Introducing Katie-J

[pmnfernando]

quick update about the rigging

vectran covered with nylon/polyester sheat, whipped at both ends.
this will be further covered with Marlow dyneema hollow plait chafe protection sleeve.

[CapnK]

Ah hah! I was wondering how you terminated the line... then looking close at this part I see you are making a small eye splice over this metal plug (for lack of the proper term) which I've highlighted with a yellowish color, and that fits inside the terminal - is that correct?

[pmnfernando]

yes, thats it!
they call it the bone and is does look like that, very smooth little piece.
the eye is done as snuggly as possible

[CapnK]

Is that end for the mast tang(s)? If so, how will you be tensioning the line? I've seen the Colligo deadeyes, they look nice but are pricey. Saw a post somewhere and it was a guy using a fence tensioner, like the last one shown in this video. I bought a cheap plastic version of that to try out on my Caprice dinghy, but that project is for *after* Katie.

[pmnfernando]

i will be installing standard turnbuckles.
they are way more convinient to setup and tune than old style tensioning purchase systems - even if using synthetic fibres-
where you winch up to get the tension etc etc etc.

both terminals are the same because both turnbuckle and tang are a toggle connection

i will post photos with all the gear, as the turnbuckles for the main stays are different from the babystays.

[pmnfernando]

rudder bearings

hopefully on my next refitting season i will reinstall the rudder.
Im having the rudder post/ spade fin structure done new by a metal shop.
it consists of 52 mm diameter solid shaft at the top of the spade, which then tapers into a smaller diameter (cant remember it now) being finally machined to a square profile to accept the tiller head piece, where the tiller bolts.

the rudder shaft is inserted from below into a rudder post which runs the entire freeboard up to the exit point inside the cockpit, so there arent any glands or shaft seals, its completely encased. the rudder post is made of metal and glassed to the hull. (dont know what metal, maybe iron, galvanized?, it does seem to be original)

when i removed the rudder there was no bearings, or bush bearings, it was just metal on metal, hence why the stainless was in bad shape

the idea is to replace the metal rudder post by a wound fibreglass tube, with a G10 reinforcing collar - both at hull and cockpit level- and glassing over all that with biax.

I obviously want a separation between the shaft and the post and was thinking of having a delrin bush bearing machined.
My question is: should i leave to spin freely at the bottom , ie using it as a spacer/bearing or should it be locked in?
for the top bit im not worried since some arrangement with a couple of grub screws can be done, but at the bottom i wouldnt want to drill holes (no more watertightness), or epoxy the spacer/bearing (easier to replace in the future).

thanks for your input

[atomvoyager]

I don't see why you can't let the lower bushing spin free. I used a PVC tube that just happened to fit for that purpose in the past.

[pmnfernando]

my issue is with the delrin spinning freely over the fibreglass tube and the resulting wear

[atomvoyager]

I understand that but I haven't seen that problem.

[pmnfernando]

reassuring to know that, means that i can proceed as planned!
thanks

[pmnfernando]

trying to keep things ticking forward since i cannot work on the boat due to weather

Been designing a composting toilet, based on the C-Head shape
Its pretty much a copy of its overal shape, but im making sure its churning mechanism is way more complicated, so im going in the right direction! hahahaha

solids bucket its an off the shelf unit (5 gallons)
pee container is designed by me. 4.3 litre (1.1 gallons)
toilet seat shaped to the toilet, unlike the C-head design where they´ve maintained a curved shape, making it weird in my eye.

the toilet is going to be built of 3 mm G10, epoxied and glassed

3D view

[pmnfernando]

Got around to make a template from which a 6mm G10 windlass deck plate will be cut

Wanted to have a nice clean surface to mount the windlass and delete whatever existing camber might be.
It will also help disperse the loads

An underdeck 30mm G10 spacer will also be cut, but in a square shape to give enough meat to fasten the windlass

The deck plate has a 15% bigger footprint

[pmnfernando]

And been designing the fridge/freezer box to eventually accomodate a CoolBlue units.
Got it to 7.3 cubic feet, approx 200 litres, which is the advised size for a fridge/freezer single system.
this size account for 4 inch insulation on the hull topside face, and inside face, 3 inch from the top, and 2 inch at the fore and aft face.

Top view of the countertop
In yellow you will see the sink footprint, and to its right side the 2 burner stove been designed by me (more on that later)
in green its the eutetic plate vertical footprint and purple shows the opening

[pmnfernando]

2 burner stove

this is one of them multi fuel stove.
the plan is to install 2 on a SS plate
this will enable me to use multiple petroleum based fuels, avoiding the propane trap and since it is portable if im ashore camping i can easily cook a meal.

so far i think i will keep the dimensions at 500 x 170 mm (6mm thick SS) for the stove top with welded 3mm thick wings to allow for gimbaling.
Maybe 6mm is overkill but i really dont want it to bend nor do i want to weld a reinforcing stringer underneath

i still have to figure out a quick release clamping solution for the hob itself, a fiddle suport arm and pot base, but something will come up

[CapnK]

Re: Churning mechanism - I've been pondering variations for years. How does/will yours work, it appears to need to have a hole in the bottom of the solids container...?

Re: Stove - I had the same model stove, bought for the same idea and reasons. Great equipment! For consideration: One thing I found in testing is that the gas bottle needs to be as far away from heat as is possible, and/or have a heat shield.

Works fine if you are doing a typical backpacking meal and need to boil 2 cups of water as fast as possible, but longer cooking times can get the bottle hot enough that it worried me that it may vent fuel unexpectedly, or even explode. Also, a large pot sitting on the burner tends to reflect heat back/down towards the tank, which I think exacerbated the issue.

[pmnfernando]

i will apply grp cloth to the inside of the bucket, having previously applied in place a piece of plastic which will make up for the volume , occupied later by the central sprocket,

this way, when i effectively cut the bucket to make way for the chain connecting both sprockets, all solids will be contained by the grp lining. there will be a 50 mm difference between the lower sweep height of the churning paddle and the bottom of the bucket, but i will fill that with foam and glass it. will lose a bit of volume but im ok with that. ie, i will be raising the bottom of the bucket.

thanks a lot for the feedback about the stoves. ive never used them before, just bought it for this specific project.
i think the heat reflection by the pot will be mostly contained by the 6 mm thick SS plate, but your point about the proximity of the bottle to the hob is indeed making me rethink the current spacing.
the issue is the hose is not that long, i went to their website i couldnt find a bigger lenght, nor do they do a Y valve, where one bottle could feed 2 hobs. that would be the ideal solution (not sure if the one pressurized bottle could feed 2 hobs though)

maybe a fibreglass elbow like the ones used to route exhaust hoses will do the trick as a heat shield.

[CapnK]

I first tried it with an all-in-one Coleman Exponent Multi-fuel stove. A friend had one that he used for years on backpacking, biking, and kayak trips and it impressed me. But the first time I used a big pot and long cooking times, it started leaking vaporized fuel at the built-in pump - just inches from the flame. Yikes!

Then I bought an Optimus like you have - it's a very nice piece of gear. It was eventually lost in a storm when my dockbox got dumped into the river, but I had tested it and it worked well. I'd made for it a heat shield of sheet metal, after seeing how well that worked with just a 1/4" standoff from the bulkhead next to my woodstove which could easily get to several hundred degrees.

Prior to the heat shield, the bulkhead by the woodstove would get unpleasantly warm, even on the side *away* from the stove. I thought that too hot, if not an eventual fire hazard. After putting the sheet steel there, the bulkhead never even felt warm.

All this to say that you may be able to get away with just that, a simple piece of shielding. If you wanted to be *sure*, then use 2 pieces of AL or SST with 1/4"- 1/2"" fiberglass batting insulation sandwiched between. I think would work wonders and be simple to make.

Looking forward to seeing more of the churner. I've spent many hours trying to figure out how to do one that works horizontally, as that would seem to be the best way to make it churn most. Lately, though, I've been not churning, instead just giving any new solid deposits a light dusting of coir. That actually seems to work well.

[pmnfernando]

But the first time I used a big pot and long cooking times, it started leaking vaporized fuel at the built-in pump - just inches from the flame. Yikes!

....damn! thats scary. dont wanna go thru it for sure!!

Upon research i came across the Polaris and the MSR. Those were the standouts and both have big fans behind them, if i remeber correctly i think i went with the polaris because the pumping mechanism is stronger than the MSR, though in some aspects it is said the latter performs better in an overall sense.

G10 actually has very good heat resistance and it is used in shielding.
I was aiming for the smaller footprint stove i could get, but i might have to modify it, specially because i will be carrying a Coleman foldable oven which will overhang by about 75 mm on both fwd and aft face of the burners (relative to the user). using this oven is the only way i have to avoid buying a full on stove/oven unit, which would simply eliminate all the space for my fridge.
Since the shielding will take up more space i guess the lenght of the stove will increase by 50-70mm.

About the churner, in my mind there is no reason why it shouldnt work, i mean, we are talking about 2 sprockets and a small run of chain. Experience tells me that it wont be that straight forward and there will be unforeseen snags.
I ve also read that the moment one separates liquids from solids churning isnt actually needed, as you stated.
So maybe im just complicating things for the sake of it. i will be posting photos of the attempts aniway

[atomvoyager]

We've used this stove top oven on several boats and it works pretty good if you can adapt your recipes to the donut shape:
https://www.omniasweden.com/us/

[pmnfernando]

heard very good things about the Omnia ovens, but how do you cook pizza on it!! hehe

[atomvoyager]

Yes there are some recipes you might not want to do that way but pizza is an easy one we've made with the Omnia. Here's an article on that. There are a surprising number of things you can bake in that donut shape.
https://vanlifeeats.com/best-ever-omnia-pizza-recipe/

[CapnK]

I've always wanted to try one of those...

As an Internationally Recognized Aficionado and Expert on Pizza I can tell you that it is possible to grill your pizza in a rail mounted propane BBQ.

[pmnfernando]

Bulkhead reinforcements

Been thinking about what solution to choose, moving forwards.
Although i wanted to keep the goalpost structure i think it takes too much space.
Since the goalpost was bolted to the main bulkhead i dont think it was actually transfering the load to the hull. the load was being transfered to the bulkhead instead.
It was also bent in the middle, meaning that it failed the objective of sustaining the load where it matters most: directly beneath the mast step.

I have designed a new arrangement, which is displayed in the photos below
Everything is 6 mm thick SS plate welded
Both reinforcements units, fwd and aft, will be bolted together, thru the bulkhead
aft is green
fwd is yellow
bulkhead in red.

you will notice the fwd section is slightly longer than the aft one, that is due to space available.

To install i would firstly apply a couple of cloth layers to the cabin top (glasssing upside down is tricky but doable).
Both units (being previsouly laminated with packing tape) would be placed correctly and bolted together as close as possible to the cabin top
Thickened epoxy would be squirted to fill the gap between the units and the cabin top.
Upon curing the packing tape would enable the release of the units for future handling.

I think that welding those triangular brackets will be more than enough to counter the downforces exerted by the mast.
it is a structure that i would make part of the boat´s interior, as they would be polished, it not something i would conceal (because that entails more work covering it up and more nooks and crannies that im trying to avoid), plus making small 12 mm holes at the correct spacing will enable me to use a biner or shackle and affix somethiing to it (a hammock, curtain, etc)

BUKHEAD REINFORCEMENT 2.jpg

(6.92 KiB) Not downloaded yet

[pmnfernando]

Berth cabinet

this is the berth cabinet solution.(untill i change it again)
its the same both port and stb (std is the one depicted)

there is a kind of central console, so to speak, that ive opted for because one is either going to sleep head first or aft, so those spots are really where you want a roomier feel. aniway a rough template will be made to make sure i have enough space at my waist to feel confortable and it will be a matter of adjusting the depth of the cabinets.
all spaces will have a latched door

[pmnfernando]

Engine rebuilt

Got a forced week off work, due to Covid, this past week, and full on lockdown starting next monday for the entire next week. Yeah, living in China in 2022 is like 2020...

Aniway, decided to get started on the engine.
It has been off the boat for almost a year, and was really dirty from all the grinding and sanding on the interior before i got it out, so i basically took a toilet brush to it, with a general cleaner, gave it a good brushing, and literally rinsed it inside the shower booth (i taped the entry points, but some went into the flywheel housing, but just a bit.

after the shower

some paint flaked of, and the majority of the dirt came out.

[pmnfernando]

[pmnfernando]

these photos are just the "unexpected" so far.

look at the state of this bolts, they look new! thermostat housing

no thermostat was found, this one was intriguing. judging by the amounf of rust, debris, and scale i say it corroded inside and it was never replaced

i think the same happened to the anodes, both of them (anode housing)

[pmnfernando]

any thoughst for a serious descaler?
from my research it seems Muriatic acid (anywhere from 50 to 30% dilution) will do the job with a soaking time of 30 minutes, followed by imersion on water plus baking soda to neutralize the reaction.

the water jacket is Seriously full of rust and deposits

[pmnfernando]

engine disassembly

oil sump and pickup removed

fwd and aft pistons

injectors

mixing elbow with completely obstructed and carbonized breather hole

and the "unexpected" section

piece of hose living inside the oil pan, pretty hardened up

big calcified lump against a 12 mm socket for scale

[CapnK]

I keep all of my spare hoses and various metal lumps inside the oil pan...

[pmnfernando]

moving on with the engine job

cylinder head

after about 3 hours of scrubbing with those green kitchen scoring pads and diesel

[pmnfernando]

yesterday hit a dead end because i just couldnt remove the drive disk
used a heat gun at 600C (thats what the digital meter was saying) for 20 minutes, got the whole thing hot as hell and it didnt moved

had to take the block to a friends place and he took it. dont know what he did but its out now

drive disk

drive disk and flywheel removed

i wont go any further in terms of disassembling the engine (not that im that far off of completely take it apart...haha) the crankshaft, camshaft are all good, no need to to mess with that

i will remove the housing to be able to deep clean it and to acess that side of the block

[pmnfernando]

cleaning the inside of the flywheel case

before a bath in paint stripper
the alu is corroded although it is worse at the bottom

interestingly the paint stripper was able to remove the corrosion from the top section

what was left was mechanically removed with a brass wirebrush on a driller

flywheel case exterior before paint stripper

after paint stripper

[pmnfernando]

oil sump before paint stripper

after paint stripper

[pmnfernando]

timming case before paint stripper

after paint stripper

removing the gasket

[pmnfernando]

engine block before cleanup

engine block after clean up

[pmnfernando]

engine top before cleanup

after cleanup

[pmnfernando]

another X file

see that small rod-like thingy inside the water jacket?
have no idea what it is
on the engine top there is a round opening that is part of the water circulation circuit, if i blow air thru it, it comes out from where that rod appears to be stucked/mounted.
no mention about this on the manual

[pmnfernando]

whenever you hear any of those descaling/rust removal/etc manufacturers, tell you to keep the vinegar for your salad, show them this.
straight from the bottle at 5% acidity.
found a suitable container and completely submerge the cylinder head, flywheel for more than 3 days. and topped up the engine water jacket for that amount of time.

this is all the rust that came out of it

[pmnfernando]

trying to move forward in the bilge tank project
was able to glass some bolts pockets

big pocket before

big pocket after

the big pocket will need some fine tunning as there is some excess material. this happened because the mould was being used for the 2nd time and the shape wasnt perfect. (will be using new moulds for all the remaining pockets)
Aniway, all pockets will be slightly rounded off on the exterior so i can laminate one layer of cloth to bind everything together. i dont think it would ever be a problem if i didnt glass on the outside but this way i know its pretty much bullet proof.

[pmnfernando]

keeping on the bilge tank

did a dry fit with after all the bolts holes were glassed

after that i used some thickened epoxy to glue some partitions in their spots, enough to remove the tank from the bilge and cut it into their final sizes

glassing these first partitions in, it will take some more layers to achieve enough of a thickness that can be rounded and still retain enough integrity

[pmnfernando]

after laminating the side walls, and taking the smaller tanks to the boat again i got a reference line (it was all very scientific measurement with the cap of the marker i was using) and i cut the tank all along its perimeter.

then i went really scientific again and halved that distance to obtain a second line where i will be glassing a support frame. you wont see that line because its hidden by the jig i made with plywood strips to get the shape for the frame.
i glued the corners with hot glue and faired whatever needed fairing for a close fit.

with the frame in place

so why all this?
in order to round all edges i need the presence of some material that i can grind/sand. i have that material along all corners of the tank apart from corners formed by the lid, its just a matter of laminating some more glass, give it some thickness and then i can safely grind from the outside without losing integrity.
for the lid i needed to create that thickeness and for that, those frames will be glassed in and a some thickened epoxy will be poured from the inside (with the tank at an angle). having that frame will also help to glass the lid.

i used the marker's cap (misplaced the tape measure) to have a reference from the bottom of the cabin floors to the top of the tank to make sure i have enough space to glass a handle which will enable me to remove and place the tanks
it will make sense in the coming posts

[pmnfernando]

cracking on the bilge tanks

epoxy pour on the long side of the tank
this process will be repeated for all 4 sides on all tanks

since i have the frame firmly secured, even though not all corners are filled with epoxy i can now show the baffle/handle solution i came up with
the protuding bit size is based off of my hand, oversized, then a slot was cut on the tank lid which will be glassed later on
the slot cut was a bit too long but i can fix that from the inside

the 3 tanks so far with a rough fit for their lids

[pmnfernando]

having finished most of the epoxy pours to create structural thicknessn onto the sides of the tanks
i 've proceeded to trim the excess and use a finger roller sander to round all corners into shape

before the trim

after initial trim

after a sanding shape up

lid dry fit
i had already trimmed some of the lid sides and edges, hence the more "organic" shape.

after the lid is epoxied in, some more shaping up will be done to fully round the corners.
im currently waiting for the diesel lining epoxy paint to arrive so i can paint the interior and close the tank.

in the meanwhile i have been joining half sheets of 3 mm G10 into big sheets to cut some of the boat furniture, which will be used to build the side berths, fridge box and other stuff.

stay tuned for more!!

[pmnfernando]

port and stb bunks building

been butt joining 3mm G10 sheets to make bigger sheets, from which to cut the partitions which will become the side bunks

everything is still very rough and needs tweeking to get the lenght right and that its all level and true

the next step was to mock up and cut the sub partitions for either side (which i did by templating with ply strips and hot glue).
divided the available space into 3 equal parts and cut the G10
only port is shown but stb is also done

next piece was a long time in the making.
its basically the only piece i kept from the initial interior demolition: the partition which created the enclosure where the water tank was placed, and also separated the engine room from the pilot/quarter berth.

i kept it because it would save me time fiddling about with thin ply strips to get the shape & dimensions right for that piece.
it will still separate the engine room from the rest of the boat, but it will be one of the actual walls for the integrated water tank. it will also be the inside/interior of a new cockpit locker which will be created later on.

some will notice ive extended one of the edges so i could end up with a bigger volume

next photos depicts something ive laminated a couple weeks ago as an experiment.
i got a lenght of 4 inch PVC pipe and laminated grp completely around it. it came out great, easily detached from the packing tape.
the idea behind it was to see how it would fare if glassed to the bunks partitions, and water tank wall, in order to go around either the thru hulls and ball valves

the objective is to halve it, glass it to the G10, and after curing, cutting the G10 sheet to open the space bridged by the round grp piece.

you can see here that the 4 inch diameter aint going to work. it is just to "tight" and i think when the time comes to deal with ball valves and thru hulls one i want to have space to spare to rotate things around, use tools, etc

its a perfect fit around the thru hull but i end up with a very confined space to work

i guess the next size up is 6 inch in diameter and thats what im going to laminate next, im confident it will be enough

and finally, 10000 views!!! never expected this number
thanks to all the viewers and for keeping the interest in the refit!!

[pmnfernando]

more templating, cutting partitions and laminating

pushing forward on getting the interior furniture defined and cut so when the cooler weather finally arrives i can glass
everything quickly.

also got around to laminate the 6 inch diameter pvc pipe.

i will probably need to laminate one more half diameter as i have 3 ball valves to go around.

some more templating and cutting

anchor locker/collision bulkhead
this one is built out of 6 mm G10 and it will be further cut to accomodate a hatch (also in G10), i will have to measure my shoulder width as the point is, not only to service the windlass, but also to reach the very fwd end of the bow for painting, maintenance, future works, etc.
i will be putting a SS round hatch on the deck to deal with snagged lines, so i will have access to the interior but i still want proper access to work when the need arises

[pmnfernando]

demoulding the 6 inch pipe
it came out easily once i cut it in half

i had taken the partition to the boat before to measure where to apply the half pipes
then i had it cut to size and placed in its final position

next was glassing the halfpipe to the inside

side view after glassing it in

i then cut the panel and opened the area bridged by the half pipe

i had to scuff everything before glassing the outside (as a reinforcement), because it was all smooth from the packing tape, and also round the corners so the biax would drape adequately

finally i took the whole thing to the boat and had a dry fit

i reckon i will have enough space to work on those ballvalves
final glassing to the hull will be done at a later stage

[pmnfernando]

lets build a fridge!

sometime ago i posted some cad drawings showing the ice box which will house the fridge.
i then had those drawings printed full size on a plotter, cut the paper and transfered those shapes to the G10 sheets

after cutting it i assembled those pieces with gaff tape and inittially only wanted to spot weld with epoxy. the tape hold was so good i deemed it enough to apply a fillet and laminate some cloth on top making sure it would accomodate the pressure of the lamination roller when the time came to cinge everything together.

measuring the cloth

glueing and laminating

the round wall was done by strip planking it with 2 inch ish wide strips of G10, taping it to the side and to each other.
the gaps were filled with thickened epoxy and a single piece of biaxial was laminated on the interior

i ended up having to fit a steeler plank on the bottom to close the box

the whiskey plank as they call it!

interior lamination

outside lamination

the idea now is to laminate a shelve on the interior but after some thinking ive concluded that i need to have a mock up of the holding plate i will be installing in the future. i also need to dry fit the fore-aft galley wall which will determine the final position of the fridge box in the available space created by that wall. if the box shifts position inside that space it means the top sheet, thus the acess lids, will also shift. and all of this also means playing with the insulation thickness....
interesting and no doubt, comprimising, times ahead....

[pmnfernando]

"nobody is perfect"

i guess this one is pretty much self explanatory ahahah

it did came thru the companionway, but i got effed by the main bulkhead,
i guess that i bent the template too much when it was getting it out the v berth.
it was 4 inches too big at the widest point it seems. everything is getting tabbed and laminated so in the end it will make no difference.

[pmnfernando]

took the fridge box and galley wall to boat and made a dry fit of both to check clearances and space available for insulation
it was more of a balancing act but it actually went pretty good

first the fridge box goes in

then the galley wall

this was a good opportunity to have a better feel about the engine compartment door final position and how that would affect the location of storage on the galley wall

checking the ballvalve clearance

checking the space for some storage and how it would affect insulation thickness

overall view