Ericson 41 Florida - Norway

[sveinutne]

I will take all the warm weather I can get. Now it is too cold to work in the boat, but I will make room for two Petromaxs 500. One will be under the saloon table with an exhaust pipe going out through the left went hole in the ceiling. The second will be semi mobile with one position on the top staircase with the exhaust pipe going through a metal plate in the ceiling. I took a picture of that yesterday when I was testing it, so it is working, but it is too cold to work long in the boat, but soon it will be OK. The picture is in my new phone, but I have not learned how to transfer pictures from the phone to the PC, so pictures will have to wait.</SPAN>

 

[sveinutne]

Here you can see Hyperion laying in the ice-cold water with snow on deck. The Petromax 500 is giving about 1 KW of heat and a lot of light. The second Petromax will be under the saloon table with pipe going thought the saloon table, but I will make a joint in the tubing, so I can remove the pipe when it is not needed. I was first planning to install a webasto 90s, but it was not working right, so it need to be fixed first, also I would like to have the boat EU certified before I install the Webasto, just to make the certification process simpler.</SPAN>

 

[sveinutne]

The 2012 season has started

The spring time is coming early this year. Normally we will have to wait till May before the sailing season starts, but if this warm weather continues it might start in April. Now, most of the snow has melted, and I can get some heat in the boat too, so I can start to work on it again. The picture is from my terrace, and the wind from the heat pump has removed the snow closest to the house. In the boat I have a Petromax 500 under the table with a chimney giving about 1 KW of heat, but when it is cold, it takes too long to heat up the boat with it, so I boost up the temp by two 4.2 KW propane heaters I put on the table, but I am afraid to get too much Co2 in the cabin, so I run it only for 20-30 min till the temp is up to 10 degrees. Then I turn of the propane and let the Petromax keep it stable at 10-12 degrees. Then I can make short trips to the boat and do some work under nice temperature conditions. I hate to work when the temperature is close to freezing, and it is necessary with more heat if I want to paint, vanish or to do some fiberglass work, so heat is essential in the boat.</SPAN>
First I used a smaller steel ball over the Petromax, but my wife complained that she could smell smoke and paraffin, so I replaced it with a bigger ball. Maybe I lose a lot of heat through the steel pipe I use for chimney, but I have to get the smoke out, so that is the price I will have to pay. In one of the pictures you can see the Ericson 41 with the green plastic over the top, and in front some hard core sailors going out in 5 degrees weather. The kayak people go out in all weather all year, but I will wait till we get plus 10 degrees. Yesterday I pushed the temp close to 20 degrees and put two layers of varnish on the two salon doors, so now the 2012 season has started.

 

[sveinutne]

Looking for good drawers for my E41

I am thinking about putting in some drawers where the right ice box was located. I had to open the wall facing the center walkway, and now it is just a big open whole. I think 3 or 4 drawers will be nice to put in the whole, but I want it to look like the original drawers used in the rest of the boat. The problem might be to find someone selling such drawers. I could try to build it myself, but it will be difficult to make. Any suggestions? Maybe there is an Ericson that is going to be dismantled that got good drawers?</SPAN>
Maybe this question should be put in a new tread? I will take pictures and show what size that will be good for the drawers.</SPAN>

 

[sveinutne]

This is not Dubai but Trondheim Norway.

http://youtu.be/5E5EzbJsSD8</SPAN>
http://www.grilstadmarina.no/</SPAN>
They have already sold most of the flats before they have started building.</SPAN>

 

[sveinutne]

I was lying with the flu this weekend, and then I started to think about the whole that needed to be field with something, and drawers cam as first choice. Today I finely got out of bed, and manage to take some pictures of the boat, and then I see there are no drawers in the E41 that are 43-48 cm wide, so I guess I should forget about finding some old ones. Then I will have to make them. I will try to copy the way the other drawers are made, so they will have the same behavior. I think it will be three drawers, and maybe I will keep the old icebox top, but make a shelf that can be accessed from the top. The other drawers are either too wide or too narrow.</SPAN>
Another problem I have is all the water that is coming in from above. When the boat was standing in my yard, it was completely covered, so very little water came in, but now only the back half is under wrap.</SPAN>
I have tried to seal all the leaks I can find, but the water find all sorts of way to enter, and now we have rain almost every day, so 2-5 liter is coming in every day. Most of it goes directly to the bilge, but some end up on the wood. So when the weather improves I will start to hunt down all this leaks.</SPAN>

 

[sveinutne]

I have never been able to start the engine when the start power is going through this switch, but when the battery is connected directly to the engine it start just fine. Today I decided to fix that problem and opened the switch, but three of the screws was sitting to hard, so I had to drill them lose. When I opened the switch it was full of oil and Greece, so it was giving too much electrical resistance. The cleaning was done in one minute, but to replace the broken screws is a more difficult job when you live in a millimeter country and have an inch country produced boat.</SPAN>
But all this frustration vanished when I came out of the boat and a person lifting up his kayak next to my boat and gave me compliment for a nice looking boat with really nice lines. </SPAN>

 

[sveinutne]

Just some update

Now I can relax more when it comes to start the boat even with low battery voltage. I installed something that is meant for stronger headlights on cars. Instead of letting a lot of current go from the starter to the key and back to the starter though thin wires with a lot of voltage drop, I installed this transistor that can take up to 30 amps and thick wires between the plus at the starter and to the point that knock in the drive at the starter. So now instead of just haring a click and no turning, now I just hear the starter start cranking even at almost flat battery.</SPAN>
I also got some oil leak, diesel leak and some hydraulic leak. The diesel leak I hope I have under control now, the oil leak from the engine is small, but the hydraulic leak is the largest problem. I do not know where it is leaking, but I have put a plastic tray under the hydraulic tank to see if it is there the leak is coming from. Until I find this entire leak and can fix the problems, I had to install an extra circuit for the bilge pump. Before the bilge pump was controlled by the floating switch, but it needed some level before starting, and it is stopping before all is out.</SPAN>
With some oil and water in the bilge the oil would float on top and the water on the bottom, and the bilge pump would only spit out the water and stop before the oil was totally out. I did not see any leakage from the hydraulic when I was test driving the boat in the marina for 10 minutes, but now when I have started to run the boat under load and high speed for longer time the leaking from the hydraulic system has shown itself. I am not sure how much it is, but I can see the hydraulic level in the expansion tank is going down 1-2 mm after one hour drive at high speed. So to preserve my goodwill in the marina, I try to get all the oil out of the bilge before going to the marina. The new circuit will run the bilge pump bypassing the floating switch. So now I start this bilge pump and let it empty the bilge, and then pour water several times down in the bilge to get all the oil and water out as much as possible before entering the marina.</SPAN>

 

[Greg Ross]

Quite surprised to hear that Norway would tolerate discharge of pollutants

Sveinutne,
There are alternatives to pumping/ discharging waste oil/ hydraulic fluids etc. overboard. In Canadian waters ships are routinely charged substantial fines and penalties for flushing tanks and pumping out oily bilge water anywhere in Canadian territorial waters, whether it be coastal or Offshore.
I have a very minor oil pan leak on my Yanmar. I will lift the engine one of these day and replace the gasket. In the meantime I have solved the oily bilge water problem by using oil absorbant pads/ diapers in the bilge to trap and collect all the oil residue. The contaminated pads are then disposed of properly.
We've become very sensative to spills in North America, accidental and particurlarly intentional. And that also includes accidental discharge/ overflow while fueling.
Pleas don't relax until you cure your leaks/ and avoid pumping overboard. It's my Ocean too!
From what you've described, don't alter your bilge pump float but rather add oil absorbant pads and leave the minor bit of water in the bilge to avoid pumping down to that level and causing the oil discharge.

 

[sveinutne]

Greg,</SPAN>
I hope I will soon find where the hydraulic leak is, so I can cure it. It is not only the water that is polluted also the air inside the boat. When the hydraulic is driven hard, it become warmer than the engine, and hot oil is giving of some fume that I can smell, so I am working hard to solve this problem.</SPAN>

 

[HughHarv]

boat leaks

Regarding leaks, I would look at your rubrail first. Starting at the bow, I poured a gallon of water down the rubrail expecting to see some water enter through the screw holes. What I got was nearly the whole gallon coming in, mainly at the lowest point of rubrail (midship). I found that nearly all the rubrail screws were leaking and I ended up removing the rubrail and glassing over the joint from bow to stern.

 

[Loren Beach]

It's been a while

Last activity on the site by this boat owner was in Sept 2012.
I wonder how his big boat project is coming along?

Anyone else heard from him?

Loren

 

[Greg Ross]

The Ericson 41 in Norway

Loren,
I believe Glyn Judson had some ongoing contact with him but I would have gathered that ceased well over a year ago. Perhaps Glyn will chime in.

 

[Glyn Judson]

E41 in Norway.

Loren,

Greg's right, I was the US point person for Sven, receiving purchased parts he'd bought here, sent to my address and then forwarding them on to him in large batches. All was going well until I just stopped hearing from him. I sent an email asking if I'd said or done anything to offend him but never got an answer. I'm as puzzled as any of you as to what happened. But while I have everyone's attention, I want to share a great story he told me about him, his family and the boat. He took the boat out to a nearby spot and dropped his brand new Delta anchor over the side, the one I'd just sent to him, as a lunch hook while they enjoyed the day and actually ate lunch. The wind began to pipe up so Sven went to tend to and actually retrieve it. Then the wind really kicked up and the boat swung, leaving him holding the bitter end while he walked it amidship. At they point it became too much to handle, the line slipped from his grip and right into 10 meters of water. He had the presence of mind to instantly take a GPS bearing right then and there, after which he returned to his slip really bummed out. Shortly thereafter he and a friend went out in the guys small power boat looking for the Delta. Sven used a small stainless steel grappling hook-type anchor (I sent him that one too) to troll for it in a grid. He hoped to snag that anchor and save the day. Well the little one went into the drink too. Undaunted, he tried again with yet another anchor and believe it or not, found BOTH of them. Now that's a determined and lucky guy in my book. I wish I were still in touch with him and that he was still a part of this list. He once described working on the boat in his front yard and as I already had his address, I plugged it into Google Earth and there in plain sight was his gigantic boat all covered in blue tarps just where he said it was. Cheers, Glyn

 

[sveinutne]

I am back

Glyn Judson,

I am sorry for the long silence. I am very pleased with all the help you have given me; it is just that so much else is taking my time so I had to let the boat rest for a while, and then forgotten the pasword. Now my gearbox is giving me some problems, so I have taken it out of the boat, and will do everything by hydraulics. Later this week I hope to get the new parts I have ordered, and then I need to custom make two parts, then I will be ready for assembly. The hydraulic with forward and revers made by hydraulic switching will then be tested. No gearbox.

I will try to take some picture and post to the ericsonyachts.org if I get a new password.

It was really nice to hear that there was so much interest in my boat project.

Regards

Svein

 

[Loren Beach]

Glad you're back

Glyn Judson,

I am sorry for the long silence. I am very pleased with all the help you have given me; it is just that so much else is taking my time so I had to let the boat rest for a while, and then forgotten the pasword. Now my gearbox is giving me some problems, so I have taken it out of the boat, and will do everything by hydraulics. Later this week I hope to get the new parts I have ordered, and then I need to custom make two parts, then I will be ready for assembly. The hydraulic with forward and revers made by hydraulic switching will then be tested. No gearbox.

I will try to take some picture and post to the ericsonyachts.org if I get a new password.

It was really nice to hear that there was so much interest in my boat project.

Regards

Svein

Hi Svein,
Being as how you just posted up a reply, it appears that you do indeed still have a password -- and that's how you logged in and made your post.
Most likely your computer has a cookie and/or a Saved Password file in its browser and the site access info is stored there for this and most other password-access sites that you use.

It must be interesting, living with a hydraulic drive. I know of only a couple of local boats with this type of aux. drive, and both were built in the late 60's era. The largest one was a Swedish Scampi 30 that used to moor near us.

Take care,
Loren

 

[Glyn Judson]

Hooray, you're back.

Svein, I'm so glad to her from you my friend, welcome back to the list. The hydraulics sound interesting, we'd all love to see photos. I know of only one other friend who had hydraulic steering. Cheers, Glyn

 

[sveinutne]

Hi Loren,
I tried several of my old passwords, until I got lucky. It was like trolling for my lost anchor. I got the parts for the hydraulics today, and now I wonder if there will be room for it all. I think it will, but it will take most of the space the gearbox used. How smooth the shifting of direction will work will be interesting to find out.
Regards
Svein

 

[sveinutne]

Glyn,
I am really touched by all the attention you all are giving me. Now I feel bad for my long silence. I will take some pictures tomorrow, so you all can see how I plan to operate the boat without gearbox.
And thank you so much for all the help you have given me with parts from USA.
Regards
Svein

 

[sveinutne]

Hydraulic a blessing or a curse?

To have hydraulic drive in the boat was not because I like hydraulic systems, but because the V-drive that was in the boat was ruined, and with a new engine it would be difficult to get a new V-drive that would fit inside the space. So I was recommended to put in a hydraulic drive if I was planning to use the sail as the main power, and only use the engine to get in and out of marinas. The hydraulic system is flexible and can fit in many places, but you loose some of the power, and the fuel consumption will go up some percent.
For me there was almost no other option, so I went with hydraulic, but I still used the gearbox for shifting direction from forward, reverse and neutral.
My big mistake was to leave the boat in the marina for several weeks without looking after it. I have some water coming into the boat from several places, but the bilge pump with a level sensor started the bilge pump when needed. After one year the sensor stopped working, and I did not inspect the boat regularly, so when I came after several weeks, the water level in the bilge was close to the floor.
The transmission unit was under water and through some went wholes water had gone into the transmission unit. I replaced the transmission oil, but the gearbox lasted only one year after this.
So now I got a hydraulic shifting unit as you can see in the pictures. The unit I got for free, but it will cost a lot to make all the parts I need to switch hydraulic direction. Neutral was not in this unit, so I need to make that with some valves.