Boat Notes 8/23/25
The following are notes from boat work taking place on August 23rd, 2025
Sprayed down the edge and lines to the boat with the new spider repellent purchased. We will see if it has any impact
Needs a wash down again but that was expected. Should expect to do some level of wash down each time visiting.
Was successful in replacing the light over the table in kitchen. Was not successful in finding a bulb that fits over the stove. Waiting for an amazon shipment on 8/25 that might work, other than that will be taking the bulb that does not fit as a size comparison to see if I can find one that does. All bulbs minus the stove and the two engine room lights are now switched over to LED with spares. (Update 8/26/25 – Amazon shipment came in and remaining bulbs needed arrived. So just need to install)
Pulled the knob from the forward hatch also to use to find and buy a replacement for the other one missing on the other side. Need to remember to continue work on the side hatch latches. I have the parts, just need to do the work. The forward hatch screen I purchased, as expected, didn’t work for shit so I got measurements to just make a regular screen. Will want to add a handle to it most likely and that should be pretty simple.
Was able to test the Air Conditioning systems and found the center unit works very well where the fwd and aft ones don’t blow out much at all. Also enabling the Air Conditioner pump didn’t seem to do anything or make any noise. Which is a bit concerning. So may need to do more to track that down. As for the fwd and aft units, will need to plan on investigating them to see if the airflow is clogged and/or the fan isn’t blowing well. At least, for now, the center one works really well and is an option when staying onboard.
Did not take the time to scope the waste tank and that will still need to be done. Deck key doesn’t work on the fuel cap and will need to figure out a solution there (updates 8/26/25 – keys ordered from amazon don’t fit the fuel cap but should be able to make work. However need to add a lanyard to them so I don’t worry about dropping them in the water)
Bimini top temp retention solution worked (for the most part) but roof is still coming undone and will need to be addressed. Ultimately I feel like the best solution that won’t cost an arm and a leg would be to measure the snaps in the back and look how it mounts in the front and start planning around making my own with integrated solar panels. This would be a significantly larger project that should not really be approached this year. For now, need to figure out how to release the front tension on the roof to resnap the back, then just retain the front portion via the rope as best as possible for the short term. Over the winter storage the plan is to take the tops back and think about potential solutions from there. Another possibility is just the roof and a front console cover. I don’t want to take on this as a big project right now as there are other things that need attention. Get this to a minimum working state and move on.
Need to figure out a method for cleaning out all the side window channels to get the sliders working again. They are severely gunked up. This would be classified as minor repair work to do around major repair work. Also need to get going on making the damn curtains and getting that project done.
Found an ok location for the portable toilet in the fwd head. Just need to add water to it. Need to bring gallon jugs on future trips anyway so probably can use that. Head still needs to be cleaned and fan cleared out, but this is minor work and the head is for the most part satisfactory.
Kitchen is pretty much good to go. (update 8/26/25 collapsible dish bin acquired so able to do dishes using significantly less water). The tank meter in the kitchen I am not sure what it is hooked to or if it works. There is also a pull knob there that I don’t know what it does. But Everything seems to be working ok in the kitchen so considering that satisfactory.
Salon area is SAT other than the window situation stated above. Will need to do a dust/spider wipe down each time arriving to the boat. Will need more duster replacements.
Added double sided tape to carpet going down to the aft cabin. Hopefully this addresses that issue but if it comes loose again, will need to take the hammer stapler to have a more permanent solution.
Aft cabin is satisfactory other than the window situation listed above (sliders and curtains). Also needs wipe down each visit due to spider situation.
Aft head is a source of a lot of work. The shower head replacement was good but the mount for that shower head doesn’t work. Will be able to use the previously purchase mount to use as a size comparison to find something that will work. The shower itself will need to be cleaned. Faucet replacement from previous visit is good and holding up. Head itself will need an in depth review beyond replacing the broken part. Likely the macerator is clogged/disintegrated and needs to be cleared. Also need to disconnect the motor and test to ensure that it works. Also not sure what the gauge in the bathroom measures or if it works so a line trace will likely need to take place.
Dinghy testing is also something that needs to take place but is a low level issue. Currently it is successfully tied off on the back of the boat. I want to test switching out the mounts with the caribiners. Also need to test, deployment of the boat, adding in the motor and bringing on the battery. Also need to test just running around with the dinghy.
Engine room work we will need to focus on the bulge pump issues. This should be the focus and a high priority to address. Currently have a handheld pressure washer on order. (wanted the Dewalt brand one proper but was out of stock, so purchased one of the offbrands that use the same battery). This will then be used to clean out the pumps and the existing switches in the fwd (under kitchen) and the mid-ship (engine room). We will use this carefully on the aft one but do not want to fill that with too much water since the pump is not operable at the moment. Replacement float switches also on order. If the switches don’t start to operate properly after cleaning we will need to replace them. The aft one just straight up needs to be replaced. Wiring gear not currently onsite as I want to keep positive control over that case.
The second major repair is the hydraulic steering repair. This itself is a bit tricky but at least at this time we have now a method of re-pressurizing the system. It may be worth just cleaning around the area believe to be the leak and then just re-pressurizing the system to see if it is still leaking. Also need to verify that the fluid ordered matches the MIL spec on the reservoir. If not, we may need to hunt something else down. We also need to put eyes on the bleeder valves on the upper and lower helms. We also need to inspect the other end of the hydraulics aft behind the bed headboard. This may be where the purging valves are (For draining and replacing the hydraulic fluid). Also during this time we should see if we can get eyes on the trim tab reservoir. Need to also verify the fluid to fill with, likely Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF).
The third major repair job is the Racor replacement. We need to ensure to take a drain tube and container (again, likely a milk jug or something) to catch the fuel currently in the existing one. We will need to trace out the fuel system to ensure we are cutting off the correct lines and are aware of what cutoffs do what. The fuel line mapping is really important part of this process.
The fourth major project (not necessarily repair) is once the Racor is replaced, we should start the process of test running the Generator and the two motors. This is the goal for the end of this “float” season. Part of this work will require the fuel system mapping (noted above), at least some of the sea-cocks related to the engine and verify fluid levels in the coolant system. Notes on the coolant:
A new extended life engine coolant known as DEXCOOL™ IT IS PINK IN COLOR TO DISTINGUISH IT
FROM CONVENTIONAL COOLANT. THE SERVICE CHANGE INTERVAL ON ENGINES BUILT WITH DEX-COOL™ IS 5 YEARS. TO MAINTAIN FULL CORROSION PROTECTION DURABILITY, DEX-COOL™ MUST NOT BE MIXED WITH CONVENTIONAL (CONTAINING SILICATE) ENGINE COOLANTS.
I don’t believe the “DEXCOOL” has been introduced in these motors so standard coolant should be used. We’ll need to check and then get some prior to testing any of the engines.
Also, will need to ensure that the throttle, transmission lines check and the blower checks have been performed prior to testing the engines.
Finally we will likely need to also scope the fuel tanks and determine a way to check how much fuel is in the tanks if any. Also need to acquire a gas can or 2 to be able to start filling the tanks without having to go to the fuel dock.
I have realized that it is very important to have a specific ordered list of work to perform and to work off of. With this a specific set of tools and parts needed for said work. There tends to be a lot of “sitting around and thinking about stuff” instead of jumping in and doing the work.
As it stands now for the next visit, the work list is broken down to Major Projects and Minor projects. Minor are only taken on at the end of the day after a major project has been worked on and there isn’t enough time to start into the next major.
Order of Major Projects (based on this year’s goals)
- Wash down the exterior of the boat
- Possibly new boat brush
- Wipe down the interior of the boat
- Need more duster heads
- Get Bimini Top squared away
- Work on Bilges
- Need replacement switches
- Need power sprayer
- Need wiring kit (grey case)
- Work on Steering Hydraulics
- Need Dewalt portable pump
- Need pneumatic adapters
- Trace Fuel lines and Cutoff valves
- Work on Racor replacement
- Replacement Racor (onsite)
- Trace seacocks engine coolant loops
- Engine Coolant
- Test Generator and Engines
Order of Minor Projects
- Curtains
- Need to make
- Install/Replace LEDs in Stove vent and engine room
- Needs bulbs that came in via amazon
- Screen for front hatch
- Need to make (including handle)
- Re-install knobs for holding up front hatch
- Need to find replacemenet
- Repair V-Berth stbd side hatch knob
- Mount waste placard
- Install mount for shower head handle
- Need to find a mount that works
- Get sliding windows to work
- Potentially needs crevice brush
- Clean fwd head
- Clean out fwd head exhaust fan
- Prep portable toilet for use
- Need at least 1 water jug
- Figure out what adapter is needed to work with the marina’s pump out system
- Figure out what the meter in the kitchen goes to
- Figure out what the pull knob in the kitchen goes to
- Inspect the fwd and aft air conditioning units to see why the lack of air flow
- Wire trace the circuit for the air conditioning pump
- Test swapping out dinghy mount ropes with caribiners
- Test deploying and running the dinghy
Stretch Goals (not to work on this year unless everything above is done)
- Figure out a way to do my own pump out of waste tank
- Requires scoping of the tank to get an idea what we are working with
- Need to buy a portable tank
- Need to buy some kind of pump
- Need to figure out/buy attachments to each
- Wire in another AC Plug at the dining table
- Need a plug and a plug mount case
- Need a length of wiring to go from current plug to new plug
- Will need tools for cutting opening in bulkhead
- Tablet mount at upper and lower helms (one mount already purchased and onsite)
Things to look for when parts shopping
- Dinghy pneumatic adapter for portable electric pump
- Replacement knob for fwd hatch
- Replacement mount for shower head handle
- New boat brush
- Duster heads
- Crevice Brush (can use just plastic scrub brush in the short term)
- Engine coolant (not till this is verified)
Final thoughts is that the boat neighbors stated the internet worked great over the last week. So that is good news. May need to check how much usage I have left on the Verizon account. But all and all, that is a good sign. I do, however need to get a more permanent solution in place for the wiring of that. In other words, I need a longer USB cable and really I need to get a plug installed on the table side.