May 3-9, 2020 St Marys Boatservices week 2

Sunday, May 3-We have often suspected that the well on the stern platform could be contributing to our water leak.  Dave worked on that area today.  He cleaned out the well, removed it’s through hull.  It doesn’t have a shut off like the others.  She sealed the trap door hinge and replaced broken screws.  And he removed the plates for the hinge latch.

I started the day removing all the stickers off of the new fixtures.  That included removing the goo from the stickers.  I used Crud Cutter to clean the “smile” on the stern where the boot will be replaced.  And I used it to clean the door of the well that is on the stern.  Good stuff.


 

 I also cleaned the inside of the boot with acetone to help with bonding it to the boat.

 

Pete had to move our ladder to reach the upper ends of the smile on the port and starboard.  He removed the remaining old caulking in the areas he couldn’t reach from the ground.  (the ladder is our only access into the boat while in the boatyard)

Before leaving today, Dave found the elbows he needed for our macerators.  That prompted a Happy Dance before leaving today. 

Monday May 4-Today we placed the boot back on the smile on the stern.  We did a trial fitting to see how things would fit.  Then we acetone the inside of the boot again and the surface of the smile.  Dave placed 5200 adhesive inside the entire boot.  Pete and I helped hold the boot  while Dave started in the center and worked the boot up the left and right evenly.  Then he sealed the ends at the top left and right.  There was no excess 5200 at the top, perfect fit.  We’ll let that set up, then Dave will seal the edges along the entire length tomorrow. 

stern without the boot

                                   

boot filled with adhesive

 

We are placing a new swim ladder on the stern.  When we have our dinghy hanging off of the davits on the stern, we can’t lower our existing swim ladder because the dingy is in the way.  So, if someone went overboard, it would be difficult to climb back into the boat.  We’ve looked at various rope ladders for the side, but they are all tricky to use.  We found a swim ladder that folds in sections short enough to get under the dinghy.  Today, Dave drilled the holes that we needed for the ladder.

On Mondays in the boatyard, there are a couple of guys that like to make pizza for whoever wants to join in.  They make the dough from scratch.  One of the guys is actually from Italy.  They both did an awesome job.  We were able to visit with a couple that we met here in 2016, Rosie and Larry.  Rosie and I would go to church together.  Another boater, single guy, brought a dish to share.  He put several cans of beer in a sauce pan and passed it around.  Fun idea.  Pete brought his guitar and played a few songs for everyone.

Rosie (with Larry behind her), Pete, Mary and Bill

Tuesday, May 5-We were still waiting for through hull parts to arrive that were ordered last Thursday.  “If they aren’t here today, they’ll be here tomorrow.”

Pete started the day with putting Tef-gel on all the screws for anti seize.  Dave started using it when we bought the boat in 2013.  He has seen rust over bolts that he thought would be a problem, but they came right out.  The Tef-gel never comes off, no matter how much sea water they have been exposed to.  He also said “For stuff that creates a slickness, it sure is sticky”.  It seems to get everywhere when working with it.
 

Dave and Pete placed bedding compound for the swim ladder, cleats and the davit support arms. They were put into place with the bolts attached.

 

 Dave spent the rest of the day inside the aft lazerettes.   Pete made little rolls of butyl rubber to place between the washer and the fiberglass, otherwise you won't get a seal.  Then Dave replaced the nuts and tightened them down.  Pete was the muscle on the outside to hold the bolts in place.  You don’t want them turning once they are in place.   Good team work.

 

 

location of aft lazerette

 

Dave inside the lazerette with a fan helping him survive

While in the lazerette, Dave found salt on the starboard side, not the port side, and used the shop vac to clean it up.  This is from evaporated sea water that has leaked into the boat.  We always suspected that our leak was on the starboard side.  He had enough of being in the lazerette when he was getting a signal that his leg was about to cramp and an arm was going numb.  

holding the shop vac for him to remove the dried salt

Dave and Pete sealed the two edges of the boot with 5200 on the entire length.  We don’t want any water seeping into that boot again.  Dave said “not in my lifetime!”

Wednesday, May 6-Pete drove to Brunswick today for a physical with a general physician.  We thought we would be back in Brunswick by now.  Wishful thinking.

Dave and I went back and tightened all the bolts on the stern after letting the 5200 set.  We also tightened the through hull in the well.

Dave checked the seal on the stern and caulked where needed.  He had to use a mirror to see into some areas.

Dave removed the hoses in the aft head and measured the lengths to order new hose.  We threw away the old STINKY hoses.

THE THROUGH HULL PARTS ARRIVED!!!!  Dave was impressed that the fittings came with a zerc for greasing the though hull valve.  With the old fittings, he would have to grease them while underwater using a stick with grease that he would shove up the exit of the through hull.  He couldn't reach the inside of the valve.  Now, we can remove a nut, place the zerc, and grease the valve.  BUT, some aren't accessible once they are in place.  So he saved his "grease stick".

Dinner at Pirate's Cove near the marina.  Great gater burgers.  The owner gets his gater locally.  His source will grind it and season it as he requests

Thursday, May 7-We spent some time thinking about the new swim ladder and the old one.  They actually both fit on the stern, so we decided to keep the old one, too.  The bolts for the old ladder were rusty, which could contribute to our water leak.  And if we removed the old ladder, we would have to fill in the bolt holes.  For now, we’ll keep them both to give us time to check out how we like the new one.

I separated and matched up all the through hulls and washers.  Then Pete placed the through hull from the outside and I placed the nut from the inside.  We found out we had to cut some of them to length.  

 
Pete placed teflon pipe tape on all the threads, and Dave used pipe dope from the inside to double seal.  Then Pete placed 5200 sealant on the outside of the through hull to seal it to the hull. The through hull is then placed through it's respective hole and tightened into place.  There is a tool that locks into the inside of the through hull onto 2 nipples which stops it from rotating.  Pete would put it in place, put a wrench on it and also hold the wrench with a pipe extension.  Dave is putting the nut/washer combo in place on the inside and tightening it down.  Pete is stopping any rotation from the outside. 

you can see the nipple inside the through hull that is already in place

the black through hull is the one that was replaced a year ago in the Bahamas.  It has bottom paint on it.  Dave removed it and replaced it to make room for everything to fit in order

 A through hull in the forward head didn’t have enough room for the valve to turn, so Dave had to remove it, which was a tough job. 

We were a Dream Team that day.  

Friday, May 8-Dave finished all the parts for us to have a functioning sink drain in the galley.  Yippee!!  We had a bucket in the sink and would have to empty it at the end of the day. 

We realized we needed a different size scoop for the through hull in the engine area.  It strains the water as it is pulled into the engine.  We put the order in through the boatyard, and of course “it will be here tomorrow”, actually Monday.

Saturday, May 9-Dave worked on the fitting for the forward head that had to be redone.  He took it to the machine shop in the boatyard and put it in a vice.  He had to cut it and clean the threads.  It took awhile with cut a little, clean the threads, cut a little, clean the threads, etc.