Number Twenty Three

[#23]

It was a productive Saturday & Sunday, pulling another 80-odd feet of dead DIY wiring out of the bilge & lazarette, rebedding a couple of leaky o/h hatch screws and changing the engine oil.

For the oil change, I'd picked up a Pela 6000 oil extractor a month ago. Oddly neither Westerbeke nor Google had any information on oil capacities for the engine, so I went into it hoping it held less than the 6 litre capacity of the extractor. I let the engine warm up for 10 minutes and then set the Pela to work:


(I see 10 refit projects in this photo alone)

Contrary to their promotional video, the process didn't take a mere "20 pumps and 5 minutes". It was more like 200 pumps over 90 minutes - which was still a lot less effort and time than lifting the engine up to get at the drain plug
The engine was long overdue for an oil change, so the suspended solids plus the tiny ID of the extraction tube contributed to the process taking so long. I plan to do another change in 25 hours, to clean out more sludge. The Pela pulled 4.5 litres out of the engine, which is coincidentally what I also added in new 15w40 oil. Before threading it on, I wrote the date & engine hours on the new filter.


Both windshield wiper arms are corroded onto the motor spindles. They are the 1980s-era style, with a solid cap and relying on friction & a little U-clip to hold them in place. As a result, the only way to use a modern wiper arm puller is to cut a hole into the cap. Before resorting to that, later this week I'll try tackling them with liquid wrench and profanity.


This part of the PNW rarely gets seriously subzero weather or snow, but with temperatures dropping to 3C at night lately, I have a Caframo air heater set up beside an open engine hatch to reduce RH and keep the air warmish. I once had a heat exchanger freeze & split on me in Bella Coola and I'd prefer not to repeat the experience. So far it's added 1.6C (3F) to the interior's overnight ambient temperature, but I will likely add a second unit if we get into a cold snap.


(open hatch also doubles as a burglar trap)

[#23]

Received Federal notification today that #23's new name has been approved and the Certificate of Registration is "in the queue"!

Next up is deciding where to engrave the new registration number, as Canada requires it to be embedded into the structure, not mounted on a plaque.

[S/V Deo Volente]

Lot's going on. My registration number was engraved into a board that was epoxied to the side of the water tank. It could be anywhere convenient. It then becomes part of the hull. I do have the original wiring diagram that came with my boat. It shows the connections, but not the physical locations. The trouble is it's a blueprint, D size I believe so not easily scanned. By the way I replaced the panels below the windows with fresh plywood by gluing two pieces together to get the length then covered them with a vinyl that matched the original very closely.
Bob

[#23]

Hi Bob,

Lot's going on. My registration number was engraved into a board that was epoxied to the side of the water tank. It could be anywhere convenient. It then becomes part of the hull.

good idea - thanks!

I do have the original wiring diagram that came with my boat. It shows the connections, but not the physical locations. The trouble is it's a blueprint, D size I believe so not easily scanned.

I think that once I clean out the last of the DIY wiring, what's left will be rather straightforward. As an example, the PO before my PO put in seven 12v non-marinized power plugs, all wired separately into individual bulkhead holes...

By the way I replaced the panels below the windows with fresh plywood by gluing two pieces together to get the length then covered them with a vinyl that matched the original very closely.

Other than using that space behind them for electrical runs, I'd like the replacement panels to remain clear. For the galley 110v outlet, the propane switch and the SeaFrost rheostat, I want to fill in the outboard-most end of the cup/dish rack behind the freezer and relocate them there.

***

In the foremost portion of the bilge, there's a hull "pocket" that captures drippings from the anchor locker. It has to overflow before any of it will drain further aft to the deeper bilge where the pumps are - presumably that happens naturally when underway. Yesterday I drained it with a handpump and was surprised to see how much water gets captured in there.

I bite the bullet and added a second Caframo air warmer yesterday, as night temps are dropping to -3C all this week. One is by the open engine hatch and the second is just aft of the v-berth. The forecast calls for overall warmer temps by Tuesday.

[#23]

Today I volunteered Son #2 to give me a hand. I got him into the bilge, aft of the engine, to pull out the rotten, oil-soaked foam insulation that was crumbling from where it had been glued to the underside of the pilothouse sole and was now migrating, a clump at a time, into the lowest part of the bilge.


(this builds character, son)

As you can imagine, it was messy job that, after all was said and done, resulted in five full garbage bags and a shop-vac all full of that crap. He also managed to pull it out from above the water tanks, so now it's just the bilge forward of the engine to deal with.

There are moments when I'm tempted to just start ripping everything out and redoing all the systems properly, from scratch; but then I remember that I have no money and need to be more patient 

[JMB]

Chris - I am replying to that hidden paragraph regarding that little bilge area by the mast:
          In the foremost portion of the bilge, there's a hull "pocket" that captures drippings from the anchor locker. It has to overflow before any of it will     drain further aft to the deeper bilge where the pumps are - presumably that happens naturally when underway. Yesterday I drained it with a handpump and was surprised to see how much water gets captured in there.

I am puzzled as to the design of the area forward of the engine. Water forward of the engine will drain forward and pass thru a bulkhead and end up by the maststep. I used to get a lot of water until I re-caulked the 3 forward windows. That said, why there is no draining into the primary bilge is my primary question / concern. While I have a 4.4.KW Gen Set forward of the engine, the weight might be the reason the water heads towards the mast. There is a slight depression that I pumpout using a bilge pump that I plug into a small outlet nearby. I had to run a hose over the bulkhead and back to the primary bilge. Once the pump is plugged in, I move the pump around in the small depression until I get most of the water out and then sponge out the rest. I primary concern is trying to make sure the mast step remains dry. I doubt that this water will ever drain aft into the primary bilge naturally when underway.

[#23]

Chris - I am replying to that hidden paragraph regarding that little bilge area by the mast:

In the foremost portion of the bilge, there's a hull "pocket" that captures drippings from the anchor locker. It has to overflow before any of it will     drain further aft to the deeper bilge where the pumps are - presumably that happens naturally when underway. Yesterday I drained it with a handpump and was surprised to see how much water gets captured in there.

My apologies John, I should have been clearer. I consider the entire keel centerline of the boat's bottom, from v-berth to lazarette - plus vertically to the underside of the cabin sole, to be the 'bilge'. The pocket I'm referring to in the post you quoted, is under the v-berth. I've attached a photo for reference.


(I'm telling myself it's just brown water and not from the holding tank above it)

The issue is related to your mast-step drainage observation. The 'pocket' below the v-berth has to overflow to begin draining along the keel centerline. As it drains, it hits a small vertical face forward of the mast, where it can pool again. This small catchment looks like it's due to the way that the cabin/head bulkhead tabbing is joined to the bilge.

From there, it can slosh back and forth in a relatively flat area between the mast step and the forward engine mounts, but again needs to overflow to get to where the bilge pumps under the engine are.

All I have in that area is a Raritan hot water tank and the shower sump, so the fact that it doesn't easily drain for mine either, suggests to me that it's a design issue and not related to the weight of your genset.

Like you, once I sealed the aluminum windows, the volume of bilge water here dropped off. I still get a trickle down the mast in heavy rain and if I let that v-berth bilge pocket fill up again, that would be another source. Even with all that, the water level at the mast step never gets high enough to lift a bilge pump float. One of my longer-term projects is to build a 1.5" high fiberglass base that the aluminium mast step can be mounted high & dry onto. 

   

[#23]

a new year with more stuff going on

I was away for all of December, which was the first time not being within a day's driving distance of the boat. I'd forgotten how paranoid-making boat ownership can be 

This past weekend I installed a 4" Nicro day/night solar vent, to help lower the interior RH. Since I already had a 6" hole in the coach roof (from the Dickensen chimney), I made a reducer pad and mounted it there. I also scrubbed all the green grunge & bird splat from the decks. The dockwater is shut off for the season, so it was a saltwater scrubbing. Plenty of rain here to rinse the residue off...

Trying to decide where to put the new name (which is still awaiting Federal registration). Between the boarding ladder and the six thru-hulls, the transom is a little crowded so I'm leaning towards the aft sides, in the 26" gap between the end of the rubrails and the stern corners.

[#23]

Removed the Dickinson furnace fuel lines last weekend and, since that led to wanting to redo the engine fuel supply, would love to see how other P/H owners have arranged their main fuel supply line & filtration system.




in other observations: I hope there's a special place in Hell reserved for boat owners who drill separate bulkhead holes for every individual electrical wire....

[#23]

I re-sealed the mast boot a week and a half ago and it's working great (touch wood!). This past weekend I serviced the Groco SA1000 strainer and began work on a new base for the Jabsco 36960 bilge pump, so I can relocate it and free up the space its currently in, for a new fuel filtration system.

In other news, I finally found and ordered three sheets of 1/2" polyisocyanurate insulation for the pilothouse ceiling and sidewalls. Was challenging to track some down without having a buy a full pallet of the stuff...

[PeteW]

I tried using that style of Jacobson pump in my bilge and had to swap it out for a Whale Gulper. The Jacobson you have is good for your fresh water system but I found it did not produce enough lift to prime itself in the bilge. The Check valves leak in the presence of dirt. The Gulper employs a joker style check valve which translates to good suction even in grey water. I Y valved the Gulper to my shower bilge. I also have a high volume Rule centrifugal pump that will take over when backup is needed. I also have a manual whale in the cockpit.

Pete

[#23]

We are officially named!



After 4 months of being in Registry-Limbo, we feel a little like Navin Johnson.

You can see the square of clean hull, where my two fingers, a rag and half a can of acetone spent two hours removing all the mottled old wax.

I tried using that style of Jabsco pump in my bilge and had to swap it out for a Whale Gulper. The Jabsco you have is good for your fresh water system but I found it did not produce enough lift to prime itself in the bilge. The Check valves leak in the presence of dirt. The Gulper employs a joker style check valve which translates to good suction even in grey water. I Y valved the Gulper to my shower bilge. I also have a high volume Rule centrifugal pump that will take over when backup is needed. I also have a manual whale in the cockpit.

Thanks for the input Pete. I do like Whale products and eventually will upgrade to that same model for my main electric bilge. It's nice to see a 'real-world' endorsement from another Pearson.

In the project department, I've replaced the homemade seals in the Groco SA1000, epoxy-filled all but one of the old roof holes in the pilothouse, and have all the ceiling & wall polyiso insulation cut and ready for mounting.

The one remaining roof hole is a leaky through-screw holding the wooden stopper that keeping the companionway hatch from sliding forward off its rails. Naturally, it's all under a 16-screw clamshell cover that is itself tight under the traveller...

[FBNOODLEMAN]

Hi everyone, we are the owners of  TOOTHPICK , hull #3 of Pearson Pilothouse 365, bought in 1994, in Vallejo, Ca. Toothpick is presently in Puerto Vallarta, Mx. where we took her in 2002, and has been ever since. We use her like a floating condo, traveling the "Gold Coast" of Mexico, but mostly staying in P.V. jim Nordstrom

[#23]

hi Jim and welcome aboard!

it's great to find another p/h owner - there's only 29 of us out there

[#23]

Holy Updates Batman!

We didn't fall off the map or give up. We started a blog (sv Dharma Bum) this winter and I've been using it to track progress.

Here's a quick rundown on stuff done since February:

New Racor 500MA fuel system
New insulation and wall panels in the main cabin
New insulation, headliners and colour-change LEDs in the main cabin ceiling
Replaced the 170' of rope/chain with 200' of all-chain anchor rode
Replaced the 8' West Marine inflatable with an 8' pram sailing dingy
Relocated the bilge pump
New seal for one of the p/h windows
New 12v wiring for the main cabin
fully illuminated (LEDs) engine hold
stbd water tank scoured

and even a sailing trip!