Spotted Sea Turtle 37VT14

The following is from Dave Forsman, Liberty (a Pilgrim 40):

We came across #14 getting some, actually a lot of work done in Indiantown [off the Calooshatchee River, Florida].  The owner wasn't around today but it is obvious that an entire cosmetic make over must be in order as she looked a lot worse than the photo shows.  My guess is a total paint job.  This place isn't cheap at $600/month to be in the working area. 

An Update from Titan 37VT31

Key Stage writes:

This a Kady Krogen at my marina with black iron fuel tanks that need to be replaced......note the first step.....removing the engine just to get to them!!

Also enclosed a pic of Titan....cap rail with varnish removed, sanded and Senco applied. Plus, my new bow puddin'! Coming along, slow but sure!

Check those Hose Clamps

Corrosion led to this failure

While tightening a hose clamp after changing the engine's impeller I heard a single, and distinct, click.  At first I thought is was the screw slipping.  Suspicious I pulled the clamp off and inspected it.  As the picture shows, it was the band breaking that made the sound.

This is the second broken hose clamp I saw this week.  The first was from a PSS packing gland.  It had been in place and untouched for eight years.   This failure is scarier because it means that hose clamps, even if not tensioned farther, have a definite service life.  For a PSS, it's less than eight years.  I wonder how long it is for the hose clamps that are installed on the through hulls?

Dave Howell, on the hard aboard Nellie D. 37VT63, Port Charlotte, FL.

Another Slurpee Installation

  Nellie D. 37VT63's wet bilges have driven me crazy.  Today I solved the problem by installing a Slurpee  What's a Slurpee?  Here's a previous post that discuss the Slurpee's design details and here's a post that discusses the Slurpee installation on Knock Off 37VT66.

The 3.5 gallon/minute Shurflo pump is mounted under the floorboard just outside the head.  The pump's mount is made of high density polyethylene (HDPE) cut from a 3/8" thick, $9, Wal Mart, cutting board.   The right angle in the HDPE was formed using a heat gun.  

Two 1" PVC threaded nipples were screwed onto the Shurflo's 1/2" MIP treads.  Then the 1/2" MIP end, of a 1/4" hose fitting, was screwed into the bushing. 

The effluent is pumped into the drain line of the head's sink.  To accomplish this the opposing ends of a 1" PVC tee were hose clamped into the cut drain line.  After a bushing (1" slip  to 1/2" FIP) was glued into the tee, the 1/2" MIP end, of a 1/4" hose fitting, was screwed into the bushing. 

The programmable controller, with manual on/off switch, is mounted with HDPE under the galley's floorboard.  Visible just to the right of the controller is a vacuum line connector.  It's here that either the forward or aft bilge pickup is plugged in.  

Nellie has two strum boxes: above is the picture of the under-engine bilge strum box.  The strum box in the aft bilge is all the way back under the stern tube.  Notice how dry the bilge is?  Ahh.

Dave Howell, on the hard aboard Nellie D., Charlotte Harbor, FL

  

PSS vs. a Traditional Packing Gland

PSS Packing Gland

All things being equal a conventional packing gland is less prone to mishap than a PSS. The PSS' vulnerable spot is its rubber bellows. A rip in it would allow copious amounts of water into the boat. This was my thinking this week as I was removing Nellie's (37VT63) PSS and putting the original factory gland back in. However, with the conventional gland in place and ready to tighten, I began to have second thoughts. The packing gland is in a very tight spot. It's underneath a floor joist and flanked by fuel tanks. Getting both hands on it requires a tight squeeze; my bloody forearms were evidence of that. While undergoing this torture I imagined myself performing the routine maintenance a conventional packing requires. It was then that I decided that all things are not equal. In this case the lower maintenance solution is the safer choice. Off came the conventional packing and I've ordered the PSS rebuild kit for a 2" shaft and a 2-1/2" stern tube ($130 #07-200-212R).

Dave Howell, on the hard aboard Nellie D., Port Charlotte, FL

Where is he now? A Tommy Chen update.

Tommy Chen, 2006 Seattle

Tommy Chen, who built all the Lord Nelsons, returned to his home in Taipei, Taiwan in late November. Tommy splits his year living between British Columbia, Canada and Taiwan.

He spent part of this past summer working on his Lord Nelson 41LN55 (eponymously named Lord Nelson). With her he plans to attend August's LN Victory Tug Rendezvous in the San Juan Islands.

In December Tommy plans to go on a tour of Shanghai. Tommy has been touring China regularly for the past three years. Also while in China he visits a friend from his boat building days who lives in Shamin. Tommy plans to return to Canada in March.