Strainers

     It has been extremely cold in the northeast this last week, so I have been working in the shop. Earlier in the year I had removed all the sea strainers, and brought them inside to restore. That seemed an ideal project for such a cold week.

     This first picture shows the condition of one of my strainers when I first bought the boat. Lots of corrosion, evidence of leakage, old gaskets, and missing hardware on all four of them. My first task was to disassemble, mask off, and sandblast all the components. Remember, if you sandblast any castings, to mask of any threaded holes or male threads, as the sandblasting process will distort and weaken them. Once the parts were nice and clean, I coated everything with 4 coats of PPG 3-part catalyst dried clear coat.

     The strainer baskets were cleaned of mineral deposits with a strong sulfuric acid solution. This is a quick process - maybe 5 minutes in the solution, followed by a thorough rinse. The baskets came out looking like new. I assembled the strainers with new gaskets and hardware, as seen below:

     There is one thing to remember, if you also decide to clearcoat any bronze or other metal components that come into contact with seawater. The strainers are a part of the bonding system, and while I am not going to enter into a discussion here concerning the merits of whether or not include sea strainers in the bonding system, if you do, that area must be cleaned of any clearcoat, such that a robust electrical connection is created between the casting and the bonding wire. A little corrosion guard can then be applied over the connection.

Hot Water

     I unpacked the new hot water heater this week. I liked it - nice heavy stainless steel tank, stainless fittings, thick insulation, and rugged plastic end caps to keep everything dry. Then  I looked at the mounting feet they sent with it:

     A little quick math - 12 gallons of hot water weighs almost 100 pounds, plus the weight of water in the heat exchanger, plus the unit itself - about 160 pounds total. That's the weight of an average V-8 engine block. These brackets are not acceptable. I know I don't want to be depending on them to restrain my water heater in rough seas. So, I made some new brackets out of 1/2" billet aluminum:

     I think these will be a bit more reliable. One side of the water heater will sit on a slightly elevated pad, where these two brackets will be secured. The remainder of the water heater base needs to be shimmed 3/8" to achieve a level footing, so I made 4 more brackets that have an integrated shim (the long section) that will sit under the water heater, level it, and act as a mounting foot.

     When the heater is finally mounted in the boat, it will look like this:

     You can see that the heater is elevated 3/8" by these feet. Once everything is in place, the heater will be secured by 6 very rugged brackets, as opposed to the original 4 flimsy brackets. I'll have some pictures of the final hot water system within a week. I have to order a few fittings, and run the pressure relief line in the boat.

Vacuflush Vacuum Generator

     I mentioned in my last post that I had rebuilt the vacuum generator. Once it was reassembled and tested, I started machining the parts I would need to suspend the vacuum generator from the deck, in order to eliminate the factory mounting on top of a water heater.

      The new parts are shown in the picture above. This bracket is made from 1/2" polyethylene material (Starboard). All mounting hardware is countersunk for a smooth finished product. There is a reinforcing member behind the pump, to prevent the bracket from flexing during rough weather. Two stainless steel brackets were bolted to the deck, and the pump was suspended from them with additional stainless steel fasteners, as seen below:

     This picture also details the freshly painted port side engine room, and the new LED lighting I added. The factory engine room lighting is weak, with only four small lights. One is located above the generator, two at the front bulkhead, and one at the transom. Unfortunately, they are dim, mounted low, and are almost totally obscured by the engines and support equipment. My solution was to bond a continuous waterproof LED light strip around the entire perimeter of the engine room hatch. I also replaced the incandescent light bulbs in the factory light fixtures with LED lamps. The total lighting amp draw in the bilge is now less than before, and I have far more light to work with. In addition, shadows have been almost entirely eliminated, and that makes working in here a lot more enjoyable.
     Next, I will be plumbing the holding tank and pump-out line, installing the new hot water heater, and piping the head.

Sanitation System

     This is probably one of the least fun systems to work on, for obvious reasons. My goal is to simply rebuild everything now, and enjoy a long stretch of trouble free operation thereafter. I took a picture before removing any of the Vacuflush components. Lots of rust, old hoses, and evidence of poor maintenance and cleaning is easily visible.

     Also, notice how the vacuum generator is mounted on top of the water heater, and how the mounting platform forms a step into the engine room? Did the factory really design it this way? What if the owner of the boat weighs 300 pounds? I still can't believe this is how it was done. No wonder my water heater leaks at the seams, and has to be thrown out now. A water heater is not a load bearing device!!!
     My first step was to remove everything, and rebuild both the holding tank and vacuum generator. There are 2 transfer pumps in this sanitation system - one for the vacuum generator, the other for the discharge of the holding tank. The pumps themselves are the same, but the vacuum generator uses a double duck-bill valve system, while the transfer pump uses single duck-bill valves. So, you need 6 valves in total for a rebuild. It is also a good idea to replace the pump bellows if they are getting old - no need to do this job twice!

     Here is a shot of the holding tank before any work was done. Notice the old hoses, deeply stained tank, and rusty transfer pump motor. The tank was completely cleaned inside and out, the pump rebuilt with all new parts, and the motor was disassembled and cleaned. I polished the commutator, lubricated the bearings and gearbox, and stripped and repainted the motor. The tank itself was cleaned with a mild solution of soap and bleach - I just let it soak overnight. The hoses and vent filter were replaced, along with all gaskets, and a new vacuum relief valve was installed. The finished result is shown below:

     My next post will detail the rebuilding of the vacuum generator, and the new mounting design for it. These modifications also allow for the installation of a larger hot water heater.

A Dry Bilge...

     I know, every boater's dream - a clean, dry bilge. Well, I am going to give it a shot. It's the journey, not the destination.....

     Dripless shaft and rudder seals are in the plan, along with today's post  - the rod holders. The factory graciously put one on each side of my boat, I believe, due to fate. One of my oldest and closest friends runs a charter business, and he lives to fish. BTW, if you like fishing, and you are in the New England area, have a look at his website: www.reelsteal.com. Anyway, the rod holders have these nice drains plumbed into the bottom, with a drain hose clamped to the fitting quite securely. Then, the hose is routed......nowhere. Yep, just drains into the bilge. Every time it rains, every time you wash the boat - right into the bilge. So, I started looking for small, 3/8" diameter through hull fittings, and discovered that no one makes them...

A little looking around the shop, and these stainless steel socket head cap screws looked to be just the right size for my needs. After a few measurements and calculations, the through hull fittings for my rod holders were born. Each took about 20 minutes to spin out in my lathe, and they worked perfectly. There is an undercut, under the head, to maintain a bead of sealant. My next design alteration will be the cockpit ice box drain, just behind the helm. (the Captain's personal stash...). Can you guess where it drains?

Engine Room Aft

     The rear of the engine room was quite a mess, as you can see from the pictures in my first entry back in November. I took a couple pics from this area after everything was removed, and a couple more last night, after the paint was applied to this area. Note that the rigging and wiring on the rear bulkhead was all removed to allow for painting, then re-loomed with a superior layout. All the bonding system junction points were disassembled, cleaned thoroughly, and reassembled. The trim pump wiring was similarly disassembled, shortened to provide for a nice neat fit, and re-loomed. The butt splice connector on the ground was removed, and replaced with a weathertight connector, for improved reliability and easier servicing of the pump, if necessary. The blower ducts were raised, the bends were given greater radii for improved air flow, and additional tie-wraps were fitted, for increased mounting integrity. I will be reinstalling the bilge pumps, float switches, and discharge lines in the next few days, along with the steering gear. The pics show the progression...

AC Pump

     When I removed the air conditioner water pump from the forward bulkhead, I noticed that the cheap plastic mounting bracket was badly deformed, and one mounting ear was broken off. The factory mounts the bracket to the forward bulkhead with small rubber grommets and screws. This method does provide a small degree of noise and vibration isolation, but not enough to suit my tastes. So, I went back to the milling machine, and designed a billet aluminum bracket to replace the plastic one. The pump itself was completely disassembled and cleaned. There was a bit of buildup on the impeller, but cleaning it off was relatively easy.

     I made the bracket out of 1/2" aluminum, and milled both sides down to about 3/16", to allow room for closed cell silicone foam to be bonded to the back side. The mounting holes are 1/2", which leaves plenty of room around the screws for rubber grommets. Finally, I made isolation washers from the same closed cell silicone, and some stainless steel flat washers. Details can be seen in the pictures.

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      I ran a test after the new bracket was made and installed. The noise level of the pump has been, subjectively, reduced by about 50%. I also don't have to worry about this one deforming or breaking in rough seas. I'll try to post some new pictures from the engine room later today or tomorrow.

Why move the batteries?

     I have been asked a few times why I am moving the batteries out of the engine room. I have a few reasons for performing this modification, but the primary reasons are improving the sea keeping characteristics of the vessel, and facilitating improved access to the machinery in the engine room. By placing the batteries on either side of the fresh water tank, approximately 300 pounds of weight is moved forward and down approximately 6 feet. This redistribution of weight improves the rough water response of the vessel, and provides for a smoother ride.
     I also do all my own maintenance and repairs, so the improved engine room access is important to me. The space between the engines is now opened up, and I have a place to stand while working. With the factory setup, the bilge pumps are located underneath the battery mounting platform, and can't be reached at all (unless you are a 4 armed masochistic contortionist). The mounting platform is really just a painted piece of 3/4" marine plywood that the factory screwed down to the stringers. It normally extends all the way across the rear of the boat, with 2 batteries in the middle, and the Vernalift mufflers on each side. I will be making custom mounting platforms for the two mufflers, so I won't have the mounting platform covering the bilge pumps anymore. Presto - easy bilge pump access!

     New pictures today show the starboard side of the forward engine room bulkhead. I remounted and secured everything, after the paint had time to cure fully. The access plates for the fresh water inlet and vent hoses, and the pump and level detector lines, were rough cut plywood from the factory - not very visually appealing. I made new access panels from white Delrin plastic. The holes were precisely located on my milling machine, then bored to size with a Criterion boring  head and carbide cutter - details in the pics. The panels are made in 2 halves, so they can be removed without disturbing the lines. Now that the sealant has had time to cure, they form a rigid structure with the forward bulkhead, and also form a watertight seal with the cabin.

The Forward Engine Room Bulkhead

What a mess. You can see, from the pictures I took when the blog started, the 12 Volt wiring was a complete mess. It looked like two octopuses trying to mate in a wind tunnel. So, the first step was to remove everything from the bulkhead, and paint it white. I use a moisture cured polyurethane paint from Wasser. It is expensive, at around $125.00 gallon, but it applies in one coat, and is almost indestructible once fully cured.

I then re-routed the battery cables into sealed, ventilated compartments located on each side of the freshwater tank, so I can remove the batteries from the engine room. Before anyone considers duplicating this modification, there are a few items to remember:

 1st - Conventional flooded lead acid batteries vent considerable amounts of water and acidic gas. I have changed to sealed AGM style batteries from Optima. These batteries recycle almost all of the water and gasses liberated during charging, and therefore do not contaminate the compartment with acidic fumes.

2nd - I have vented each compartment back into the engine room.

3rd - I have installed a modern, "intelligent" style charger. I will sell the smaller charger on Ebay, to recoup some of the expense. The new one is a 40 Amp, three bank charger from Promariner, from their ProNautic line. These chargers accommodate AGM style batteries, and provide a "float" voltage once the batteries are charged, to maintain the batteries without overcharging. Older style ferroresonant chargers can potentially overcharge a battery, and drive the battery into aggressive out-gassing. If you have one of these, you should seriously consider upgrading to a modern charger - it will probably save you money in the long run

Turning things around

Well, I have been hard at work these last few weeks removing all the old hoses, wiring, sea strainers, seacocks, etc., so I can paint the bilge. A clean, well maintained bilge is important on a boat. Leaks are readily apparent, the space is brighter and easier to work in, and it just looks good. So, everything is coming out. I am filling all the old screw holes with thickened epoxy, as I will be re-routing most of the plumbing and wring on the boat. Sea Ray does an "ok" job with this, but not up to custom boat builder standards, which is where I intend to be when this is done. Today's pictures show the beginnings of the bilge refinishing. As you can see, the mufflers, muffler supports, batteries, prop shafts, and rudders have been removed from the boat, and the painting has begun. I will be posting a bit more often now, since things have gotten rolling.

A New Workspace

In order to complete the restoration, over the cold New England winter months, I needed to construct a shelter over the boat. I considered a steel building, or even new construction with a foundation, but these options were just too expensive. Kits for portable garages and greenhouse style shelters are also available, but these ran about $5,000 for the size I needed, and I thought that was a bit much also. So, I designed a structure based on schedule 40 black pipe footings, driven deeply into the ground, with 1" EMT structure mounted on top of them. The EMT fittings are available online from http://tarps.com, along with some very useful information, and the pipe and EMT are local hardware store items. I procured the actual tarp from http://www.tarpsonline.com. I used the heavy white tarp, in a 40' x 60' size. Once the tarp was stretched over the structure, I screwed it every 18 inches, at the bottom, to wooden strips that are U-bolted to the pipe. All in all, it worked out beautifully, and I now have a dry space to work all winter. As the weather gets cold, I will be putting heat out there as well....

Starting Point

This blog will chronicle the restoration of a 2002 Sea Ray model 340 Sundancer. I purchased the boat in the spring of 2010, with no engines, generator, or engine hatch. One transmission was also full of seawater, and was seized. I expect to have the restoration completed in the summer of 2011. So, follow along, and let me know what you think. These first pictures show my starting point. I will try to update every few days with an explanation of the progress I have made, and design changes I will be making.