Project: Refinish an interior teak deck

Posted on 2023-12-11 by Bob

This process was recommended by a very knowledgeable boater on Trawlers and Trawlering List who refurbished Grand Banks fast trawlers. It made our interior teak & holly decks look like new.

Day—

1-Sand to bare wood with 60 and 150 grit paper then 2 coats of CPES and dry. Don’t try to remove all the deep dings and dents; some will remain and only you will notice them when the project is completed.

2-Sand with 220, then CPES – 1 coat until tacky, then 1 coat Captains Varnish

3-Captains – 1 coat

4-Captains – 1 coat

5-Sand with 220 – Captains – 1 coat

6-Captains – 1 coat

7-pour Captains into still-open seams and brushed across seams in attempt to fill (will probably not be totally successfully)

May need more very light sanding and more Captains to obtain the appearance you want. If want satin finish, do not sand final coat.

How to remove bungs from teak

Posted on 2023-10-04 by Bob

There’s a trick to removing bungs and the underlying screws! Most bungs are 3/8″ or the next increment smaller. You’ll want to get a large “nail” slightly smaller than the bung (for a 3/8″ bung, get a 5/16″ “nail” or bolt). Cut the pointy end off the nail so you have a nice flat surface. Place the nail in the center of the bung and give it a tap with a hammer; that creates an indentation in the bung with the surrounding wood still standing proud and frees up the edge of the bung. Then using a small drill bit (no bigger than 1/8″) drill a hold in the center of the bung down until it bottoms out on the underlying screw (the bit will stop when it hits the screw). Position a construction screw in the hole and using an electric drill screw the construction screw down the hole you drilled; it will bottom out on the underlying screw and lift the bung right out of the hole! Any remaining bung material in the hole you can get out with an awl or small screw driver.

Then you you’ll have access to the underlying screw. It will probably be a Phillips head screw on an older boat; if you catch a bad break it will be a standard single channel (they’re much harder to remove). With a Phillips head you can take a Phillips head bit and set it on the screw into the X channels and give it a good hard tap with a hammer which will loosen the screw in the hold and break it away from any “glue” that might have been used to put it in place and also gouges out any leftover material in the X channels; once you’ve done that it should back out relatively easily. This should work (based on my experience) about 90% of the time; the remaining 10% of the time you may have to drill out the screw or use a screw extractor to “grab” the screw and back it out.

Replacing Fuel Tanks

Posted on 2015-06-01 by Bob

Fuel tanks made of “black” iron on any 1970s-1980s era boat are always an issue. Some seem to last forever without a problem; others develop leaks along the welded seams; most eventually leak – it’s just a matter of time.

Sanderling was built in 1987 by Blue Water Yachts in Taiwan, a builder with a good reputation which built a number of DeFever designed trawlers. The craftsmanship is superb and the construction is as substantial as you could find in any boat. She weighs a hefty 18 tons – heavy for a boat that’s about 36 feet on the waterline and about 41 feet overall. The two fuel tanks of 200 gallons each are built of “black iron” (steel) with welded seams, covered with fiberglass on the sides and bottom (not the top). The tanks are located outboard of the engine room behind a bulkhead with sound deadening material attached; an extension of the saloon deck with supporting beams is about six inches above the top of the tanks. The exterior deck is approximately 16-18 inches above the saloon deck.

When we purchased Sanderling in 2007 there was no evidence of leaking fuel, either by inspecting the area around the tanks or by the “smell” test. That changed, slightly, over the past two years: whenever we’d fill the tanks with diesel fuel we would observe a little fuel in the side bilge under the starboard fuel tank. If we were in rough seas with full tanks, we’d get the same type of puddling. Eventually that small amount of fuel would find its way into the bilge sump. Once we had been underway for a short time or returned to smoother seas where the fuel wasn’t agitated within the tank, the fuel puddling ceased. We deployed hydrocarbon absorbent pads to absorb the fuel that escaped the tank. It was obvious that the small amounts of fuel was escaping from near the top of the tank. Observation of the tank area around the fuel fill and air vent area showed signs of rust, probably from water seeping through the area of the fuel fill deck fitting. The area around the hose fittings was the only area of the tank that was observable, through a relatively small access hole cut through the deck just above the fuel tank in that location.

We agreed that it was time to replace the fuel tanks as a preventive measure. We have been to this dance before – our former trawler had leaking fuel tanks that we replaced with welded aluminum tanks in 2006 – so we had a rough idea of what was involved in the process and the amount of work that would be involved; we wanted someone with experience in replacing tanks in similar boats, not just someone who thought they could do it. Unfortunately, the boat yard that did that work was no longer in business. After talking with several boat yards in the Melbourne and Port Canaveral area, we were happy to find a yard that had the experience and a knowledgeable crew – Canaveral Custom Boats, also doing business as Delta Boats at Port Canaveral, Florida, and owned by Mark Smith. Interestingly, Canaveral Custom Boats has been in business for a number of years and is actually building 36 and 38 foot sports fishing boats some to Coast Guard certification standards used by commercial “head” boat operators and some smaller boats. Other yards would haul and block Sanderling, but I would be on my own for getting a crew together to replace the tanks – something I did not want to do. Other yards had never replaced fuel tanks but thought their crews were up to the task – again, no thanks!

Mark accompanied me to look at Sanderling’s fuel tanks before giving us an estimate for the cost of the project. We concluded that the boat was built around the tanks during the construction process, and the tanks were too large (36″deep x 42″ high by 60″ long) to fit through the opening into the engine room through the saloon deck (27″ wide), and way too large to fit through the largest saloon door on the boat’s port side (24″ wide). We discussed various options including cutting a larger opening in the saloon’s finished holy and teak flooring (in essence creating another deck hatch running parallel with the current three hatches), and cutting the tanks into removable pieces in the engine room. All options involved removing the engine and possibly the transmission, removing at least a portion of the bulkheads separating the engine room from the fuel tanks, and replacing the tanks with smaller tanksl. In the long run, we settled on cutting the tanks into pieces for removal and building two new tanks to replace the existing single tank on each side.

The issue became whether to replace the existing single tanks (one on each side of the engine room) with tanks situated fore and aft of each other (maximum width 24″ fore-aft), or with two long tanks situated side by side (maximum width 60″ fore-aft and max depth 24″ inside-outside). I did a little 3D modelling to get a better idea of how to design the replacement tanks. To get approximately the same fuel capacity in multiple tanks rather than a single tank (200 gallons each side), the latter provided the best solution – fabricate two long and narrow tanks running 60″ lengthwise set side by side with an air space between them to prevent moisture build-up. Each tank will be approximately 18″ deep and will easily fit through the saloon door and through the existing engine room hatch opening. The tanks will be fabricated at Sunshine Welding at Port Canaveral; they have a superb reputation for all sorts of metal fabrications, including fuel tanks; they made the replacement tanks for our previous trawler in 2006.

3D drawing approximating new double fuel tanks (PORT side)

The process involves six stages:

Remove the engine
Remove the bulkheads
Remove the tanks
Install tanks
Install bulk heads
Install engine

There are a lot of sub-tasks in the complete work breakdown structure, but this gives a general idea.

Sanderling was hauled at Cape Marina on February 9th, 2015, power washed, and transported by travel lift to Mark’s yard at Canaveral Custom Boats/Delta Boats where it was transferred to a substantial wheeled dolly. Within three days the Ford-Lehman 135 engine had been removed from the engine room using an I-beam on a steel A-frame with trolley and two chain falls, and was resting on it’s blocked engine mounts on the forward area of the saloon deck. A 4X4 post was set under the saloon deck to provide additional support for the nearly 800 pound engine.

Photos to the point of removing the engine

Port side access to fuel tank cut out to provide more access with port holding tank in background – accessed from under stair/ladder from saloon to outer deck

Port side showing space on top of fuel tank with fill hose in background and green fill port grounding wire and starboard holding tank

Starboard fuel tank access in background with new access area in foreground – access under sink cabinet – closest cutout is for location of vent and fuel fill on new inboard tank before painting tank surface below cutout with Aluthane aluminum filled urethane metalic coating from Epoxyproducts.com to mark area for tank fabricator

Starboard area between top of tank and saloon deck with supporting beams showing fuel fill and air vent with green deck fill ground wire and sanitation hose from holding tank

Sanderling at Canaveral Custom Boats ready for work

Sanderling at Canaveral Custom Boats (Delta Boats) ready for work

Engine sitting in engine room ready to be lifted

Engine and I-beam on A-frame

Engine sitting on engine mounts with blocks under

Nearly empty engine room showing part of bulkheads on each side covered in sound baffling material – transmission blocked and left in place

Port side access for second/inboard fuel tank located under settee

Prior to hauling I cut additional access ports through the saloon deck under the settee (port) and sink (starboard) for access to the new inboard tanks where the fuel fill and air vent hoses would attach to the tanks. The area under each cutout was painted with Aluthane aluminum filled urethane metallic coating from Epoxyproducts.com so the tank fabricator would know where to locate the fuel fill and air vent fittings.

Bulkheads removed and tanks cut up and removed from engine room

Port side engine room with bulkhead removed showing port tank in place looking aft

Engine room port side with fuel tank removed

Fuel tank pieces removed from boat

Port fuel tank pieces, another view

The tank parts had been cleaned by the time I arrived and took these photos. The man doing the deconstruction said that there was “hard gunk” at the bottom of the tanks, extending back about 1/2 way across the inward-sloping bottom of the tank. I was surprised as we’ve had the boat in some rough water (not intentionally) on our cruises and assumed that any “gunk” had been swirled into solution and filtered out via the Racor 500 filters, but apparently this stuff had been there for a long time!

Top of port fuel tank showing fiberglass delaminated from steel tank – the void between the tank and the fiberglass contained water!

Exterior of port tank top around fill and vent fittings showing fiberglass top layer with rusted steel beneath

Top side of port fuel tank viewed from inside of tank- showing holes around fill and vent fittings

Port tank fuel feed at bottom inside corner at aft end of tank – old gate valve in place – no evidence of rust around the fittings

Engine room starboard side looking forward ready to remove bulkhead to fuel tank

Starboard tank cut out and removed

Starboard tank interior around fill and vent tube - vent tube pulled out of top of tank during removal; fill tube fitting punched through when piece was laid on concrete pad

Starboard tank interior around fill and vent fittings – vent tube pulled out of top of tank during removal; fill tube fitting punched through when piece was laid on concrete pad

Starboard tank closeup of fill and vent fittings from inside tank showing rusted steel

Starboard engine room tank location aft end

Engine room starboard tank location forward end

Starboard engine room tank location forward end

After doing my best to draw out the lines of the new fuel tanks based on the old tanks being split lengthwise, it became apparent that it would be difficult, if not impossible, for the fabricator to duplicate the tanks without a better idea of what would be needed. Consequently, after discussions with the boat yard and the fabricator, it was decided to build full-scale mockups of the new tanks. It was a good decision, as it turns out. The mockups built by the yard still needed to be tweaked a bit after fitting them in Sanderling, and after doing that we now have mockups that we know will fit properly in the space occupied by the old tanks. The yard essentially built a mockup of the old tanks (the port and starboard tanks were slightly different from each other) and then cut out a 3/4″ slice 19″ from the inboard side of the tank to create two smaller tanks that will fit through the saloon door and the opening to the engine room and can then be maneuvered underneath the deck to their resting place. The 3/4″ spacing is to permit a length of 1/2″ starboard to be placed between the tanks on each end to permit a gap between the two tanks (with an extra 1/4″ left over for a little “play” if necessary. The tanks will then be joined together with two sets of “ears” or “tangs” on the ends of each tank (near the top and bottom) that will receive a nut and bolt that when tightened will pull the two tanks together. The location of all the fittings will be marked on the mockup so the fabricator will know exactly where to place them.

For the fittings we’ll be welding NPT fittings of three different sizes into the 1/4″ aluminum tanks to receive corresponding male fittings. Fuel fill fittings will be 1 1/2″ NPT, air vents will be 3/4″ NPT, and pickups and returns will be 1/2″ NPT. The fuel level sender will be located on the top of the larger inboard tanks (rather than on an inspection port on the side of the tank as was the case with the original tanks). All of the fittings will be located beneath access hatches in the deck above, located under the saloon sofa, the side decks and the galley sink. There will be no sight tubes as they really are not necessary for determining the amount of fuel remaining in a tank – the hourly fuel burn rate is just as accurate without the potential danger associated with sight tubes, plus the electric fuel level senders will provide a good approximation of the amount of fuel in the tanks.

Foreground: starboard tanks laying stacked together. Background: port tanks standing on aft ends.

Forward end of starboard tanks.

Starboard tanks top side.

FANTASTIC NEWS! TODAY (MARCH 26TH) I RECEIVED A CALL FROM DAVE AT SUNSHINE WELDING TO LET ME KNOW THAT THEY WERE GOING TO START WORK ON THE TANKS!!! Dave, Mark Smith (boatyard owner), and the welder are going to look over the mockups and the engine room this morning to get a better idea of what needs to be done, will take the mockups to Sunshine Welding’s shop (about 100 yards from the yard) and the welder will get to work. Dave estimates the work will take about one day per tank – hopefully the tanks will be finished by the end of next week.

April 1st – no joke! Received a call this morning from Dave at Sunshine Welding to say that the fuel sender which I hoped would be able to fit into the tank (the type with the swinging arm) would not fit in the tank because of the baffles that are required to keep the tank steady and that they did not have the sliding type with the specified ohm range of 10-180 ohms. He had done some research and sent me a link a web site that might have the sender with the required ohm range. The clearance at the location in the tank is 26 inches.

After a little online research, it became apparent that the swinging-arm type sender with the required ohm range is more readily available, but that there is one company that makes the sliding type right here in Florida. The senders come in a large variety of lengths from 4″ to 60″ and can be made to accommodate any ohm range. A quick call resulted in an order for two 25.5″ senders with a range of 10-180 ohms. Cost was reasonable (less than I anticipated) and they might be shipped as early as Friday (April 3rd).

This is the style of gauge that fits our new tanks:

Apparently, most modern senders and gauges use a 0-90 ohm range, but the sender must be matched to the gauge (and vice versa). In our case, since we already have VDO instruments including the fuel gauge circa 1987, only a gauge with 10-180 ohm range will work.

Here’s a link to the WEMAUSA web site showing the sender: http://wemausa.3dcartstores.com/SSSSSL-Diesel-Fuel-or-Water-Level-Sensor-4–60-in_p_9.html

April 6, 2015. Fuel tanks tack welded in shop almost finished.

Here is a pic of the tanks in the shop. After welding the seams the fuel senders will be installed and the tanks pressure tested. Should be delivered to the boat yard tomorrow (April 7th) where they’ll be painted with two-part epoxy paint, then installed in Sanderling! Yeah – we’re almost ready to launch.

Installing the new tanks and replacing the bulkheads and engine

Update April 9, 2015

The tanks were finished on April 8th and delivered to the boat yard on the morning of the 9th. Interestingly, when I paid the final bill at Sunshine Welding I was given Coast Guard certification stickers to put on all four tanks indicating that they had been pressure tested to 4 PSI and that each pair of tanks (one pair each side) were 143 gallons and 130 gallons for a total of 273 gallons per side (this is based on a calculation by the fabricator) for a total of 546 gallons. All these years we’d been assuming that the original tanks held a total of 200 gallons each, based on the boat builder’s brochure and what we were told by the previous owner (but there was no CG certification attached to the original tanks). Each pair of new tanks were designed to be approximately the same size overall as the original tanks, minus a 3/4″ slice removed from the center when the two separate tanks were created. Now it seems that we’ve had around 550 gallons total in the tanks all along. That would explain the larger than calculated amount of fuel remaining in the tanks when they were emptied prior to removal from the boat. I had calculated that there was less than 75 gallons remaining between the two tanks; in fact, there was around 150 gallons remaining in the two tanks.

Tanks with 4 coats of epoxy paint IMG_20150417_110215897

April 17th, 2015 – Tanks in Delta Boats shop with four coats of epoxy paint.

April 24, 2015. Starboard side of engine room with 1/4″ rubber strips covering the raised planks where the tanks will sit.

2015-04-29_1415 Stbd fuel tanks with uprights in place

April 29, 2015. Starboard fuel tanks in place with upright frames glassed to hull

Port tanks before instllation with "Juice" fastening spacers and drilling alignment holes for bolts

May 4, 2015. Port tanks before installation with “Juice” fastening spacers and drilling alignment holes for bolts

May 5, 2015. Port tank forward end showing genset pickup (bottom) and return (top) in place

May 5, 2015. Holes cut in stbd deck for fuel fills; sealed with thickened vinylester resin

May 22, 2015. Port side engine room with bulkhead, sound deadening and electrical wiring back in place.

May 26, 2015. Lowering the engine into the engine room. Almost there!!!

May 27, 2015. Juice reconnected the myriad electrical lines to the engine, replaced some worn fuel hoses that were discovered after the engine was in place, and tested the fuel lines he had installed earlier. A slight leak at one of the copper line fittings required a 1/8 turn tightening, and that was it! He turned the on/off switches to the battery banks to the “on” position and I checked the voltage of the banks using the Magnum ME-ARC50 remote control – 12.4 volts; not bad for sitting in a storage area for three and a half months. Juice also refastened the exhaust riser and replaced the worn exhaust hose to the muffler.

May 28, 2015. Juice replaced the main negative cable leading to the starter and the temperature sensor on the exhaust hose leading to the muffler. I connected a three-prong to 30amp adapter to a long extension cord and started the Magnum inverter/charger, checked all the remote settings, then put the inverter/charger in charging mode for about five hours. The initial charge was at 80 amps, but it quickly started dropping and ended at about 12 amps. At that point Juice used the Walbro inline fuel pump to ensure that fuel was flowing through the line to the engine, connected a water hose to the engine raw water intake and I pushed the starter button – – – and the engine started on the second try! Great news! I ran it long enough to see that the Balmar alternator was working properly and that the new fuel gauges were working, then shut her down for the weekend.

There is still a thru-hull and valve to replace under the forward sink and a vent line to complete from the propane locker to the exterior of the hull (thru hull vent is in place but hose hasn’t been run), but that will all be accomplished on Monday morning before we are launched at 0900. We should be underway for our marina by 1030 at the latest! That will be an even better day!

June 1, 2015 Back in the water – YEAH!

After almost four months (since February 9th) we’re back in the water. Will post a few launching photos later. After ensuring that the only “leak” came from the very dry stuffing box when Sanderling was set in the water, we started the engine only to see that the oil pressure spiked. We felt fairly confident that this was due to the electrical connection at the oil pressure sender being placed on the wrong lead, so Mark got Juice while we tied to a floating dock at Cape Marina. Within minutes Juice had fixed the problem and we were on our way. When we called the lock for an opening we were told that they would be closed for underwater repair work until 1700! Nothing on their web site to indicate any closure, but we didn’t have any options at this point. We tied up to the east wall leading into the lock and waited and cleaned and checked “things” and waited some more. Finally, about 1630 a commercial tug called the lock for a passage indicating that “their” divers were now out of the water, and by 1645 we were in the lock and on our way. Arrived at our marina about 1910, put Sanderling to bed, and left to find dinner and retrieve a car which had been left at the boat yard.

Ready for lift-off!

On the road again!

Ready for splash-down!

June 1, 2015. We’re back in the water again – yeah! Now for a little more work at our marina and we’ll be on our way north.

Repairing a Teak Deck/Cover on a Small Line Locker

Posted on 2015-01-19 by Bob

This project came about when I stepped on the top of the line locker (port side, just aft of the upper deck) to clean a spot on the corner of our new Bimini enclosure. My weight caused a cracking sound and I knew the underlying deck structure had broken, although not completely. A few days later I removed the small deck (approximately 18″X26″) and took it home so I would have the room and the tools I needed readily available.

The small deck consists of 2″ strips of teak decking held within a teak “picture” frame. Supporting the structure on the back/underside was a piece of 1/2″ plywood (probably not marine ply based on the amount of deterioration of the plywood due to some water intrusion around an edge) core. It was obvious the plywood core would need to be removed and replaced. After the old backing removed, I determined that I had the perfect materials with which to make a strong, waterproof backing: pieces of 1.5MM marine ply from another deck project, several kinds of fiberglass, and lots of epoxy! The perfect combination.

This is a perfect project for vacuum bagging, as everything is flat and several pieces must be held in place and clamped together while epoxy is curing. This post (with a bunch of photos taken by friend Len and I) will show one method of vacuum bagging that I find extremely easy to use.

The first step was to remove the old plywood backing material which was accomplished with an oscillating multi-function power tool with a circular cutting blade, heavy rasp and sanding attachments. Removal of the core material was the most difficult part of the project and took 3-4 hours. Part of the core was still solid and firmly attached to the teak strips with an adhesive, some of which had deteriorated. The power tool was used to cut off the old core close to the base and around the edges, the rasp cleaned up a very thin layer of old material that remained in place, and the sanding attachment with 80 grit paper finished the job. One of the corners of the frame was coming unattached so it was repaired using thickened epoxy and clamped into position on the bed of a table saw while the epoxy cured.

Once the old cor was removed I was able to determine the thickness of the material needed to replace what I had removed. The depth was approximately 1/2″ thick. Although I had some 1/2″ plywood that I could have used, I wanted to make it stronger and impenetrable to water, so opted to build up several layers instead. I had some heavy bi-axial cloth with a stiched backing at 90 degrees, as well as some lighter-weight standard cloth. The heavy cloth was placed against the teak strips, then the 1.5MM marine ply, the light cloth and another layer of 1.5MM marine ply. I guessed that after bagging they’d create a structure very close to the 1/2″ thickness of the void where the old plywood was removed. The marine ply and pieces of fiberglass cloth were cut in advance so they’d lay-up nicely within the frame; because the piece of marine ply I used was left over from another project, I used two pieces laid end to end to make up each plywood layer.

There are many web sites and books devoted to vacuum bagging. The technique I used for this project is very simple: bag everything to the garage floor using duct tape to seal the edges and a shop vac to pull the vacuum! No special equipment required.

Here’s our show and tell

#1 – Bottom layer of plastic taped to garage floor to prevent adherence to floor. Roll of 4 mil plastic in hand, getting ready to cut to fit width of deck panel. Underside of teak deck strips are visible. Blue masking tape applied to edges of frame to facilitate removal of excess epoxy.

#2 – The underside of the deck in the frame coated with epoxy and ready for the layer of thick fiberglass. The first plywood panel is ready to be added at the appropriate time.

#3 – First original layer of thick fiberglass being wetted-out in the frame. There’s no reason to saturate the glass first as long as you ensure it is thoroughly saturated after putting it in place – it will turn slightly translucent when it is sufficiently “wet.” The first layer of marine ply is ready to put into place.

#4 – Deck structure after the first core layer of the heavy fiberglass cloth and the first layer of 1.5mm marine ply. You can see the two pieces used to fit the “frame” area. Then comes a layer of lighter fiberglass cloth and the second (final) layer of 1.5mm teak marine ply (with the panels joined on the opposite end of the frame for improved strength). Slightly thickened epoxy is being applied to the panel of plywood prior to adding the layer of fiberglass.

#5 – Deck structure with all the core layers in place sitting on the plastic sheet taped to the garage floor. Next comes the plastic sheet to cover the the deck, then the header tubes, then the final layer of plastic which will be the top of the “bag.”

#6 – Deck structure with all core materials in place and epoxied, with 4 mil plastic sheet placed over the deck. Next added will be the header tubes.

#7 – Deck with new core inside frame. Plastic sheet covering frame and header tubes. Ready to place top of “bag” over the entire structure – shown with vacuum nozzle already taped into place. Easiest way of attaching the nozzle is to tape it in place (it should cross over several header tubes) then cut a slot in the plastic under the nozzle to allow vacuum to “pull” throughout the setup.

#8 – Vacuum applied. Header tubes of 3/8″ plastic tubing with holes drilled through about every 2-3 inches shown in place under top layer of “bag” taped to deck outside the bottom layer of plastic. Carpet nozzle taped over slot cut in top layer of the bag, with hose leading to shop vac. The header can also consist of any size of rope coiled around the area to be bagged, or even heavy screen wire; use what is handy.

#9 – Underside sanded – only a few parts of the edges stood proud of the frame – coated with CPES for added protection before reinstalling on Sanderling.

#10 – Deck after replacement of core structure. Grooves between 2″ teak strips are being routed with 1/4″ straight bit to depth of about 3/16″ prior to pouring black epoxy.

#11 – Topside of deck (before sanding) after adding thickened epoxy blackened with graphite powder to simulate deck caulk.

#12 – Finished – Deck sanded and ready to be placed back on line locker. No further finishing required – it will turn “deck gray” naturally as it is exposed to sunlight over time.

Project: Saloon window glass replacement (former trawler)

Posted on 2014-04-07 by Bob

From 1997 to 2007 we owned a Hampton 35 trawler, similar in arrangement to our current DeFever 41 but a bit smaller in all dimensions. One of the projects in common with both boats was the removal and replacement of saloon windows (the earlier trawler due to leaks, the current trawler due to cracked glass from “butt push”).

I can’t find the photos I know I took of the replacement of the glass on our current trawler, but I do have the photos of the work on our former trawler. These photos and comments apply equally to both projects as the windows and framing were very similar on each.

Whether you need to remove the window to repair a leak (as was the case with our former trawler) or to replace cracked glass (as was the case with our current trawler) the process is the same.

(1) Remove the exterior frame;

(2) Remove the glass and channel/track;

(3) Clean the area;

(4) Cut the track/channel to fit;

(5) Replace the glass and track/channel; and

(6) Replace the exterior frame.

The following photos and comments will explain how we did it.

Saloon exterior window frame removed, ready for caulk to be removed.

Saloon window frame with non-sliding glass in place, ready for caulk to be removed.

Temporary enclosure on inside of window sealed at all four sides with weather stripping attached to the temporary panel. Snugged tight with deck screws into 1X2s on exterior of window.

Exterior frame temporarily fastened in place to check fit. Window channels removed and everything ready for replacement of channels and glass.

Same as above but with old channel still in place showing worn fiber strip in old channel.

The exterior window frame was removed very carefully so as not to break the teak. First the bungs were removed from the screw holes, then the screws themselves were removed. The old caulk/adhesive was still working quite well, so we used a 1″ putty knife and several small and slim pry bars to work around the exterior of the frame, gently prying it away from the sides of the boat.

The frame and fixed piece of glass came out as one unit; the glass was attached to the exterior frame with caulk/adhesive. The sliding glass remained in the track in the window opening and was eventually removed along with the track.

Once the frame and glass was removed we weatherized the opening until we had removed all the old caulk and window channels. This was just cheap 1/4″ ply fastened in place by using deck screws to 1X2s across the outside of the opening. No holes were added to the boat.

This shows the aft edge of the window opening with the exterior frame fitted into place temporarily. Everything is ready to add the new channels and sliding glass. The fixed glass is fastened to the exterior frame and sits in a rabbet the thickness of the glass cut into the edge of the frame..

This shows the old channel in place with the worn pile lining. The channel size can vary, but we found the same size channel was used in all the boat’s windows.

New window channels are available from a number of sources, including Defender at http://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?path=-1|6880|2290166|2290167&id=48567

Repair complete. Frame, channels and glass back in place. Only thing remaining is to replace bungs.

Project: New AIS Transponder

Posted on 2013-04-12 by Bob

After reading several blogs and discussions about cruising the inland rivers and on the strong recommendations of several Trawlers and Trawlering List subscribers and friends who have recently completed cruises of the inland rivers we felt that AIS was a good resource for safer navigation in an area frequented by big commercial tows and blind curves! Here is a brief description of our setup along with the hardware and software making it all work together. Sorry, there aren’t any pictures!

We’d already installed a WiFi network onboard connected to an Island Times radio antenna (powered by a Ubiquity bullet), so we were looking for an AIS that could interface with our WiFi network as well as provide NMEA 0183 data to our Garmin GPSMAP 545S and 545 chart plotters. We weren’t quite sure how it would all fit together, but knew is should be possible. We also wanted a unit that could display AIS position data on our laptop navigation software (Fugawi) and that might connect to everything using NMEA 2000 if we decide to upgrade to a more “modern” network interface.

After some searching we settled on the Vesper Marine XB-8000 transponder, a relatively new device (2012) from a company with a good reputation. You can read more about it here: http://www.vespermarine.com/xb. The reviews of the unit on Panbo lead us to believe this was just what we were looking for. For the AIS antenna we chose a Shakespeare Centennial Style 5104 Antenna. The XB-8000 came with a GPS antenna, but we purchased a 12 foot waterproof USB cable in order to reach from the mounted location topside to our lower steering station where we operate our navigation laptop. A short USB cable comes with the unit to use for configuration.

So for parts: Vesper Marine XB-8000 with GPS antenna; the Vesper Marine USB cable; and the Shakespeare 5104 antenna; an antenna mount from West Marine; some PVC from Home Depot for the GPS antenna mount. Except as indicated, everything was purchased from Defender.

Since the XB-8000 is a transponder (sends and receives AIS data) an MMSI (Maritime Mobile Service Identity) issued by the FCC is required prior to purchase. We had obtained our MMSI several months earlier, so we had it available to complete the AIS purchase form. We also had to decide in advance on the antenna’s location on the boat, since the form required that info; in retrospect, we could have provided any info regarding boat length, antenna location, etc, since that is readily changeable after purchase but the MMSI is fixed for the unit and cannot be changed.

The installation was fairly straight forward. Install the dedicated AIS antenna and run the cable; install the GPS antenna and run the cable; run the USB cable in an already tight channel between the upper and lower helm locations; install the 12 volt power line from the auxiliary electrical panel. Once the various lines and cables were in place, we connected the AIS unit to everything and powered the circuit. Green LED came on after about 45 seconds and we were in business. Next in the order of things was to get our laptops and chart plotters displaying the incoming AIS data.

At some point I installed the Vesper Marine program on our two laptops. This program, vmAIS, allows the laptop to configure the AIS unit; there is an iPhone/Pad app currently available to do the same thing via WiFi and an Android version will be available later. Since I’m an Android person (phone and Nexus) I have been using a laptop running vmAIS to configure the AIS unit.

I started getting connected using the USB cable since that seemed to be fairly straight forward. vmAIS connected right away once I had identified a comm port. I then configured the AIS unit to be part of our WiFi network (that can only be done using a USB connection) by following the simple directions in the setup manual and on the web site (uncheck one box, select the network you want to join, and provide a fixed DHCP address that your network will recognize). Simple enough.

At that point OpenCPN running on a new HP Ultrabook with Windows 8 was configured to access the AIS data over the WiFi – and the data started pouring in and after a little tweaking is displaying AIS ship position information. Hint: right click on the screen and then click on “AIS target list” for the list of targets.

Fugawi, on the other hand, can “see” only comm ports, not serial ports, so I initially used the USB cable to connect to an older laptop running Fugawi (actually, our “navigation” laptop) and set up Fugawi to see the correct comm port and the data started flowing in, providing our own location data as well as the AIS data from a boat transmitting an AIS signal about 4.5 miles away.

Even though both laptops were receiving data and at least Fugawi was showing the AIS provided ship location data, I wanted to see if there was a way to get the data via the WiFi network to Fugawi. Vesper Marine support provided the answer – a free program which takes a TCP connection and turns it into a Virtual Serial Port – hw_vsp found at http://www.hw-group.com/products/hw_vsp/index_en.html. Once it was configured to “see” the AIS unit, and Fugawi configured to see the virtual comm port, the data started flowing in wirelessly! How cool is that!

The only thing left to do was to connect the NMEA 0183 lines from the AIS unit to the Garmin chart plotter. The GPSMAP 400 and 500 series of plotters have a little quirk (perhaps all Garmin plotters share the quirk) in that the black ground line from the plotter also acts as the negative input/output line for any NMEA connection, so if you’re connecting an AIS that has a NMEA out (+) line that happens to be gray, and a NMEA out (-) line that is yellow, you connect the gray line (+) to the NMEA in line (+) on the Garmin and the yellow line (-) to the Garmin black ground circuit somewhere along the line. Only slightly confusing at first blush. However, once properly connected and the chart plotter configured the AIS ship contact info is displayed on the plotter.

At this point we have one laptop running Fugawi receiving AIS data over WiFi with a USB cable as an optional setup in case anything happens to our WiFi. The data provides both the standard GPS data (course, speed, etc) and the AIS data (ship’s position, speed, COG, CPA, etc). The Garmin chart plotter (only connected one at this point) displays roughly the same info, but (I think) uses it’s internal GPS for our ship’s position and course. Our second laptop running OpenCPN is also receiving data via WiFi and displaying AIS ship data.

To make matter more geeky and interesting, we’re using my Nexus tablet topside to display the navigation laptop screen (running Fugawi). To do this we’re using a Virtual Computer Network, running VCN software on both the navigation laptop and the Nexus (as well as my Android phone, if desired). This gives us both the chart plotter display and the laptop display at the topside steering station or at whatever other location onboard we wish to position the Nexus. We can do the same “magic” with the other laptop – display the navigation laptop screen on the second laptop – all wirelessly, of course! The VCN software on the Nexus and Android phone is AndroidVNC; The program on the navigation laptop is TightVNC; on the other laptop we’re running TightVNC Viewer.

There were a couple of minor issues along the line, but nothing that wasn’t quickly resolved by Vesper Marine’s support staff. Those issues were basically attributable to “operator error.”

Only a few weeks to departure

Posted on 2013-04-07 by Bob

We’re getting close to our anticipated departure and making headway in getting some last minute projects completed. In March we were hauled at Eau Gallie Boat Works, our first haul out in two years. The yard applied three coats of bottom paint (5.5 gallons of Micron CSC) to the hull, stripped and epoxied the running gear, replaced the holding block (had worked its way loose two years ago in Canada) for the spurs, added ball valves in the fuel lines from each fuel tank, fixed a ground problem, lubricated all the thru-hulls, and buffed and waxed the hull. The crew did a great job. We were back in the water 10 days after haul-out.

Since then, I’ve installed a Vesper Marine XB-8000 AIS Transponder with a dedicated VHF and GPS antenna, installed a raw water alarm from Borel Manufacturing, and built a new forward hatch seat/cover that will provide a much needed conversation area on the bow as well as allow us to keep the forward Bomar hatch open for ventilation while at anchor without worrying about rain soaking the V-berth area.

This weekend I cleaned the raw water heat exchanger and replaced the end cap gaskets, and replaced the raw water impeller with a new one from American Diesel.

Here are some pictures of some of the growth, the cutlass bearing housing where the old holding block was attached (three empty holes), the new spurs and holding block, the raw water alarm mounted in the engine instrument panel and the new hatch cover.

Barnacles on rudder shaft

Barnacle on bow thruster

New paint, holding block and spurs

Barnacles and empty holes where holding block detached

Raw water alarm mounted on engine instrument panel

Forward hatch cover/seat

A Lot of Work Goin’ On For the Past Year

Posted on 2013-03-13 by Bob

Despite the lack of updates to this blog, there has actually been a lot of work being completed on Sanderling since the last post in April 2012. We’ve been making a few changes, adding some new equipment and generally getting ready for our 2013 cruise to Canada (and the “loop”).

I’ll try to highlight the big changes with a few pictures, where available, to bring things up to date.
May 4, 2012 – Installed TAGO LED Deck Light with SS mounting brackets from Anchor Express F38-3500WHA-1 with an illuminated toggle switch from Radio Shack mounted in the overhead electronics cabinet in the saloon. This will be used to illuminate the foredeck when we need to get to the anchor windless in the dark, as well as provide extra boat illumination at night when anchored in any area with boat traffic. Since it’s an LED, it only draws 1/4 amp.

May 2012– Refinished three big interior deck plates as follows:

1-Sand to bare wood with 60 and 150 grit paper then 2 coats of CPES and dry
2-Sand with 220, then CPES – 1 coat until tacky, then 1 coat Captains Varnish
3-Captains – 1 coat
4-Captains – 1 coat
5-Sand with 220 – Captains – 1 coat
6-Captains – 1 coat
7 poured Captains into still-open seams and brushed across seams in attempt to fill (not successfully)
Still needs sanding and more Captains but put back on boat to add more when we finish the entire interior boat deck.

June 9, 2012 – Replaced former Cal a/c pump forward a/c with new Teel pump from Mermaid @ $115.00. Had to remove Cal bracket and remount Teel against bulkhead. Old bracket, screws and circle clamps placed in bilge near pump for re-use if called for.

Fuel solenoid shutoff from American Diesel

August 1, 2012 – Completed install of new fuel stop shutoff relay from American Diesel – part #510-0512 (with 30 amp inline fuse). Ran new #12 line (red) from starter motor to positive post on relay with fuse at starter. New fittings on original lines to fit posts. Made bracket to fit across bolt holes on engine from 1”-1 1/2” right angle pre-drilled slotted steel. With the new solenoid the engine shuts down every time (no more climbing into the engine room to manually pull the shutoff lever). Yes!

August 19, 20, 21, 2012 – Replaced old power/data cable on GPSMAP 546S with unit’s power/data/sounder cable. Working to get NMEA data connected and working. Had to recheck wiring and make changes. Radar and auto-pilot on output-2 circuit; feed to laptop and lower helm station is on output-1 circuit so it can be switched between NMEA and GARMIN output – Garmin when necessary for uploading/downloading GPS/route/track data to/from laptop.

New power/data cable for GPSMAP 546S provided at no cost by Garmin to replace non-working cable that came with the unit. All trouble-shooting with Garmin assistance indicated cable to blame. Now all NMEA circuits are working. Garmin has been told that original cable was bad and offered to send it to them, but they declined.

The 12 volt NMEA wiring now is very close to what is shown in this diagram:

Sept 22-24, 2012 – Installed PUCK AIRMAR P79 thru-the-hull sounder for CPSMAP 546S. Filled with mineral oil.

Oct 1-9, 2012 – Added two coats of Cetol gloss to all exterior brightwork, including hand and cap rails, eyebrow trim, windows and doors frame.

Oct 12&13, 2012 – Mark Richter installed a new Magnum S2312 Inverter/charger and associated wiring and monitor. We left the Xantrex Freedom 2000 in place to provide additional amperage when charging; the combined charging capability of both operating together is 230 amps. I have now fabricated a lexan shield between the batteries shown and the tow chargers/inverter to vent hydrogen and heat away from the units. They work well together certainly shorten the time necessary to recharge our house bank of batteries when running the generator.

Oct 20, 2012 – Fabricated and installed a heat/hydrogen shield above battery bank #1

Oct 18 & 19, 2012 – Cleaned and refastened all battery posts with green/red felt and checked water all cells.

Nov 2, 2012 – Removed 110 volt AC unit and reinstalled refinished teak doors in aft companionway.

Nov 9, 2012 – Replaced group 29 (820CCAs) genset start battery with Group 24 deep cycle 800 CCAs battery.

Dec 7, 2012 – Installed new LED flourescent light fixtures in aft end engine room from LEDLIGHTSWORLD.com, 4 watt T5 LED tube light, 12 volt frosted, natural white 4000-4500K, part HK-T5-0303-X

Dec 15, 2012 – Sanded saloon deck to bare wood then 2 coats CPES plus 1 coat Captains varnish 1^st day. One coat varnish each day until total 5 coats of Captains gloss; sanded after 2^nd coat. Followed by Interlux Goldspar satin. Total: 6 coats Captains and 2 coats Interlux Goldspar after CPES.

Jan 15, 2013 – Installed Ubiquiti WiFi radio from Island Times with our old Linksys WG router flashed with dd-wrt operating system.

Feb 1, 2013 – Installed Hi/Lo LED dome light 6 1/2” warm white fixture in saloon over table. Added 2 Dual USB charger sockets 12 VDC at stereo radio and topside near VHF. Specs: 5V/2.1A from STARMARINEDEPOT.com.

Feb 10, 2013 – Rebuilt anchor chain stopper pedestal with 3 internal SS bolts from bottom and longer SS bolts from top. Fastened to deck and stopper with 3M 4200.

Along the line, the bimini top has been resewn in a few places where the thread in seams was tearing and several zippers were replaced.

Yet to come: AIS transponder with dedicated antenna, engine hot water alarm

Project: Replace fuel level senders

Posted on 2012-04-24 by Bob

The genesis of this project was the repair of a small leak from the bottom edge of the inspection port plate in the port fuel tank. After the plate (with it’s fuel sender) was removed, the project expanded to replace the fuel level senders for both tanks which hadn’t been working for several years. The same process was employed on both the starboard and port tanks; the photos and descriptions provided here concern only the port tank (the starboard tank plate had no leak, but its fuel sender was not working).

On our DeFever 41 built in 1987, the fuel level sender for both diesel tanks (200 gallons each) is located on what amounts to an inspection port plate, located on the forward end of each tank, near the top of the tank. The plate is secured to the tank with 12 studs welded to the tank which project through the plate; separating the plate and the tank is a gasket. The fuel sender is mounted in the center of the plate on it’s own smaller round attachment plate and mounting bracket (inside the tank).

Photo 1-Port tank showing inspection port plate and sender plate

Photo #1 is of the port tank, forward end, after the retaining nuts have been removed and the sender mount loosened. The electrical lines connecting the sender unit to the gauge have also been removed.

The gray fitting in the upper left corner is the fitting for the genset fuel return line (which has been removed for access).

Access to the job-site required cutting a hole in the side of the engine room bulkhead that separated the fuel tank from the engine room because a hot water heater was placed forward of the fuel tank and would have been difficult to remove. Cutting the access hole was relatively easy using a multi-tool with a circular blade.

The plate was difficult to remove because of the limited area available forward of the tank (about 8”) between the tank and the water heater. The fuel sender plate needed to be loosened in order to permit it to be withdrawn from the tank with the inspection port plate. At the time, we weren’t sure about the structures on the inside of the tank other then that the sender unit was in there, somewhere.

Once the inspection plate and sender apparatus were removed the mechanical structure was obvious: the gauge fastened to an L-shaped bracket which in turn was welded to the circular attachment plate. The positive current from the gauge entered the sender through a circuit that penetrated the attachment plate and was isolated from the surrounding plate, then traveled to the sender via a wire; the sender was grounded to the bracket and the attachment plate and a spade connector (outside the tank) where the ground wire was attached.

Photo #2 shows the entire interior-of-the-tank assembly (except for the flotation ball which is located at the end of the small rod extending to the right edge of the photo.

I had placed zip-tie fasteners along the red electrical line and added some hot glue to the point where the red line attached to an insulated thru-plate terminal thinking that everything could be reused if there was a simple way to fix the sender unit (the black box-like structure at the end of the bracket).

It soon became apparent that the sender unit was beyond repair and that the unit would need replacing.

Photo 3-Sender parts, bracket, fastening plate, and inspection port plate

Photo #3 shows all the parts involved. Clockwise: sender attachment plate (seen still attached to the bracket), the bracket, the sender unit housing (which slides on the long arm of the bracket), the sender unit itself, the outside cover of the sender, the sender attachment plate gasket and inside fastening plate (threaded holes to accept bolts from the outside of the inspection plate).

The inside of the inspection port plate is shown. The lighter area is the surface covered by the gasket and the tank; the dark area is roughly the surface exposed to diesel in the tank.

Photo 4-Inside the sender showing the coil and wiper arm

Photo #4 shows the inside of the sender unit, with the rheostat coil in the left image and the wiper arm shown in the right image. The coil had been damaged through wear and there was no way to repair it; replacement was the only alternative.

Photo 5-Sender attachment plate exterior showing positive and ground connectors. Showing faintly on the plate are “VDO” and “Australia”

This original sender attachment plate shown in photo #5 was not designed to be disassembled. The positive spade terminal imbedded in the plastic-like material required that the attached wire leading to the sender unit be soldered in place on a very short stud protruding on the inside face of the plate.

The search began for a new sender unit and a VDO unit was located that appeared to be an almost exact replacement – the almost part of the description had to do with whether it cold be adapted to the 90 degree bracket arm required to place the sender in the proper position and orientation in the tank.

Once the new sender arrived, it was obvious that the only modification needed was to cut the straight bracket arm and weld it back in place in a 90 degree orientation – creating the original L-bracket. The attachment holes fit the holes in the inspection port plate exactly!

The problem finding a sender for Sanderling’s tanks was that the new sender units were intended to fit into the tank from the top and have a vertical orientation. Since Sanderling’s tanks are virtually inaccessible from the top and the original senders were fastened through the end of the tanks, the sender brackets had to be reoriented (cut and welded) to provide a L-shaped bracket, similar to the original. The original bracket wasn’t used because I was concerned about the condition of the pass-through electrical connection and the need to provide a better soldered connection from the back-side of the pass-through to the wire running to the sender. There was no way to provide a heat sink to protect the plastic-like material which insulated the pass-through from the surrounding plate while soldering the connection.

Photo 6-New sender bracket, sender unit with float and various other parts. New sender attachment plate is laying on the inspection port plate showing the holes aligned

Photo #6 shows the original L-shaped bracket still attached to the attachment plate along with the original gasket and metal backing plate. The new parts are at the top of the photo with the round sender attachment plate laying on the inspection port plate with the holes aligned. The bracket at the top was the one which was cut and then welded at 90 degrees.

The bracket was removed from the round attachment plate in order to cut and weld it without damaging the plastic material which insulates the positive feed to the sender as it penetrates the plate. The new sender attachment plate and bracket were designed to be disassembled.

Photo 7-All parts assembled and ready to place in tank

In Photo #7 everything is assembled and ready to be placed back into the tank. The float rod is shown extending from the mid-right upward and to the left.

The bracket arm to which the sender unit is attached was adjusted to place the sender about midway between the top and bottom of the tank. The float extends outward into the tank and will clear the forward-most baffle in the tank. The short end of the arm has been trimmed by about 2 inches and a “hook” bent into it to prevent it from falling out of the pivot pin should the retaining screw loosen.

The gasket which is placed between the inspection port plate and the tank wall was cut to fit the outline of the plate, the center rectangle removed leaving about 1/2” extra to extend into the tank, and the stud holes punched with a sharp hole punch. These studs and holes were 3/8” in diameter and the holes were punched to be 5/16” in diameter for a snug fit.

To replace the plate, the gasket was fitted over the studs, then the assembly was carefully fed through the rectangular hole in the tank. On the port tank the sender attachment plate had to be loosened (again, to work it into the tank through the 8” space available between the tank and the hot water heater) and then tightened once the plate was in place. That maneuver was not necessary on the starboard tank because there was full access to the inspection port. Once in place, the electrical lines from the gauge were fastened to the screw terminals and the genset fuel return line reconnected.

List of materials (for each tank):

VDO fuel sender unit- Source: Egauges.com – Part # 226-001 – Fuel Sender – 10-180 Ohms – $25.95
(http://egauges.com/vdo_send.asp?Sender=10_180ohms)

Gasket – Source: Grainger.com – Item no: 1XYG7 – Rubber, Buna-N, 3/16 In Thick, 12 x 12 In – $9.24 (Rubber Sheet, Oil Resistant, Commercial Grade, Buna-N/Nitrile Rubber, Thickness 3/16 In, Width 12 In, Length 12 In, Black, Smooth Finish, Non-Adhesive Backing Type, Min. Temp. Rating -30 F, Max Temp. 220 F, Durometer 50A, Elongation 300%, Tensile Strength 1000 PSI, Standards ASTM D2000 BF)

Time involved (not counting the time spent finding the materials, trip to the welding shop and contemplating options): 2 hours per tank.

Project: TCV replacement on Force 10 water heater

Posted on 2012-03-07 by Bob

TCV Replacement on Force 10 Hot Water Heater

The cooling system on our Ford-Lehman 135 began losing coolant at a very slow rate about a year ago, and try as I might I couldn’t locate the source of the leak. I added a adapter and short section of new hose to the line going to the overflow tank in order to provide the correct size of hose at the fitting at each end, I changed out the exhaust riser, and was contemplating a new head gasket as the amount lost every run kept slowly increasing. By the time we were well along the Rideau Canal in Canada this past summer when I was adding about a cup of antifreeze/water mix every six hours’ run, something had to be done. I received several glowing recommendations for a boat yard in Mechanicsville, Ontario, and made arrangements to have their mechanic look into the problem.

The boat yard mechanic and I found the problem in about 20 minutes: the Temperature Control Valve (TCV) on Sanderling’s Force 10 water heater had failed after only four years and needed replacement, leaking a stream of coolant while the engine was running and coolant was circulating to the heater! Since Force 10 is a Canadian company, the yard called the local Force 10 agent in Ottawa only to be told that replacement valves were no longer made because there were so many failures; they offered no alternative. The same information was obtained from the main office in British Columbia. The only solution was to bypass the valve and we could be on our way – just be very careful when opening a hot water tap after a day underway because the water would be extremely hot and could cause burns!

Photo 1 shows the plumbing to and from the water heater after bypassing the TCV. The TCV itself is labeled as such. The looped black hose on the right side of the valve had been rerouted and the incoming coolant line plumbed directly into the heater.

Upon completing our cruise in mid-October I started looking into another way of tempering the extremely hot water in the heater that can result from long runs. Force 10 recommended installing a Watts brand (there are other brands available) tempering valve which adds cold water to the hot water exiting the heater based on an adjustable control valve. I found it online in both threaded and unthreaded versions, each version with temperature ranges from 100F-130F, and 120F-160F, in 3/4” and 1/2” sizes. A plumber friend suggested that the 100F-130F unit was best for domestic hot water, so that is what I purchased. You can see the assortment here: http://tinyurl.com/8xsl3np at one of the suppliers.

The most fun was yet to come, however. Fitting the valve and the lines proved to be a challenge. The manufacturer recommends that the valve be placed at least 8” from the hot water tank, and there were existing water lines that I didn’t want to move unless absolutely necessary. After drawing it all out with the required distance, ball valves that I wanted in order to facilitate future repairs (if necessary) and ensuring that it would go together and come apart without having to move the water heater itself, I went to work with the initial supplies of brass fittings from a hardware store. Three trips later, it all went together nicely and no modifications of existing water lines were required. I wasn’t able to install two additional ball valves due to space/distance limitations.

Photos 2 and 3 show the new valve in place with the convoluted brass plumbing.

Anyone with a Force 10 Water Heater should inspect the unit to determine if a TCV is in place; it was an optional add-on that was best left off due to the design defect. If it is used, you should be prepared to replace the TCV with a different valve, or at the very least be prepared to reroute the incoming coolant line and bypass the TCV when the valve fails.

MVSanderling.net

The cruising adventures of Bob and Judy on Sanderling (a DeFever 41), with their two cats. Homeport is Manatee Cove Marina, Patrick Air Force Base, Satellite Beach, Florida.

Category Archives: Projects