cruz-In #74, which has a Mehrken's Galley, had the exact same problem on her port side. So, if you've got water dripping from the electrical junction box in your wine locker, check the deck screws closest to the cabin sides. Start your inspection just forward of the Dutch door and work aft to just under the middle saloon window.
Monday, February 2, 2015
Welcome Aboard Wannabe Steve Winter of Gig Harbor
Thanks, Steve.