Winter 2017/18 Projects

[joe_db]

I like the bigger engine water intake idea. If I ever do that, I'll move mine to where I can get at it without spending 10 minutes moving stuff and then repeat to put it back.

[roadnsky]

...You mentioned a thru-hull for a marine air-conditioner, which would be a rarity on our types of boats. Can you explain how the system is designed and works. Having spent time at your lake, I can see how it would come in handy.

Thanks Tom for the kind compliment.
Repairing the hairline crack was intimidating but the Catalina Fix made the most sense.

I'm down to 2 different AC units. Both are similar.
12,000 BTU
Below is a pic of one of the units.
I'm installing it in the hanging locker, SB side in the forward cabin.
Normally, I wouldn't consider something like this but it will be nice to have AC and even heating on the boat for the desert extreme temps.
(Yes it's both AC and Heat)

Basically a marine AC unit consists of four main components and a refrigerant gas circulating through the system.
The BLOWER draws warm cabin air across the fins on an EVAPORATOR where the heat from the air is transferred to the refrigerant in the evaporator coil.
As the refrigerant evaporates from a liquid into a gas, it absorbs the heat from the cabin air.
The COMPRESSOR then compresses the refrigerant gas and pumps it through the outer tube in the CONDENSER COIL.
A seawater pump circulates cooling seawater through the tube in the condenser coil; this cools the refrigerant and condenses it into a liquid.
The heat from the refrigerant is exchanged to the seawater and discharged overboard.
The liquid refrigerant is then passed through the EVAPORATOR COIL and the entire cycle repeats.

Attached is a drawing of a typical installation.

The reason I installed the new AC Thru Hull is for the cooling water exhaust outflow.

Hope that makes sense...

[sastanley]

Jerry, looks good. I do not have heat pump/A/C on my boat, but my buddy does. We occasionally find it difficult for the raw water pump to prime the cooling loop. This is on a Bene 343..not sure if the pump has to pull too much air and can't prime or not..but at least you can think about the issue while you are contemplating the engineering of the install.

[joe_db]

AC raw water pumps are like the coolant pumps we sometimes use for A4s. They are centrifugal and cannot prime themselves at all. When I did AC installs we made sure the intakes were well underwater. Sometimes we would add bleed valves after the pump to clear air that gets trapped in the hose.

[GregH]

To ensure I get the safety issues dealt with, I make my to do lists in a spreadsheet and assign a priority to them - with safety being #1

A quick sort on the list then focuses the mind remarkably.

Replace the bilge pump before getting the new stove I want...

Otherwise, I can get attracted like a moth to a light by those interesting jobs.

Peter

I use an app that lets me rank the items and colour codes them - higher priority always towards the top... but sometimes I deviate just to get something done that looks pretty and a sense of accomplishment for those jobs that "take a while". Gives me a pick-me-up

[GregH]

Forgot dyneema lifelines and gates. Currently I don't have gates.

I really like using the Johnson hardware for Dyneema/Spectra lifelines.

[Oldlaxer1]

I really like using the Johnson hardware for Dyneema/Spectra lifelines.

I saw them and that convinced me to do the conversion. Because of how my lifelines are laid out I only need two 75.00 gate kits and then the dyneema. Not bad.

[roadnsky]

Jerry, looks good. I do not have heat pump/A/C on my boat, but my buddy does. We occasionally find it difficult for the raw water pump to prime the cooling loop. This is on a Bene 343..not sure if the pump has to pull too much air and can't prime or not..but at least you can think about the issue while you are contemplating the engineering of the install.

Thanks Shawn.
I haven't decided yet on which AC unit (it's down to 2) and I expect to do that project right before the summer (May).
I'm planning on having a discussion with a tech and one of my specific areas of interest will be the pump.

When I did AC installs we made sure the intakes were well underwater.

If all goes as planned the intake, pump and hose will all be under the waterline right up to the AC intake.
This is one of the pumps I'm looking at...

[sastanley]

I saw them and that convinced me to do the conversion. Because of how my lifelines are laid out I only need two 75.00 gate kits and then the dyneema. Not bad.

John, same here. I added their braces on each side and some eyes and toggles and have been very happy. the best thing is they are always at the Annapolis Boat Show for advice, but they have distributors, so they are not selling/pushing anything. I'll take some pics when I remember.

[toddster]

I really wanted to truck the boat home to the shop for a couple months intensive project-ing, including new bottom paint, but that's starting to look a little iffy, considering how many urgent projects are calling for attention on the ranch.

May get some starboard-side cabinetry installed this winter. And I've got a whole stack of craigslist treasures to install. Removable inner forestay and extra mast track to rig heavy-weather sails. Watermaker (20 years old, new in box). Sailomat windvane, including relocating the boarding ladder and reconfiguring the pushpit...

But screw it... the stagnant frozen high pressure cell that's been stifling us for weeks is finally blowing away. Supposed to be 40°. I'm going sailing tomorrow!

[Administrator]

Dyneema?

Tell us about it.

Bill

[Oldlaxer1]

Tell us about it.

Bill

There's a pretty complete rigging guide at colligomarine.com. They use their brand called Dux and use all their fittings and a pretty cool tensioning method using a "whoopie sling". They use it for standing rigging too. I'm not there yet!🙂 Splicing dyneema is really simple so replacement is easy and it shows chafe pretty clearly so you'll know when it's time. It was originally accepted for offshore racing but recently outlawed. For coastal cruising I feel it is fine. Johnson hardware is perfect for lifelines and dyneema.

[ndutton]

As a result of its mention here I took a look at Dyneema for my upcoming replacement lifelines. Interesting for sure but I guess I'm still too much of a traditionalist to take the leap.

[Oldlaxer1]

As a result of its mention here I took a look at Dyneema for my upcoming replacement lifelines. Interesting for sure but I guess I'm still too much of a traditionalist to take the leap.

You probably also have access to swaging tools and know how to use them😎
Me, not so much.

[sastanley]

OldLaxer...I have not been to the boat, but I was looking in my archives for some lifeline pics. I found one of the sunshade, but it shows the basic dyneema lifeline parts too. My boat had no gate, and when you disconnected the wire lifelines at the stern pulpit, the whole shebang went slack. :thumbsdown:

The half length braces were added (they have a collar around the stanchion just above the lower lifeline, and screw into the deck just where the coaming is blocking the view) so i could 'create' a gate from the stern pulpit to the first stanchion at the front of the cockpit..I also reversed the location of the pelican hooks from original at the stern to the same stanchion, and added double screw eyes at the stanchion as an anchor point for fixed forward lifelines and anchor point for pelican hooks. At the bow, I have turnbuckles to compensate for the 'irregularities' in my ability to make a mark and create the exact same splice length each time, and there is a length adjustment on the pelican hook for the cockpit section. I also did a quick simple hand stitch thru the splices per Brion Toss' recommendations..The splices can creep under low load (like those crazy paper chinese finger puzzles we had as kids.) I did simple brummel splices and 'luggage tagged' everything like they do with halyards on race boats.

If I recall, I used 1/4" dyneema..way oversized for the strength required, but it is about the same OD as a wire w/ the plastic covering so it feels the same in your hands. Also, the breaking strength was something like 9,500 lbs.!!!! I always joke I could almost rig a lifting bridle for the boat with that stuff.

I'll be happy to snap more pics if needed...this was all CS Johnson hardware, circa 2011-2012 maybe..the newer stuff they have works even better with dyneema, you don't need those big metal loops all over the place, but you probably have to add the hardware into the splice, instead of luggage tagging. The round white thing hanging in the middle is a cheap solar light we hung off the stanchions.