Over the summer, I worked on a number of small projects on the boat. Non-boating time demands and injuries seemed to consume most of the summer. Still, I guess a little progress has been made. Some in the cockpit, some inside
Finished out the starboard-side shelving, back into the quarterberth. As I suspected, this kind of detracts from the spaciousness of the cabin. However, now that area is secure storage for books or pantry items. The skinny shelf up top might make a good device-charging farm (once electrical outlets are installed.). The aft-most bin is very deep, but it seemed useless to install an upper shelf because the cockpit tub would prevent one putting anything on it. I guess tall books or the like could go back there. I used to have the liferaft stuffed in that corner, but it was pretty difficult to get it in and out. And who knows if the old thing is any good?
Dry goods canisters from the kitchen were test-fit to confirm that this could be useful to store pantry goods. However if I used it that way, I’d have to re-think the retaining batten system. Because there would be no way to get the canisters in and out. Actually the same goes if the shelves were packed full of books or anything really. Hmm. Some sort of key-hole locking arrangement for the end brackets I suppose…
Even more galley details were "finished" up. Bins were installed atop the cabinet in a similar style to the starboard-side shelves. (Previously there was a worn-out pin rail up there.) Finally, I decided to go ahead and install the microwave oven that’s been in the project bin for years. (Still fiddling with trim pieces.) All the mod cons, you know. As long as I went with the lithium batteries and inverter, why not? (Next thing you know, I'll be bringing a blender...
) I threw out the little drawer unit that I put in that space ten years ago (Good grief that thing was heavy! Fiberglass over plywood. What was I thinking? The microwave weighs almost the same.) To hold the oven, I made a new bracketed shelf that screws onto the back of the bulkhead, where it sits just above the water heater and next to the refrigerator compressor. Speaking of which, the microwave was a little wider and taller than the old unit, so I had to relocate the refrigerator and propane controls. I made a new control panel that fits in the void space between the sink and the cabinet front. And re-did all the electrical cable bundles that ran along the back side of that bulkhead. And the oven door won’t open all the way unless the cold water faucet is turned on. A detail that will nag at me until I end up re-installing the galley faucet one inch to starboard. In short, another “quick” project that turned into a real can of worms because everything around it had to be re-done.
Re: the new control panel. I carefully removed the isotherm thermostat from the housing that it came in and installed it on the new panel. Then added a $4 electronic thermometer ( again, years in the project bin) and an LED wired up to the “fault” terminal on the compressor. So if anything goes wrong, it blinks out a code that you have to go find the manual to interpret. But at least I won’t have to crawl into the sail locker and try to hold probes on the terminals while doing yoga poses.
D’Oh! Not quite carefully enough. Somehow managed to break off the thermostat capillary. There went $73 that just vanished in an instant puff.
So here’s yet another bundle of wires running through the cabinet. Complexity gone wild. Four cables and a capillary tube for the fridge and three cables for the propane running to this little panel.
Moving on to the outside of the boat, I sewed up a companionway hatch cover, following the instructions available from ‘SailRite.’ I’d ordered some of the wrong-colored sunbrella (Burgundy, not Port! D’Oh!) so I felt free to risk an experiment or two. Instead of one flap, I put in two. Roll up one to get a clear vinyl window that lets light in and keeps the rain out. And lets you see what’s going on in the cockpit.
Roll up two flaps to get a screen that lets air in and (hopefully) keeps the bugs out. And adds a little privacy. Actually, since the cover is only held in place by snaps at the corners, it probably leaks bugs. Probably ought to have velcro all around. Or some sort of magnetic gasket, maybe. I’d hoped that the whole thing could fold up and be stored inside the hatch, but so far haven’t devised a method to do that that will clear the molded-in “rail” at the front of the companionway, when the hatch opens. And there are a couple of other interferences as well. Not to mention the conundrum of getting that last snap closed from inside the boat.
But anyway, the cover let me take the hatch boards home for refinishing without leaving the boat wide open. So, bonus project!
And finally, I sewed up a stack pack, to replace the ratty old sail cover, and also installed lazy jacks. Two projects in one! The pack was another SailRite kit. Sure seemed expensive for what was in it, but if you price out all those zips and hardware bits separately, they do add up. I thought I followed the measurement directions correctly, but it seems to have come out a bit too voluminous. And windage-ey. I think I’ll re-cut the bottom so that it’s at least six inches shorter at the aft end. An additional rainy Sunday afternoon project. Plus driving the flatbed to the marina to cart the pack home, ‘cause it sure wont fit in the Jeep or the Beemer with those 12-foot battens sewn into it.
It really has been nice to be able to drop the sail upon entering the marina, without it falling around the helmsman’s ears. In the summer time, it’s just too busy around there to drift around and neatly flake the sail before heading to the slip. Although if the boat is not head up to the wind, it doesn’t fall into the pack so neatly. It would probably be a little better if the jacks were mounted higher up the mast. I mounted them to blocks that are a few inches out on the spreaders, which maybe makes a poorer angle to the end of the boom, but does hold everything open a bit wider. To get the pack out of the way when sailing, I just ease the jack lines and "reef" up the pack sides with a couple of sail ties so it lies neatly alongside the boom. I tucked the jack lines into the reefing horns, but that's competing with the actual reefing of the sail, so far. And I've tried sailing with the thing rigged, just for short runs around the buoys and back... I guess that's why they call 'em "lazy" jacks.
Also visible in that picture: I bit the bullet, dropped some change, and picked up a new shore power cord and "SmartPlug" inlet. There wasn't anything really wrong with the old Marinco set-up (except the well-known selling points of the SmartPlug), but the cord came to me with the boat, was looking pretty ratty, and who knows how old it was? Edit: I should note that the "SmartPlug" inlet is almost but not quite a no-fuss replacement for the Marinco. The screw holes line up exactly but the central round hole needs some corners nibbled into it to accept the rectangular SmartPlug.
Finished out the starboard-side shelving, back into the quarterberth. As I suspected, this kind of detracts from the spaciousness of the cabin. However, now that area is secure storage for books or pantry items. The skinny shelf up top might make a good device-charging farm (once electrical outlets are installed.). The aft-most bin is very deep, but it seemed useless to install an upper shelf because the cockpit tub would prevent one putting anything on it. I guess tall books or the like could go back there. I used to have the liferaft stuffed in that corner, but it was pretty difficult to get it in and out. And who knows if the old thing is any good?
Dry goods canisters from the kitchen were test-fit to confirm that this could be useful to store pantry goods. However if I used it that way, I’d have to re-think the retaining batten system. Because there would be no way to get the canisters in and out. Actually the same goes if the shelves were packed full of books or anything really. Hmm. Some sort of key-hole locking arrangement for the end brackets I suppose…
Even more galley details were "finished" up. Bins were installed atop the cabinet in a similar style to the starboard-side shelves. (Previously there was a worn-out pin rail up there.) Finally, I decided to go ahead and install the microwave oven that’s been in the project bin for years. (Still fiddling with trim pieces.) All the mod cons, you know. As long as I went with the lithium batteries and inverter, why not? (Next thing you know, I'll be bringing a blender...
) I threw out the little drawer unit that I put in that space ten years ago (Good grief that thing was heavy! Fiberglass over plywood. What was I thinking? The microwave weighs almost the same.) To hold the oven, I made a new bracketed shelf that screws onto the back of the bulkhead, where it sits just above the water heater and next to the refrigerator compressor. Speaking of which, the microwave was a little wider and taller than the old unit, so I had to relocate the refrigerator and propane controls. I made a new control panel that fits in the void space between the sink and the cabinet front. And re-did all the electrical cable bundles that ran along the back side of that bulkhead. And the oven door won’t open all the way unless the cold water faucet is turned on. A detail that will nag at me until I end up re-installing the galley faucet one inch to starboard. In short, another “quick” project that turned into a real can of worms because everything around it had to be re-done.Re: the new control panel. I carefully removed the isotherm thermostat from the housing that it came in and installed it on the new panel. Then added a $4 electronic thermometer ( again, years in the project bin) and an LED wired up to the “fault” terminal on the compressor. So if anything goes wrong, it blinks out a code that you have to go find the manual to interpret. But at least I won’t have to crawl into the sail locker and try to hold probes on the terminals while doing yoga poses.
D’Oh! Not quite carefully enough. Somehow managed to break off the thermostat capillary. There went $73 that just vanished in an instant puff.
So here’s yet another bundle of wires running through the cabinet. Complexity gone wild. Four cables and a capillary tube for the fridge and three cables for the propane running to this little panel.
Moving on to the outside of the boat, I sewed up a companionway hatch cover, following the instructions available from ‘SailRite.’ I’d ordered some of the wrong-colored sunbrella (Burgundy, not Port! D’Oh!) so I felt free to risk an experiment or two. Instead of one flap, I put in two. Roll up one to get a clear vinyl window that lets light in and keeps the rain out. And lets you see what’s going on in the cockpit.
Roll up two flaps to get a screen that lets air in and (hopefully) keeps the bugs out. And adds a little privacy. Actually, since the cover is only held in place by snaps at the corners, it probably leaks bugs. Probably ought to have velcro all around. Or some sort of magnetic gasket, maybe. I’d hoped that the whole thing could fold up and be stored inside the hatch, but so far haven’t devised a method to do that that will clear the molded-in “rail” at the front of the companionway, when the hatch opens. And there are a couple of other interferences as well. Not to mention the conundrum of getting that last snap closed from inside the boat.
But anyway, the cover let me take the hatch boards home for refinishing without leaving the boat wide open. So, bonus project!
And finally, I sewed up a stack pack, to replace the ratty old sail cover, and also installed lazy jacks. Two projects in one! The pack was another SailRite kit. Sure seemed expensive for what was in it, but if you price out all those zips and hardware bits separately, they do add up. I thought I followed the measurement directions correctly, but it seems to have come out a bit too voluminous. And windage-ey. I think I’ll re-cut the bottom so that it’s at least six inches shorter at the aft end. An additional rainy Sunday afternoon project. Plus driving the flatbed to the marina to cart the pack home, ‘cause it sure wont fit in the Jeep or the Beemer with those 12-foot battens sewn into it.
It really has been nice to be able to drop the sail upon entering the marina, without it falling around the helmsman’s ears. In the summer time, it’s just too busy around there to drift around and neatly flake the sail before heading to the slip. Although if the boat is not head up to the wind, it doesn’t fall into the pack so neatly. It would probably be a little better if the jacks were mounted higher up the mast. I mounted them to blocks that are a few inches out on the spreaders, which maybe makes a poorer angle to the end of the boom, but does hold everything open a bit wider. To get the pack out of the way when sailing, I just ease the jack lines and "reef" up the pack sides with a couple of sail ties so it lies neatly alongside the boom. I tucked the jack lines into the reefing horns, but that's competing with the actual reefing of the sail, so far. And I've tried sailing with the thing rigged, just for short runs around the buoys and back... I guess that's why they call 'em "lazy" jacks.
Also visible in that picture: I bit the bullet, dropped some change, and picked up a new shore power cord and "SmartPlug" inlet. There wasn't anything really wrong with the old Marinco set-up (except the well-known selling points of the SmartPlug), but the cord came to me with the boat, was looking pretty ratty, and who knows how old it was? Edit: I should note that the "SmartPlug" inlet is almost but not quite a no-fuss replacement for the Marinco. The screw holes line up exactly but the central round hole needs some corners nibbled into it to accept the rectangular SmartPlug.
