Category: Project

One of our projects for this year was the installation of a new Alado Roller Furler. I chose an Alado system because of the good reviews I read online and it is a “do it yourself” system. Installation is done with the mast up and requires no special rigging, swaging or need to go aloft.

https://www.alado.com
https://www.aladous.com
https://www.aladocanada.ca

March/April/May-2018 One of our pre-launch projects was to reset the water line on S.V.Thanks Dad.

Started the replacement of a portlight and the teak base for the forward hatch.

Over the winter we bought a new Garmin NMEA 2000 system.

The first piece was a Garmin GWS-10/GMI-10 system

While on the hard, we mounted a new masthead with our new Garmin NMEA 2000 GWS-10 wind system and dropped the NMEA 2000 cable down the mast.

New masthead assembled

New masthead installed

After launch we installed a thru-deck connector at the base of the mast to bring the NMEA 2000 cable inside the boat. It is a 12 pin connector. 5 pins for the NMEA 2000 cable and 4 for the mast lights. The steaming light and the anchor light.

New 12 pin connector installed

Also, while on the hard, we removed an old depth transducer and installed a new Garmin NMEA 2000 Intelliducer. Using a level with an angle finder we found the location on the hull where the Intelliducer was to be mounted was on a 18 degree angle. So we bought the Intelliducer suitable for use with a 13 to 24 degree range.

New Intelliducer

Intelliducer installed

One of our other winter projects was to remove the fuel tank to give it a good cleaning. While out, we decided to add a resistive sender unit (WEMA KUS SSL) to measure fuel level and used a Garmin NMEA 2000 GFL adapter to interface it NMEA 2000 system.

New WEMA KUS SSL fuel level sensor

New WEMA KUS SSL fuel level sensor installed on the fuel tank

After reviewing our options, we decided to mount the NMEA 2000 backbone “tee” connectors under the starboard quarter berth. They would be centrally located to the devices, close to the electrical panel and easily accessible.

NMEA 2000 backbone installed under the quarter berth

We mounted the GMI-10 multi-functional display on the starboard side

GMI-10

We mounted the GPSMAP 421 on a swing arm. When in use it swings out in the companionway, then for storage it folds up out of the way against the cabin wall and can be operated easily from inside the cabin.

GPSMAP 421

GPSMAP 421 stowed in the cabin on the swing arm.

One of our winter projects is to remove and clean the fuel tank. It looks to be original which means it has been in place 47 years and probably has a lot of junk in the bottom. We might also add a fuel level sensor. Today we removed it and took it to a do-it-yourself car wash to rinse it with degreaser and then wash it with a high pressure hose. The next step will be to bead blast the outside to clean it up and find a fuel level sensor.

Fuel tank sitting in cockpit locker

Top of the fuel tank (fill hose) sitting in cockpit locker

Top of the fuel tank (vent hose left and fuel hose to engine right) sitting in cockpit locker

Fuel tank taken from the cabin side when we rebuilt the galley

Fuel tank removed from boat

5-September-2015
Today was a project day with a test that required anchoring out and taking a dip in the lake.

30-August-2015
No wind on the lake today so all we did was a little maintenance project. A couple of the mainsail slugs had broken over the last few weeks so I bought a new set from Sailrite.com and today we installed them.

The Contest 29 mast is stepped on the cabin top and is a tabernacle design.

The halyard winches were originally mounted on the mast, but my dad had moved them back to the cockpit to make it safer and easier for him to sail single handed.

He had mounted halyard blocks on the tabernacle as part of moving the halyards back to the cockpit.

Over time though, the pressure placed on the blocks / tabernacle to raise the mainsail caused the lag bolts that mount the tabernacle to pull loose.

I decided to move the blocks off the tabernacle and designed a new mast base plate to put the blocks on.

Towards the end of last season, while dropping the mainsail, I accidentally stepped on and cracked one of the handrails.

I decided to build a new complete set of topside hand rails to be a bit stronger than the originals.

There are 4 hand rails topside and 2 inside the main cabin.

I bought a piece of teak on eBay that was 60” x 1.25” x 5”.

I brought it to work and ripped it into 4 pieces 60” x 1.25” x 1”.

Ripped into 4 pieces

I routed the top corners, using my miter saw I put a 45 degree chamfer on each end and then rounded the bottom corners and sanded the entire hand rail using my orbital sander and 120 grit sand paper.
<
Routed

Chamfered

Sanded

I used to the original hand rails to locate the mounting holes.

Drilling mounting holes

I brought them to the boat to insure they fit properly prior to varnishing.

Yeah! They fit!

I then put 5 coats of varnish on them.

Varnishing

The original hand rails were held in place on a threaded rod with a nut that was counter bored and capped .

Though the counter bore and capped is a nice finish, I decided that I wanted to make the new hand rails easy to remove. So, I bought stainless steel coupling nuts online from eBay and used them in place of the original nuts allowing me to use bolts from the top of the handrail to hold them in place.

Threaded rod

Coupling nut

rubber seal

Fitted in place

Bolted

Looking good!

This year I decided it was probably a good idea to inspect the stuffing box packing prior to launch since I had not done it since getting the boat in 2012.

Stuffing box

Before doing the inspection I searched the internet looking for any information on the stuffing box and drive system I could find. After a lot of searching I was not able to find anything. I even contacted the boat builder, but found out that they had a fire back in 2003 and all their records burned up in the fire.

Our stuffing box has a grease fitting on top of it. Dad said that we should give it “a few squirts of grease” after each use of the engine. It helps to keep water out and lubricates the system.

So I was feeling a little nervous as I started loosening the adjusting nut since I was not sure what to expect. Because of the access, backing off the adjusting nut took a little contortion but wasn’t too difficult.

Everything looked good and the stuffing box packing didn’t even look like it needed replacement, but when I went to tighten the adjusting nut back on, the entire stuffing box felt loose. That can’t be good!?

Adjusting nut loosened

Packing looks ok

When I torqued the nut back on, the whole thing moved back and forth

Based on some of the stuffing boxes I saw on the internet, I thought the mounting bolts for the stern tube went through the hull and attached to the stuffing box and that since the stuffing box was loose the bolts must have sheered. At this point I decided it was a good idea to completely disassemble and inspect the drive system. I first removed the bolts holding the stern tube in place. I was then able to separate the stern tube from the hull after removing a lot of caulking. The stern tube was threaded onto a tube that is embedded in the hull. I then separate the stuffing box from the hull. It was also threaded onto the tube that is embedded in the hull.

Bolts removed from stern tube

Stern tube separated from hull

15″ threaded tube that runs through the hull

Stuffing box separated

In order to pull the prop shaft I would have to either drop the rudder so I could pull it out the stern tube or pull the engine in order to pull it out the stuffing box.

Since dropping the rudder would have required the boat to be lifted about 4 feet (and cost money to have the yard do it), I decided to pull the engine.

Pulling the engine was uneventful. Separating the engine from the shaft adapter/dampener and removing the mounting bolts was not too difficult and with the engine out of the way we decided to take the opportunity to give the area a good cleaning.

Shaft adapter (right) and Dampener (left)

Engine pulled off its mounts

Engine on 4x4s

Cleaning 47 years(?) of engine grim

I customized an old wheel puller I had from a long forgotten project to pull the prop. Customizing the puller required cutting the 12” screw to 1.75” so it would fit between the prop and the rudder. It took an hour to cut through the hardened steel screw using a hack saw! After pulling the prop I was able pull the prop shaft and then remove the stuffing box and the stern tube.

Left to right – Stern tube, stuffing box, packing, adjusting nut

I brought all the pieces to work and blasted them clean.

All reusable pieces bead blasted clean

Also had the guys at work remove the prop shaft from the badly rusted shaft adapter. They had to use a lot of heat and a hydraulic press. After removing the shaft adapter I found that what I thought was an auxiliary pulley was in fact a dampener. After cleaning the prop, I found stamped on it, the manufacture (Michigan Prop). I contacted them to see if they had any information on the other drive system components. They didn’t, but put me in touch with a local business that might, AirMarine. AirMarine wasn’t familiar with drive system either, but did help me figure out that the stern tube was missing a cutless bearing.

Manufactured January 1982 by the Michigan Prop Company.

Stern tube with the old cutless bearing pressed out. Only the shell remained

Stern tube all cleaned up ready for the new cutless bearing

In addition to a new cutless bearing, it was obvious that we needed a new shaft adapter and dampener. I also needed new bolts (silicon bronze) for mounting the stern tube and the stuffing box. I found Deep Blue Yacht Supply out of Florida on the internet. I emailed them details on the engine (Yanmar YSB12) and the diameter of the prop shaft (1”) and they spec’d the proper shaft adapter, dampener and cutless bearing. Mike at Deep Blue was very helpful.

New shaft adapter (left) and new dampener (right, red)

Finding new silicon bronze bolts to mount the stern tube and stuffing box took more than I originally thought. I was not able to find a local source with on-hand inventory and I ended up ordering them online from BoltDepot.com. The new shaft adapter I.D. was 0.997” and the prop shaft O.D. was 1.007”. I bought a roll of emory cloth from the local hardware store and polished the prop shaft until it fit in the new shaft adapter.

Polishing the prop shaft ends

Shaft adapter end with shaft key

Shaft adapter fitted I also polished the prop end to insure a good fit.

Prop fitted

The cutless bearing comes in 2 lengths, 4” and 6”. I only needed 1.7”. Mike at Deep Blue Yacht Supply said it was ok to cut the cutless bearing to length as needed using a band saw. I was able to get 2 out of the one I bought. So I now have a spare.

New cutless bearing cut to size

Cutless bearing cut to clear hole in the stern tube that allows water forward of bearing for lubricating flow

Prior to pressing the cutless bearing into the stern tube I put it in the freezer (0 degrees F) 24 hour to cause it to contract. It pressed smoothly into stern tube.

Perfect fit

Reinstalling the drive system went fairly smoothly. I installed the new shaft adapter onto the prop shaft at home. The set screws on the new shaft adapter are at different angles to the key and at different points along the length of the adapter compared to the old one. I drilled (dimpled) the shaft at the area where the new set screws engage the shaft so they would engage the same way the old ones did. In order to try and insure the amount of the prop shaft that extended out of the stern tube was the same, I measure the distance between the end of the shaft and the old shaft adapter flange and insured the new shaft adapter was the same.

New set screw dimples

Assembled so the distance from the end of the shaft to the back of the flange is the same

Back at the boat we first reinstalled the stuffing box. I drilled and tapped new holes for the new bolts, I used Teflon thread sealant on the threads between the stuffing box and the tube that passes through the hull, and used 3M 4200 sealant.

Stuffing box reinstalled

We next installed the dampener on the engine side torqueing the bolts as the instructions indicated.

Cleaned the flange prior to assembling the new dampener

New dampener installed

The next step was to reinstall the stern tube. I re-tapped the existing holes, used Teflon thread sealant on the threads between the stern tube and the tube that passes through the hull, and used 3M 4200 sealant.

Stern tube reinstalled

We then ran safety wire through the shaft adapter’s set screws to prevent them from loosening and then reinstalled the prop shaft and the prop.

Safety wire

Prop shaft reinstalled

<
Prop reinstalled

Next we installed new stuffing box packing.

New packing installed

Finally we move the engine back onto its mounts and loosely put new stainless steel mounting bolts in place. When we brought the shaft adapter to the dampener we found the mating holes to be about 25% of the bolt diameter off from one another. We had to lower the front of the engine in order to get the back of the engine to come up and properly align with the shaft adapter.

Engine alignment nut

Drive system completely reinstalled

\