Bilge blowers and cable runs

 Carpet long gone, I want to wrap up odd jobs prior to laying the new stuff. On the right you see one of the original bilge blowers, It is fried! There are 4 and only one works. On the left, I machined up this nice replacement. Everything is mounted on the plate. Two 40 amp relays and a fuse box. The existing wiring is a mess but I figured it out. This set up should work a lot better and look more professional. I had to run a 4 wire cable from the transom to the helm, took me 3 hours to route it. Carver does not make it easy. Now I need to machine up a base to mount the Raymarine rudder indicator on, followed by the installation of the Autopilot. Then I need to cut several holes under the swim platform to slide a hidden support bracket in place for the dingy lift. Pitter patter, lets get a 'ere!

Staples, glue and aluminum

Been working on a dingy lift for the swim platform. It has a 12 volt winch to raise the arms. Not quite sure where to place the winch. The end of the dingy with the motor is far heavier than the bow. Therefore it will have to be closer to the motor in order to balance. I put a lot of adjustment into it. We actually looked at purchasing one but nothing worked with our narrow platform. Even this will be awkward.

 At the same time I go down to the boat on Saturdays and rip out carpet. I see they used a combination of staples and carpet glue. I ordered a HD stapler gun.

St.Martin and engine work

 

 

Back at 'er! Two weeks in the Caribbean, good for the soul MON. Let me see ...the starter was finished, now the exhaust manifold goes back on and the turbo is reattached. Looking good!   

 

 

 

 Then the heat exchanger goes in and all the hoses get re-installed. A few wires to hook up and refill with antifreeze. Working on the dingy lift now. Auto pilot will arrive soon. COME ON SPRING!!

TEST DAY

 Modified a radiator tester in order to test this heat exchanger worth about $4500. I eventually pumped it up to 7 PSI and five hours later it is holding steady. I made the two white plugs/ stoppers on a lathe. Sure glad it isn't leaking!

Heat exchanger

 Cleaned up the heat exchanger, I used a lime buster liquid and let it sit for a few hours. Came out nice. I flushed it in hot water. There is a weird soft gasket at the ends that is 100 bucks on line! I found a similar material and will make my own. The next step is to pressure test it. I purchased a radiator pressure tester and modified it with fittings and made two soft plastic cups to imitate the rad hoses. I will pump it up to a few PSI and wait. If pressure drops, I'll do a soapy water test to find leaks. It is extremely cold here so no work n the boat this week.  

MOTOR WORK CON"T

 The centre cylinder on my 3 cylinder diesel Yanmar powered generator was not firing. I had a mechanic check it out. No joy! I pulled the head, the exhaust valve and surrounding area was thick with carbon deposits. The valve couldn't close. I recall the old guy I bought it off saying he would start it up and run it a few hours every year. (He never took the boat anywhere.) I think that is why, diesels need to work, they need a load.He wasn't running anything like the AC.  I cleaned it all up and used clover compound on the valve seat. It didn't take much. I set the head upside down and poured alcohol onto the valves of all three cylinders, an hour later the little puddles were still there. So I reassembled the motor and gave it a quick test start, it tried to run but I stopped it. The boat is on the hard, that will do till spring. I think it is good. Starter motor is back on the Cummin's 5.9 All wiring back in place, I left the heat exchanger off and I'm going to soak it in Lime remover for a time. Next up is the new Raymarine AutoPilot, That is going to be interesting. Meanwhile I'm building a dingy lift in my garage. FUN!

Engine WORK!!

Well the end of another year. I pulled the starter and cooling equipment off the starboard engine, rebuilt the starter and cleaned out the cooling equipment. I pulled the head off the Yanmar 3 cylinder generator in order to give it a valve job. Running this low compression diesel without a load fouls the exhaust. It was clogged with carbon deposits but cleaned up nice. New rug in the spring and an autopilot and AIS. Just need some warmer weather!