I'm working on replacing all of the running rigging on the boat over the next year or so. I've already replaced the main halyard, and main sheet. Today I finished up splicing the lines for the traveler controls. I'm expecting the new line for my spinnaker halyard in the mail tomorrow, and I have the line for my new vang. I decided to get myself a set of good splicing fids as a "gift to me" for X-mas, and I spent some time teaching myself to use them. Everyone I ever chat with about it says, "You know how to splice double-braid?" Yep, it's just really not that hard once you get the hang of it. I don't claim to be some rigging genius or anything, but putting an eye splice in double braid just isn't that hard. Download the directions from the rope manufacturer's website and get yourself a few scrap pieces of NEW line and go nuts! I saved myself about $75 this evening working on my lines. Add that to the money you can save buying end of reel pieces of line, and you're talking about saving about 60-70% of the cost of new running rigging. Seems like a worthwhile skill to learn, if you ask me... It's also a great project to work on when it's too damn cold to be working out in the cock-pit!
The new riser elbow has been installed and looks great, as you can see. I'm hoping that the silicone bronze cast will outlast the iron, and that this is the last one I ever see go bad. Work continues on the upgrades and re-organization of the running rigging on the coach top. New traveler control lines, new spin halyard, etc... Next big project there is going to be the mounting of 2 more new rope clutches.Also on the short list is re-wiring the wiring harness from the cockpit control and guage panel down to the alternator. I've enlisted the help of an electrical engineer friend to see what improvements we can make here as well. More on that as it comes.
For our exhaust riser replacement (due to the failure shown in the picture), I contacted a diesel repair specialist in Annapolis, MD who suggested that the old iron one be replaced with a silicone bronze elbow that they had custom cast by the thousands. Seemed to me that it should have been that way from the start, but what do I know???This was not a project that I was at all interested in tackling myself... So we had the yard do it. They did a fantastic job, it really looks great. It's still cold, wet, and miserable... which means that I'm not doing any wiring work that requires me to be out in the cockpit- so my wiring diagnosis may have to wait until the sun comes out.
Six inches of snow has put a damper on boat projects for a couple of days. But...Only a few more weeks until spring commissioning!
Sacrificial zincs are an important part of your boat in any place that sea (raw) water comes into contact with metal. This metal will corrode and breakdown before any of your other metal fittings. This keeps your other fittings in good shape. For instance, there's one on the prop shaft to keep the shaft and the prop from corroding in the sea water. I won't bore you with the chemistry involved-I will say that none of the boat yards we've ever had the boat pulled at have replaced the zinc from the heat exchanger. That's the one in the picture. Make sure you confirm which will or will not be changed by the yard, and do the rest yourself!Upcoming projects include wiring and exhaust riser replacement. Stay tuned...
Time to go through and replace fuel filters. I started with the pre-filter/water separator. It uses centrifugal (or is it centripetal? I can never remember the difference...) force to separate the water from the fuel, then runs the fuel through a 10 micron filter. So I replaced the filter element, then cleaned up the transparent water collection bowl. Then put it back on. Next it was on to the actual fuel filter on the motor. This is a 2 micron filter to be sure you don't have anything nasty go through your cylinders. It's just a spin off, and prep and fill the new one and spin on. Then checked everything for leaks when I turned the fuel line back on and gave the pump a quick run.Don't forget that the "Marine" label is just that- a label. There are only a couple of companies that actually build filter elements. Why pay double for the same product just because it says something about marine use? Just make sure you cross-reference your part numbers and double check the fits and gaskets!
