Mufflers

     These were among the first things to be removed from the boat when I started the restoration. They were then placed in the corner of the shop, and started collecting dust. I just kept saying "I'll get to those when it is too cold to work on the boat....". Then I worked on the boat all winter. At any rate, I did finally get to them this week. Here is what I started with:

They were dirty, full of salt, and the paint was peeling from them. My wife was gracious enough to wash them thoroughly, and she also stripped all the loose paint. One thing I particularly didn't like was the appearance of the drain plug gaskets, located at the base of each muffler. The generator muffler has two of them, on opposite sides. Take a look at these:

The rubber is cracked all around, and the gasket is ready to fall out completely. All four of them looked this way - leaks just waiting to happen.
     I started with a coat of catalyst dried primer/sealer, followed with 2 coats of basecoat, and three coats of clear on the mufflers. My wife had previously removed the manufacturers stickers, so once the paint had cured, they were reapplied with spray glue - 3M's Super Trim Adhesive. Great stuff, but please don't get it where you don't want it. Makes quite a mess. The finished mufflers came out like this:

     The finishing touch was to cut new gaskets from high temperature silicone rubber, clean up the stainless plugs, and reinstall them:

     OK, I know, why the pearlescent red? A car I restored is painted this color, and I like it, and I had some left over. Besides, painting everything black hides the leaks, makes the engine room dark and dreary, and is just plain boring. Trust me, it will look good...

Generator Fuel Filter

     OK, it's official - I ordered the generator. Estimated delivery is in about 2 weeks. So, in order to have everything ready for the installation, I removed the old generator fuel lines, filter housing and bracket, battery cables, etc. And that brings me to today's post - the fuel filter housing and bracket. As I began to remove the housing, I noticed that it was very easy to bend back and forth, because the bracket is made of plastic.

Thin Plastic.

For the fuel system.

On a boat.

Here it is:

      Unacceptable. Right to the trash can. A nice new bracket made out of 1/2" thick billet material is far superior, and I won't ever have to worry about my fuel system becoming detached during rough weather. The two components of the new filter housing bracket are shown below:

     Once assembled, it looks like this:

     I left a series of holes along the mounting plate, so I could adjust the height of the housing - lower for more access, and higher up, if I need the clearance. The other plate has 6 clearance holes drilled for the mounting hardware - six #12 stainless screws. Once it was complete, I mocked up the assembly, so I could get some pictures:

     While I was working on the housing, I took the time to strip and repaint it, and re-seal all the fittings. The fuel cut-off solenoid is in good working order, so I see no problems with reinstalling it. Overall, it was a couple evenings well spent.

Engine Room Progress

     I know it has been a while since I posted, so I will try to make up some ground with a few posts this weekend. Since my last entry, I have installed the fresh water lines to the holding tank. The factory just ran them from the tank to the deck fittings, over the top of the fuel tank. I changed the tank fittings to 90 degree elbows, to create more room behind the transmissions. Then, i made a plastic mount for the water lines, to hold them in place, and prevent chaffing. See below:

      The plastic bracket on the left is for the AC sea strainer, while the T shaped plastic bracket on the right is for the water lines. Once installed, I covered it with the orange silicone foam, to prevent chaffing, as seen below:

      Then, I simply secured the hoses to the bracket, and everything is nice and secure. The hoses are now held nicely in place:

      As you can see, the new seacocks are now installed, along with the sea strainers. The strainers used to be mounted on cheap plywood brackets, but I did not like their position or construction, so I have fabricated all new mounts out of plastic material. Also, the AC strainer and port engine strainer were very difficult to open and service, so I moved both of them out a bit on custom spacers - see below:

I will try and post a bit more this weekend, and get caught up.