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Disassembly: Amatheia DE32 by Scott Maxwell

Once the dust had settled we started the process of mapping out the repairs. The surveyor we had used didn’t use a moisture meter. He tapped around the deck and cabin with his small ball peen hammer. There were small pockets of de-lamination in the cabin sides he told us. That didn’t seem too bad I remember thinking. But the survey was long done when we started pulling off the deck and house fittings. Off came pad eyes and fairleads, winches and jib tracks. It was clear there was significant moisture in areas, when the port jib track came off we had to catch the drippings in a large pot. “There are wet ones and dry ones” another local surveyor told us. It was pretty clear to me that I had a wet one. I drilled a number of test holes through the inner skin. The side decks were wet, especially to port although most of the cabin top was dry. The forepeak was the worst. The deck had been saturated repeatedly from the gaping unsealed holes for the samson posts (bitts). It wasn’t long before it was apparent that the head and side liner of the interior had to go. We stripped it off and pulled a lot of staples. We marked and stored each piece in turn. The large windows were a total loss. They had leaked and been resealed a number of times judging by the different sealants we encountered. They had funky plastic frames. Out they came. Out came the bronze port-lights forward. Off came the butterfly hatch and it’s frame.. We knew the chainplates and maybe stanchions were leaking. Off came the ceiling strips in the salon and v berth. Now we could see what was going on. Off came the chainplates and to our […]

Windsong: Oil Change at last by, Erick VanMalssen

Went up to see Windsong this weekend to get some of the remaining chores done before we take her down the coast. I was solo, so didn’t get to take her out for a ride unfortunately. I gave up on the electric oil change pump and purchased a manual vacuum pump to replace it. West Marine was having a sale on some other items so I also purchased a few things that I needed before we headed out: a backup handheld VHF, handheld GPS (Garmin Oregon 400c was on sale), new flares and the oil change pump.

When I got to the boat I tried my newly rebuilt manual bilge pump and discovered that it had stopped working for some reason. I just replaced the major parts on it so I had no idea why it wouldn’t work anymore. It takes two people to remove it, so I’ll have to wait for a friend to come to troubleshoot it. Needless to say, I was pretty upset to find it not functioning once more. Last weekend it worked perfectly after we finished installing it. But now…nothing.

I also began to remove bungs and some trim around the boat to take home and begin more wood restoration. I figured that there is a lot of wood that needs to be stripped and varnished, better start now than later.

Then it was onto the engine: oil change and stuffing box tightening.

Pumping out the oil:

The oil change was smooth and uneventful. Getting it finally done was a happy occasion though. After the oil change I focused on the stuffing box. It was still leaking slowly, not as fast as when we stopped the engine a week ago. But still leaking more than it should. The problem is that the locking nut […]

Fresh Water Onboard by Bob Salnick

Tonight, Eolian has a pronounced heel to starboard. Not that she is ever level and completely stationary, but it is enough where we are noticing it. I just came in from outside, having put the dock water hose into her port water tank. That heel is an indication that we are about to run out of water, and as everyone knows, that never happens at an opportune moment. People who live in houses don’t get to use the tilt of the floor as an indication that their water is about to be cut off. Or to use water to trim their house until the floors are level.

Eolian has two water tanks – 160 gallons on the port side, and another 160 gallons on the starboard side. She also has two equivalent diesel tanks, one on each side. At the moment, the port diesel tank is empty and the starboard one is a little more than half full. Thus we are keeping the starboard water tank empty and filling the port one. This keeps things more or less level.

This task is one that is enjoyable in the summer, often an opportunity to socialize or to just enjoy the scenery out here at the end of the dock. But tonight, in the dark with rain spitting, it is not so much fun. So I am back inside and while I am typing, I am listening to the liquid sound of water running into the tank.

Some boats on the dock choose to bypass the hassle of this ritual, and hook up a dock hose direct to their onboard water system. Having seen two boats nearly destroyed by this practice, it is one we do not follow. In both cases, some portion of the onboard water system failed. Fresh water then […]