Somewhat industrial but......... its a bilge.....

This is the aft port side bilge with the new thru hulls and the bilgekote paint. Looks a bit industrial, but I never said I was good at this.



Looks OK when compared with the original system. But please don't look at the level of work on the Westsail 42 rebuild on my links, very depressing.


The lower bilge will not be painted unless I contract it out to Jim E's son Morgan. Jim said something about waiting until his mother was away.


I believe that child labor will make a big comeback in the current economic climate.

The problem with boring work........

like cleaning and painting bilges, is that it is very easy to get distracted. Thank God for power tools. Hard to beat a $69 water blaster for removing years of grime.

West Indian manatees' off the bow of TIH

The Miami River is an important manatee habitat, providing freshwater and refuge in cold weather. Manatees regularly move between seagrass feeding areas in Biscayne Bay and the upstream portions of the River.

Water system (temporary) installed

Wirenuts!!!

A reader asked about wirenuts. For those in Europe who might not be familiar with these thingies they are a common means of connecting wires in houses on this side of the pond. (I'm pretty sure they are not used in the EU but I could be wrong) . The are also common on older boats. They have no place in boat wiring and should be removed and replaced with crimped connectors.

Why you should use "marine grade wire" on a boat....

This is the old power cable to the windlass. It is untinned "domestic" type cable which has no place on a boat.

It's hard to get into the Christmas spirit in Miami....

way to many palm trees, but this song helps;

Fairytale of New York - The Pogues

But how could you not love a Christmas song with these lyrics;

Youre a bum
Youre a punk
Youre an old slut on junk
Lying there almost dead on a drip in that bed
You scumbag, you maggot
You cheap lousy faggot
Happy christmas your arse
I pray God its our last

I could have been someone
Well so could anyone
You took my dreams from me
When I first found you
I kept them with me babe
I put them with my own
Cant make it all alone
Ive built my dreams around you

Engine Room insulation.....

Foam Barrier coat (Ultra Barrier, WM Brand etc.) looks great, goes on reasonably easy (most have an adhesive back) and work well to deaden engine noise. So whats not to like? Well anyone who has worked on older boats with original foam will have noticed that it tends to crumble with age. You are left with the backing still stuck in place and black foam crumbs all over the ER which are a pain to remove. The consensus appears that the life of this foam is between 5 and 10 years.

My plan is to construct panels of plywood about 24ins X 32ins and stick the foam to these. I will then cover the foam with SOUNDOWN Perforated Aluminum with QuieTech. These panels will be screwed to the bulkhead and can be removed when the time comes to replace the foam.

Credit for the idea has to go to DonParker s/v SILKIE, Allied 42 Annapolis MD. I found his post on cs-bb.com. Click here


Watch this space.

Slowly, slowly catchee monkey.....

Before:





After:



Small improvements in the Engine room. Paint is Interlux Bilge coat, which now comes in dark gray and white. This color is achieved by mixing both.

I painted the wooden panels with "Silent Running SR1000" paint which I have discussed in a previous post.

I know that once I start filling the Engine Room with the usual junk I will not have this much access ever again. Next step is the bulkhead insulation.

I fought the tank and the tank won......

The Clash - I Fought The Law




OK, the tank is NOT coming out. After an hour with a sawzall, a jig saw and an angle grinder, jammed in a 20 inch high space I had removed the top of the tank. The rest would have taken two years, 4 fingers, possibly an eye and part of an ear. An the saying goes; "He who fights and runs away will live to run away another day". I am now the proud owner of an aluminum lined, bilge, rum storage cellar.

Engine Mounts....

Someone on the Whitby discussion board has a question on engine mounts. Two of the old ones were still in place on TIH.





The bolts were tapped into solid fiberglass and took some effort to move. One even sheared off and has been left for another day.

The 1,000 pound Gorilla....

Every boat has at least one 1,000 pound Gorilla (i.e. a problem so big that we try to ignore it). Some boats have a whole band of them. The Whitby 42's gorilla has to be the center fuel tank.

I know I said that I had planned to leave it "as is", but.....


I decided cut an inspection hole in the tank under galley area. My biggest concern was that I would find the tank in perfect condition (at least from the inside - keep in mind that the tank is most likely to corrode from the outside in.).


Worry over - the tank had a four inch hole. It would appear that at least some parts of the tank had been foamed in place providing a perfect location for corrosion.



Next project ...................... cutting out a fuel tank, piece by piece......

Possible ER paint

Has anyone used Silent Running marine paint?

"Silent Running SR1000 is a sound and vibration dampening paint specifically designed for marine applications. This unique marine coating absorbs noise and vibration, and converts it into low-grade heat which is dissipated throughout the surface its applied on. Apply SR1000 to replace conventional sound dampening materials, like heavy mats and wraps. "


This looks like a candidate for the ER project. At the very least it will provide a nice contrast to the antifouling that I'm still peeling off my skin.