Project Weekend

We had a great weekend of getting projects done on the boat.

The biggest project was the new VHF.  The new VHF integrates with the GPS and knows where we are, it shows the location of nearby boats with AIS transmitters.  It has a remote microphone option, which we got and installed on the flybridge.  It also hooks into our existing loudhailer and replaces the separate (semi-functioning) loud hailer controller.  The loudhailer is cool-it is a loud speaker at the front of the boat which also picks up and amplifies sounds up there.  So say you are trying to set the anchor or something, you can talk back and forth from the bow to the person on the VHF at either the lower or upper helm.  NICE. 

In order to install the new VHF, we had to take the old one down and wire up the new one, including wiring it to the loudhailer speaker and the GPS.  Of course this was a big production that involved taking down all sorts of panels and feeding wires and all sorts of fun stuff.  Installing the remote mic on the flybridge involved drilling a hole through the fiberglass, which is always kind of scary since there isn't really room to make mistakes!  While we were at it, Matt decided to change how the power worked and wire the VHF to the same switch as the GPS instead of the switch that controls all the other navigation and communication equipment.  That way if we want to listen to the VHF while we are sitting in port we won't have to power up all our nav equipment, like the radar.  We SHOULD be able to turn the radar off even when the power to it is on but the power button on it doesn't work! At least it is stuck on and not off! 

One thing we did find out is that the previous owner was correct in saying the GPS works, just the display doesn't work.  The instructions were simple enough that we were able to set the GPS to output in a format the VHF could understand without there being a display, and bingo, there was our position displayed on the VHF!  Nice.

Of course this project involved a few trips to the store.  We had to stop by West Marine on our way to the boat yesterday to pick up the radio and remote mic (mid day we had another West Marine trip for another project) then today we had to pick up some bits and pieces and ended up going to OSH, Home Depot and Radio Shack.  But we were able to find everything.  We still need to go to Tap plastics for a face plate to cover the fact that the hole for the previous VHF is wider than we need and we also are waiting on a flush mount kit to come into the local West Marine from one of their Florida stores.

The other project we did yesterday that required a West Marine run was replacing the flax packing in our stuffing box on our starboard prop shaft.  What in the blazes is that, you ask?  So the engine spins the propeller by spinning the shaft, which the propeller is attached to.  This generates heat.  The stuffing box helps keep the shaft cool by allowing sea water in (at least I think this is how it works, but anyway).  One adjusts a big nut on the shaft to control how much water is seeping in.  Ideally there should be no or very little water dripping out of the stuffing box while the boat is sitting in the slip.  Our stuffing box was dripping like mad and that little bit of water adds up to a lot of water in the bilge.  We tried adjusting it tighter with no success.  We prefer to keep the water on the OUTSIDE of the boat, so we decided it was time for some new packing.  The packing comes in all different sizes but lucky for us the previous owner had left us a package of 5/16 flax packing.  We had picked up a big box of it at West Marine the other day so we had PLENTY for our project.  We backed the nut all the way off and set about picking out the old, greasy, nasty, blackened packing.  It seemed a bit larger than the new stuff, but hey, maybe it was compressed, right?  So meanwhile the water is dripping in at a fairly fast pace and we really want to get the whole thing put back together ASAP.  It takes me some trial and error to get the new pieces of packing cut to the right length (you use three separate pieces, each wrapped around once) so good thing we had bought that great big box!  So we had all three pieces cut and Matt started to put them into the nut (I think it might be officially called a "gland" but whatever).  Not happening.  No way, no how.  Too big.  So we drove up to West Marine for the correct size packing!  It slipped right in and we got the thing all tightened back together.  It seems to not be dripping but we'll have to adjust it next time we go out--If it is too tight, not enough water gets in to cool the shaft and that causes something bad to happen.  I'm not really sure WHAT but anyway, you want it to be cool.  Lesson, just because it is on the boat does not mean it is the part we need.

Ok, what else, lets see, we put a new sprayer thing on the kitchen sink.  I am not sure what you call this.  All you do is unscrew the screen thing at the end of the faucet and screw this thing in instead.  It can either be a spray or a stream and it swivels.  Anyway, it is very handy to have since we do not have a pull out sprayer.

We also rerouted the cables from the TV antenna so we do not have to pull the cable from the aft cabin into the saloon.  There is now a splitter in the engine room and one cable still comes up in the aft cabin and another cable comes out the hole where there used to be some sort of phone/ DSL box.  We got a nice face plate for it, too.  This sounds really simple but there was some trial and error involving drilling holes in the back of the closet which did not work out at all.  What we ended up with worked out better anyhow so no worries there.  We also tried to replace the antenna (which is inside the front of the flybridge) with a new one I got the other day which has a longer range but we weren't able to disconnect the cable from the old one.  We will have to cut it but we wanted to have an end to put on it first so we could hook it to the new antenna.  We got some ends at OSH so we can take care of that next weekend.  I spent quite a bit of time inside the flybridge front working on taking the thing apart.  It is a very large space but I have to crawl through kind of a small door to get in there.  Not super fun but you do what you have to do.  At least there is access!

Next weekend we hope to finish up the VHF installation and the new TV antenna, plus complete our shower project--a new faucet and hand held shower head!  We are waiting on the shower head, hopefully it will come this week.  We THINK we have all the other pieces and parts we need.