I took Friday off and came down to the boat and worked on it through Saturday. I didn't even get to take it out.
I installed the radio that my father and I analyzed over the week and found
out we really should jumper two pins to get the connector to work right.
currently the two power wires need to be exactly the same voltage or at least within
five votes for the radio to turn on and the way I had it wired up didn't work.
I also put the wiring for the volt amp meter in but the amperage reading
does not work. I ordered another meter this time with a 100 amp range instead of
200 A. I also saw online that other people were having trouble with the amp meter in that the shunt was not tuned correctly. I will have to make sure the new one is calibrated on the bench before I bring it
to the boat.
I removed the rub rails to clean them and reattach them with butyl tape and new
screws. I hope this stops the rain leak as this is the most likely source.
I also fixed the drain in the sink which in turn fixed the sump pump vapor lock situation so it can now drain the bilge.
I am trying to go to the boat every other weekend spending one weekend working on the boat and the other taking to boat out. This weekend (5/23/15) I sailed all the way from Forked river to Toms River and anchored there for the night. The next day the wind was from the south and the bay was very choppy. The night was kind of cold but all in all it was a nice trip.
The night before the final arrangements were made. I would meet up on Saturday morning with Brad and his friend Cynthia and we would sail from Jersey City to Sandy Hook. Then anchor overnight and Sunday shoot down the coast to Barnegat Bay and Forked River.
The Reality
Brad and Cynthia were so exited that they couldn't sleep so they wanted to sleep in a little and pick up a few items for the trip so we agreed that we would meet at the marina and I would prep the boat for the journey. It took me a lot longer to prep the boat then I thought it would, including realizing I didn't have a boat hook so I had to go buy one. I checked the sails functioned, oiled the pulleys, packed away stuff that would not be needed, etc. They arrived just as the boat was ready to go so we loaded up the months worth of food they bought for the trip. I switched on the battery and the motor would not start. Even with both batteries switched in there was not enough power. What do we do now?
We went down to the Liberty Landing Marina store where Ivan the ever helpful clerk pointed us towards the Juno Jumper X. A cell phone sized Jump-starter that comes out of the box charged and ready to go. I had my doubts due to its size but it worked. With the motor running we were now on our way at about one in the afternoon. This was OK because the first leg of our journey was shorter then the second.
As soon as we were in the Hudson we put up the sails and set off. It was gusty and we had a little trouble with weather helm until we retracted the Jib. Once we were in the Raritan bay the water got choppy and Brad and I were busy adjusting the sails, marking our position on a map and choosing which buoy to sail towards. Cynthia was below sea sick and lying down all day. I had just thought she was tired. We arrived at horseshoe cove off sandy hook about an hour before sunset. We set the anchor, I rigged up an all around mast light and went below and within 5 minutes Brad who was fine all day became sea sick as well.
The next day everyone was feeling better and we motored around sandy hook only to find the wind coming from the south, the exact direction we needed to go. We decided to motor instead of zing-zaging at the wind. For most of the day Cynthia was enjoying her self steering the boat as we motored down the coast. Because we were motoring into the wind that also meant we were motoring directly into the waves which caused a lot of spray. It was fun but it also got everything and everyone wet.
Once we reached Seaside Heights I checked the Gas and realized we were very low so I shut off the engine because we will need it to motor through the Barnegat inlet and up the forked river. We put up the sails and began tacking south. We weren't making much head way and the sun set. Brad and Cynthia were below deck and both were becoming seasick again. So I began single handed sailing the boat operating both sails and the rudder, tacking back and forth in the dark with few lights on the shore because that stretch is a park. Then the temperature DROPPED and I who never sailed after dark was single-handedly tacking towards and away from a shore I could not see and had no way to tell if I was making any headway at all. I did this as long as I could then took the sails down and went below. With the urging of my sick crew I reluctantly called Sea Tow and asked them to tow us to my new marina. This is technically above and beyond the scope of my Sea Tow membership but I was at the point of even if it cost extra it would be worth it.
I then motored south until the last of the gas ran out and waited for the Sea Tow boat. When he showed up I helped him tie up to my boat, lashed the rudder straight and went below where we all passed out. I woke momentarily to see the lighthouse go by and then again to see we were approaching Silver Cloud Harbor Marina. The tow boat operator nudged us to the gas dock and I sat down to ask how much. He said without my membership it would have been sixteen hundred dollars but that he would work it out and the extra tow distance home would be covered. Thankful I went below and fell asleep. (2am)
The next morning (Monday) I awoke to the motions of someone walking on my boat so I went out and found it was a couple of marina workers who were securing my mainsail for me. I told them who I was and that i needed gas and they went to get the key to open the gas pump. After filling up they helped me dock in my slip and showed me how to tie up at the marina. They were very nice and very helpful. I called Lorraine who drove down to pick us up and while waiting for her to arrive we unpacked the boat.
.
Lessons Learned
Raisins stain the boat when stepped on.
I can go about 60 miles on a tank of gas.
I should have checked the gas more frequently like at every inlet.
I should have went in the Manasquan inlet and got more gas and possibly anchored for the night.
Having a Sea Tow membership is well worth the money.
I should have taken down the mast light the next morning as it fell off the boat during the day.
I went down and watched as they put the boat into the water. I filmed it as well but I lost the base to my camcorder and can't get the video off of it without it. I have ordered a cable for it but it may not arrive before I sail the boat on the 11th from Jersey City to Forked River. I talked to the Service manager at Liberty Landing Marina and he let me keep the boat in the service docks until Saturday saving me a bunch of money on transient docking. When I get the video off of the camcorder I will post it here.
Once in the water I checked that it was not leaking then did some cleaning inside and put the cushions back into the boat. Lorraine helped me bring the cushions to the boat and watched it go in the water. So at least she finally got to see it. I also paired my iPhone to the radio so I can play my tunes/audiobooks. I also turned on the instruments and noticed my Autohelm ST50 was showing 0.0 for the depth. So I may have to sail it without knowing the depths below me. Since the boat was not moving I don't know if the knot meter is functioning yet.
The boat is scheduled to be put into the water on Monday April 6th. I went to the boat for a half day yesterday and tried to epoxy putty the sump pump in but it didn't hold to the pump. If it is still holding to the boat then I will try and add more putty to hold it in place. I closed the drain sillcock and replaced the front plug with the knot sensor and I hope I got that right and the arrow is indicating water flow and not the front of the boat. I also hope the reason it was not installed was not leak related. I began to install the music radio but ran out of time.
The boat is a dirty mess and needs to be cleaned and I haven't put the cushions back in. It is supposed to rain most of next week. I haven't found the dock lines yet but I know where the fenders are. Then I need to plan and provision for an overnight trip in order to head out the following Saturday morning. On the positive side a friend from my long past has offered to help me sail it so I may not have to do it alone after all.
Last weekend I went to the boat with Jacob who was my helper for the day. While we were there I used a bucket head wet/dry vac to suck the water out of the bilge. This was the best method so far to completely empty the bilge. Then I tried to glue the sump pump into place using 5200. Then we installed the new VHF radio but I was unable to receive anything on it.
This weekend on Saturday I pulled the Mercury 9.9 motor I bought last year out of storage and tested it out with a hose motor flusher and a jump start from my car. It started right up. I then took it to the marina and with the help of my uncle and his friend we lifted it up onto the boat. Sunday, I filmed what I was doing...
So after I got my batteries all squared away I mounted a bilge pump switch and wired it in from the charge controllers accessory output connector and tested it to make sure it works as expected. I also connected the wires to the outboard engine. Then I put a new antenna connector on the VHF as the old one was cracked at the wire pretty bad. I don't know if it is working the best it can but at least I was able to receive the weather broadcast now.
Today, Wednesday March 11th, is the first day the weather reached 60 so I went to the boat yard to start prepping the boat. However, even though the air was 60 I still had to negotiate a field of ice and water to get to the boat. Then once I got the ladder set up and all the supplies on to the boat I realized that the one thing I forgot was the key which was still at home. Since my fist project was to replace the door anyway I was able to remove the lock with some help from the service department.
I was glad that the existing latch on the boat worked with the one I bought to install on the new doors because otherwise I would have had to drill new bolt holes and try to run multiple extension cords together through a giant puddle. I also applied a strip of foam rubber to the sliding top of the companionway which works well to seal the top of the doors.
Inside the boat the bilge was almost about to overflow with the rain leak(s) and some of the water was still frozen particularly around where the sump pump is. I set up a spare pump and held the wires to the battery I was going to put in to pump out as much water as I could.
My next task was to install the two batteries. I had these batteries in my room all winter connected to a Guest Dual Battery Controller for AC supply. I noticed over the winter that one of the batteries kept switching into charge mode. Then for Christmas I got a solar panel and wired each battery to a solar charge controller and then the two controllers together to a common input for the solar panel. When I went to get the batteries the guest controller indicated a 14 hour charge fault on the flaky battery so on the way to the boat I stopped at sears and bought a replacement.
I wired and strapped the two batteries into the boat along with the Guest Charge controller and the solar charge controllers when I noticed that only one of the charge controllers must have a back flow diode, as they are different brands, which means one battery was always trying to charge from the other battery. I wonder now if this helped to lead to the demise of the battery. Anyway, I left the system so the solar panel is connected to only one of the batteries at a time. Currently it is connected to the new battery as that one may not be fully charged.
I also filed the paperwork to have the boat put back into the water the week after Easter. Before then I still need to install the radios, the outboard motor and fuel system, find and fix the rain leaks, clean the interior and put the cushions back. Among other things.
I took the original covers and stripped the cracking white paint off of them. I had considered sending them out to be properly chrome plated but that would have cost way too much at $225 per handle so I decided to fake it. After watching this video comparing different chrome paints I decided to go with the Spaz Stix Mirror Chrome paint set. I tried to follow the directions as close as possible but I didn't end up with a mirror chome finish. it actually looks more like pewter which also works for me.
And this is what my finished doors look like all together. I hope they hold up.
The original doors had seen better days and one of them was being held together with duct tape so I knew I would need to replace them. Luckily, there was a replacement door already in the boat cut from a piece of plywood. Not very pretty but it will keep the boat secure while I figured out how to remake the doors.
As grace would have it I was amazingly able to find a large piece of inch thick Burmese Teak on eBay that was just the right height for the doors and more then long enough. I then used the original doors as a template for the router to cut them out and shape the wings, the part that slides into the groove. This was when I realized my first error! I had miss remembered how the doors went into the boat and cut them backwards.
On the Tanzer the flat side of the door actually faces the inside and the curved cut out that makes the wings is on the outside. This is not that noticeable since the original doors were only 3/4 inch thick but on the inch thick doors this did not look good. Also because the doorway is not symmetrical and the cut was backwards, putting them in that way meant that the top could not slide into place. Putting them in the other way looked much better as the curve and the thickness matched the inside molding better but now the doors fit on one side but had a HUGE gap on the other. Putting the door in this way would also mean that the join between the doors would be backwards potentially letting rain water in. Ultimately, I chose to go for looks and if rain is a problem I will add a rubber gasket in between the doors.
To fix the gap at the top I still had a small strip of teak that was the same length as door which I joined to the top of the door with a tongue and grove joint using Gorilla glue. Just for information purposes you wipe the joint with acetone to remove the surface oils then wipe it with water to help activate the glue and join it together. This was when I made my second mistake. I forgot to take the tongue and grove overlap into account so now there was still a 1/4 inch gap. So I cut the top so that there would be a 1/4 inch gap along the entire top which I will fill in by putting foam rubber onto the sliding top that it mates with. I also curved the back side of the door top to help the foam to compress as it slides into place.
The original cushions were in useable condition with only one of them having a hole worn into it but I just didn't like how they looked. So I bought some Sunbrella fabric and using the foam as a template I made some new covers. This also gave me a chance to inspect the foam which was still in good condition. My covers may not be perfect but from what I have read I saved a bunch of money by doing it myself. I also used Sailrite Plastic locking zippers as the metal zippers on the original covers were rusted shut.
Spirit Dancer is a 1980 Tanzer 7.5 (25 foot) sailboat that I purchased in late August 2014 through a charity auction for a $200 donation and a $350 dollar "documentation" fee. The boat had a different name then which I have subsequently changed. (shh, don't tell Neptune) The boat was bought from North River Power Squadron which used it for training. It was donated to them by a person from NJ that used to sail it along the east coast.
The boat was in decent shape for it's age and price but it was in need of some TLC and an outboard motor. Luckily, it was in a marina that is very close to me so I arranged to keep it there, on the hard, for the winter so I can fix it up. I had the marina fix the broken lower shroud line that it had and sand blast the bottom down to the gel coat. Then had them apply 2 epoxy barrier coats a primer and 2 coats of Ablative paint. I took the cushions and the companionway door home for winter restoration projects and then spent several nice weekends scrubbing the boat down with toilet bowl cleaner and applying a coat of wax.
I also located a Mercury 9.9hp outboard motor with electric start on Craig's List for 1200. It is a 2004 but it looks and runs like new. When I went to purchase it the previous owner explained to me that he bought it from a crabbing boat that had it as a back-up motor. So it was maintained every year but hardly ever used. He then told me that he only got to use it 3 times on his boat before his swing keel fell off.
