Crab Louie's Maintenance Log 2008
|| Crab Louie's Home Page || N6RFM Home Page ||
|| Winter Projects 2008 - 2009 ||
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02/15/2008
With the help of Sandy at Kimpa Yacht Sales, I purchased Crab Louie from Mr. Frank Smith who had bought her new. She spent over 25 years in her first home port of Rochester, NY sailing Lake Ontario. For the last few years, her second home port was Green Pond on Cape Cod. Boat now on the hard at Sun Self Storage in Falmouth, MA. Survey by Capt. Charlie Hutchinson indicated she was in very good shape.
Ordered a new main from DiMattia Sailmakers. Storm jib, 120 jib and 150 genoa were sent to SailCare for cleaning and rejuvenation. The 120 bolt rope near tack needed to be re-sewn to the luff. Purchased New England Ropes 3/8" Sta-Set X main and jib halyards from Milwaukee Rigging to replace the relatively new wire/rope halyards before the mast is re-stepped.
03/30/2008
Jim Love helping today, about 40F. Brrrr! Glad it was at least sunny. Removed winter cover, re-attached stanchions to bases, inspected and re-rigged lifelines. Frank replaced the standing and running rigging in 2000. He left me the original halyards and standing rigging, which were brought home. (Several years ago, Frank sanded the keel down to bare metal, primed and then coated it with two coats of Interlux VC Tar, followed by several coats of Interprotect 2000E sealer. Bottom was painted with West Marine PCA Gold ablative.) Inspected the cast iron keel; multiple pinhole bleeding rust spots and several surface bulges (up to ~1/4" high) noted. Spot scraped these (several of the larger bulges dripped a few drops of water), and sanded to metal with 80 grit. Lightly sanded entire keel with 80 grit. Wiped down keel with acetone. Primed bare areas with 3 coats of Pettit RustLoc. When final coat of RustLoc was still tacky, painted entire keel with one coat of West Marine PCA Gold ablative. Curious to see how this holds up! Disassembled, cleaned and lubricated seacocks. Despite the boats age and the surveyor's concern that the conical plugs might be frozen, the plugs were very easy to remove, quite clean, and must have been serviced on a regular basis by Frank. I removed the old grease residue with WD40, lightly sanded the cones and bodies with emory cloth, applied lithium grease and re-assembled. Considering switching to Spartan Seacock grease. Spartan tells me they supplied the seacocks for many Pearson's including the P26. Secured mast (which was un-stepped and on deck cradles) and boom (stored in cabin); boat to be transported to Hewitt's Cove Marina, Hingham, MA for commissioning. Measured space under companionway step for small cooler. Cooler may be up to 16" deep, and 14" high if less than 20" wide. At most, the cooler may be 22" wide, but then only 12 3/4" high due to folding step design. Looks like the Igloo Marine 25 or maybe Coleman Marine 28 quart coolers will fit.
04/07/2008
Boat hauled from Falmouth to Hewitt's Cove Marina by Mr. Dana Smith on a hydraulic trailer. Partly cloudy, 45 F and windy. Cathy Hession stopped by for a quick visit. Stands which came with the boat were brought home since Hewitt's uses their own stands for insurance reasons. Removed wooden extension used to support Porta Potty. Sanded hull bottom with 80 grit in preparation for painting. Noticed three (new?) rust pinholes on keel which have appeared. These will get the same treatment as above.
04/09-11/2008
At home -fiber glassed wooden deck of Porta Potty support; mounted Thetford 735 hold down brackets (JB Weld for rear bracket since support deck flush with hull liner at rear and did not want to drill more holes in boat; SS bolts for front bracket). This replaced an older SaniPotti 960 with a leaking flush bellows. Miracle of miracles; Frank's handmade base was the near perfect size for the Thetford 735. With the hold downs mounted, there is less than 1/16" clearance to unlock unit!
04/13/2008
Partly cloudy in AM and 45 F. Short burst of light rain in mid-afternoon. Treated the few remaining pinhole rust spots with RustLoc. Cleaned up and sanded a few small areas with flaking bottom paint. Applied a single coat of West Marine PCA Gold ablative to entire bottom (Cathy and Rich Cate working on her 1991 Sabre 34 (Water Music) in yard today. Cathy helped paint starboard side; we'll be doing her boat's bottom next week). On Crab Louie's hull, rolling on new bottom paint pulled away a couple of small spots; these will be scraped, sanded and re-coated next week. Will consider pressure washing bottom next season to remove any (additional) loose paint. Mounted Porta Potty support; and installed Thetford 735 (literally now ready to go!). Tried Spartan grease in starboard seacock. Very thick and sticky. Even with a thin coat, could not slide the conical plug in far enough and get the keyed keeper onto the plug end. Reverted to a thin coat of white lithium grease. No leaks please. Attached Spartan seacock handle to starboard seacock; same for port side later. Replaced zinc anode and prop nut cotter pin on Yamaha 9.9 EXHR. Attached spreaders to mast with long cotter pins. Fuel cubby is 18.5" deep x 12 high x 12 wide. Sadly, fuel line and DC cables to engine enter cubby at ~8.5" high, so these might limit going to a larger tank (from current 3 gallons; will look for alternatives). Mounted new fire extinguisher in head. Drilled holes for bracket for another extinguisher in galley. Removed old registration stickers, mooring permit stickers and several letters in registration number. Coiled and re-attached extra coax behind radio to bottom of table aft of starboard settee.
04/19/2008
Sunny, 60 F; windy in afternoon. Scraped, re-sanded and touch up several small spots on bottom where paint did not adhere well; still need to do under boat stand pads. Applied new MA numbers and registration decals. Mounted new fire extinguisher in galley. Boat now has two. Replaced fitting on gas tank with Yamaha quick disconnect male style fitting; added female gas fitting to tank end of line to engine. Cathy helped me replace the main and jib halyards with the 3/8" StaSet X lines described above. We also rigged a Harken #001 2.25" (57mm) single block at the masthead and a 3/8" Cajun XLE halyard for (someday) a spinnaker. Mounted the Metz VHF antenna and the Davis Telo Spar Fly wind indicator on top of mast. Mast now ready to be stepped. Replaced all five light fixture receptacles with new ones from Perko; all switches on top were broken. Replaced all light shades. Cleaned/buffed port side of hull by hand with Starbrite Premium Cleaner Wax. Removed the fingerprints, stains. Nice hull shine! Helped Cathy paint the port side bottom of her sailboat, Water Music.
04/20/2008
Sunny, 65F. Cleaned/buffed port side of hull by hand to finish the job started yesterday. Re-did caulking under the rub rail in several spots using 3M Marine white silicone caulking. We'll see how this holds up. Filled oversize screw hole holding head light fixture with fast set gel epoxy; re-mounted fixture; re-inserted greased screw before epoxy had set up; will re-tighten later. Final application of bottom paint to areas under boat stand pads. Re-inserted/re-tightened inner gasket on left upper side of port porthole. Used rigging tape to cover cotter pins holding spreaders to mast. 7/8" wrench will not fit inner flanged nut on seacock (standard wrench is too wide and outer locking nut interferes); will call Spartan about their thin seacock wrench. Began to clean cabin interior. Painting supplies now taken home for the season (I hope).
04/27/2008
Cloudy, 55F. Noticed a large power boat had replaced the sailboat to starboard and that a very large houseboat now dominated the small area where I used to park. Also noticed that things at the masthead of Crab Louie looked quite amiss! Sometime between last Sunday and today, something must have hit the anti-bird perch barbs and VHF whip at the masthead. Both of the two foot long fiberglass barbs were shattered, marked with blue paint (quite similar in color to the yard travel lift; must be a coincidence!). Several broken pieces were still lying on the ground. The VHF whip was also bent and broke off at the base when wiggled! Everything else at the masthead appears OK. By some miracle, the wind indicator was unscathed! Replaced the Metz VHF whip and fiberglass barbs (cut from a white fiberglass rod for a driveway reflector) with new ones. Tightened the screw on light fixture in the head to complete that repair. Tightened both seacock backing nuts using the special Spartan wrench and a large adjustable. Attached new seacock handle to port seacock. Removed and discarded original 5/8" PVC tubing running from the water tank to galley sink; very ugly after 30 years; on list for replacement.
04/28/2008
The P26 mast load is distributed by a beam under the coach roof to compression posts hidden by the bulkhead. As seen in one of the pre-purchase photos, the small decorative trim pieces on either end of the beam were missing. Frank kindly left me the ones which had fallen off. As these were slightly warped and apparently made of a Formica-like laminate, I decided to make new ones. Using the old ones as templates, cut and shaped two new trim pieces from 1/8" teak veneer plywood obtained from Buck Woodcraft. Will mount in cabin later.
04/30/2008
Mast stepped by Wally and the crew from Foster Rigging. Scheduled for launch tomorrow.
05/01/2008
Sunny, 65F. Crab Louie launched! Dry as a bone. With Cathy helping, moved mast on-deck supports to car for home storage and rigged boom. Applied Boston Harbor mooring permit on port side near transom. Washed deck and cockpit using a Simple Green solution, a scrub brush and a 3M scotchbrite pad. Ran new hose from water tank to galley sink. Filled water tank; a few drips at inlet noted; tightened hose clamp on inlet line. Replaced O-ring on deck fill cap. Small brass screw holding bellows inside faucet pump broke during pumping. Drilled and removed with an EZ-Out. Repaired with new brass screw. Will re-assemble galley pump next time. Yamaha 9.9 4 stroke started right up; cleaned out obstruction in water bypass to get nice stream. Ran motor for about 15 minutes. Will change plugs next time. Cleaned cabin sole; shook out carpet. Cut non-slip shelf liners for galley cabinet; stowed Origo 1500 stove and additional storage containers. Mounted new decorative trim piece to port mast compression post; need to remake trim for starboard side. Mounted a Life Sling on starboard stern rail. Cathy's boat, Water Music, also launched today.
05/03/2008
Rain, 45F. Adjusted standing rigging; final adjustments to be made under sail. Cathy helped me rig the used Soling main Frank bought from Mark Healy at the BHSC a few years ago. The new P26 main (made in the Philippines) is delayed in Customs; hoping for delivery next week. Broke old galley pump again during re-install! Gave up on repair and installed a new Whale Flipper Pump MK4 (self priming lever operated hand pump). Fit perfectly. Changed spark plugs in motor; lubricated threads first with anti-seize; 1/4 turn past snug. Mounted new trim piece on starboard side of compression post to complete repair. Re-routed coax cable over wet locker. Masthead light not working; hope Foster Rigging mated internal connectors at mast base; will have to check masthead voltage and bulb at spreaders; fuses appear OK. Checked fit for cooler under step. Coleman 16 quart perfect height, but wider, deeper still possible. Cathy's boat, Water Music, in next slip to starboard. Checked operation of her sea cocks in head; all OK; appear to be larger Spartan cone type. Belt tension on Water Music diesel OK.
05/07/2008
Sunny, 75F. Using a Loos PT-2 gauge, adjusted tension on upper and lower shrouds to 200 lbs; adjusted fore and back stay tension to 300 lbs. Will recheck again. Coleman 28 quart cooler fits perfectly under companionway step with some width to spare.
05/08/2008
Sunny, 70F. Verified tension on upper and lower shrouds at 200 lbs; verified fore stay tension at 300 lbs. May need to go higher. Applied silicone sealant around base of new manual water pump in galley. Replaced old strainer to manual bilge pump with Whale SB4222 side entry model. Filled oversize screw holes for one of the companionway step hinges with epoxy. Re-inserted greased screws. Will tighten later.
05/10/2008
Cloudy, 65F. Picked up new P26 main from Ralph at DiMattia Sailmakers. Christopher helped me replace the old main with the new one (Neil Pryde Sails Cruise Plus 7.4 oz Contender Low Aspect Dacron). Will be helping Cathy rig the sails on Water Music tomorrow.
05/16/2008
Cloudy, 60F. Increased forestay tension to 400 lbs. Verified operation of manual bilge pump. Verified open circuit to masthead light; may be blown bulb or disconnected coupling inside base of mast; voltage to switch OK. Plenty of room for new 12V receptacle next to panel. Moved small eye strap on starboard side aft under companionway to port side across from another one to allow rigging a line to prevent cooler from pitching forward in a seaway.
05/18/2008
Partly cloudy, 65F. Added another strain relief for VHF coax running behind mast compression post in head. Increased 3/16 shroud tension to 500 lbs; needed to work side to side to keep mast straight. Increased 7/32 forestay tension to 750 lbs. The headstay looked good pointing in 15 knots with 120 up. Minimal slack on leeward shroud. Will recheck again. Removed cracked lens from port bow light to verify design.
05/21/2008
Partly cloudy, 70F. Replaced plastic surface mount 12V receptacle with a SeaFit stainless steel model flush mounted next to breaker panel. Replaced older Ray Marine VHF with a West Marine class D DSC VHF650.
05/25/2008
Sunny, 70F. Something must have fallen on the port bow running light some time ago. Using a ball peen hammer, repaired dent in top of chromed brass cover and replaced broken lens with red Perko 0281DPALNS insert.
05/26/2008
Sunny, 80F. Reversed fill hose to water tank to fix minor leak at tank inlet; will check later to confirm that drip has stopped.
06/01/2008
Sunny, 80F. Engine oil level OK. With the battery fully charged and motoring, the West Marine class D DSC VHF650 radio gives a high input voltage alarm. There is no voltage adjustment or regulation on the Yamaha 9.9. It has a permanent magnet alternator with a diode bridge rectifier. The current house DC supply is a West Marine SeaVolt Group 24 MCA 650 starting battery installed in April 2005. With no load, the battery resting voltage is 12.45V; with the 5 cabin lights on (70W total), the voltage drops to 12.05V. With the engine just idling, and no other load, the system voltage is 12.75V. At high idle speed in neutral with no load, the voltage rises to 14.53V, and the VHF radio gives the high input voltage alarm. Tested semi-custom VHF/GPS/GPS DC power/computer serial cable. Mounted small box housing spliced wires and other inputs for VHF behind radio. Now with the GPS attached acting as NMEA 0183 "talker", the Class D DSC VHF (acting as "listener") displays Lat/Lon, direction of travel and speed. Can now use Maptech Offshore Navigator chart plotter software (also acting as "listener") running under Windows 98SE on an old IBM 760XL Thinkpad. In an emergency, the radio will transmit the GPS Lat/Lon data. Repaired small gel coat gouges in cockpit sole near companionway and on port side aft near window with Marine-Tex white epoxy filler; also filled several old screw holes in inner liner under cooler location. No evidence of leak from water tank since switching direction of inlet hose. Checked operation of port bow running light; OK. Verified tension on standing rigging as noted above; tweaked the upper stays to tune the 500 lb. load per stay. Thoroughly cleaned the entire cabin.
06/05/2008
Cloudy, misty, fog rolling in, 60F. Motoring at half throttle, system voltage measured at 14.34V. No high voltage input alarm by VHF. Will continue to monitor to determine alarm threshold. In 15 knot breeze with 25° heel, full main and 120, load on windward shrouds measured 850 lbs for both inner and outer stays. Slight slack noticeable in leeward inner stay. No further rig tuning planned at present. Cleaned water bypass again in Yamaha 9.9 to resolve obstruction limiting outlet flow.
06/08/2008
Sunny, 95F. John H (P26 Sundance) on the Pearson reflector suggested that the traveler on Crab Louie may be a Nicro-Fico X-track NF599/600; it certainly is. Currently, Crab Louie has adjustable traveler car pin stops which are difficult to operate (old style NF586X). This design is also subject to long term corrosion of the spring pin mechanism, which is not accessible. Rig Rite offers an upgrade kit. Kit on 4 week backorder! Replaced broken set screw on port stanchion brace. Cleaned woodwork in cabin with Murphy's Oil Soap.
06/14/2008
Partly sunny, 75F. Installed ForeSpar Twist Lock TFP-S (Quick Release) 19-32" tiller extension socket; if desired, can now rig the tiller extension to steer while sitting on the gunwale. Next project was to install components for a boom vang; Mark Healy from the BHSC tells me P26 vangs were a factory option. The distance from the boom (when the main is up) to vang bail at the foot of the mast is 22 inches. To achieve a vang angle of ~ 37°, mounted a Schaefer 90-28 2 3/4 x 3 1/2" stainless forged bail on the boom 29" from the mast. This is midway in the "Internet recommended" range of 45 - 30°. Since the boom is 2 1/2" wide, added 1/4" nylon washers to allow free movement of the bail. Attached bail using a 4 x 1/4" SS bolt and SS nut with nylon locking insert. Cut off excess bolt for a flush finish. Mounted Harken 57 mm H2621 Carbo fiddle at boom and 57 mm H2624 Carbo fiddle with cam and becket at base of mast. Rigged 3/8" yacht braid control line. Will shorten control line length after test sail.
06/21/2008
Sunny, 80F. Replaced original traveler pin stops with a 3:1 purchase control line system. The Nicro-Fico X-track NF-599 A3 conversion kit, from RigRite, included the NF 6512L & NF 6512R track-mount control ends with integral Schaefer double blocks and Ronstan cam cleats, two NF 659 car-mounted Schaefer control blocks with NF 644 beckets, and two 1/4" x 9' eye spliced control lines. Easy install. Also mounted a RigRite PP 54-1R 5/16" rams' horn reef hook at the mainsail tack. Repaired stripped screw holes in forward hatch support and hatch cutout trim with epoxy gel. Determined that the VHF high input voltage alarm (which occurs when motoring with a fully charged battery) can be resolved by adding a 45W load to the system (3 cabin lights on). OK, I'll turn on a few cabin lights when motoring to make the radio happy. Cleaned topsides with Simple Green solution to remove shoe marks and accumulated dirt.
06/27/2008
At home - Completed sunshade for cockpit made from the old Soling sail thanks to seamstress Sheila. Canvas measures 90" x 90" with 18" reinforced slit to allow rigging to backstay and still clear topping lift. Thread, reinforcement webbing, brass and plastic grommets and two awning support poles from Sailrite.
06/29/2008
Cloudy, 75F. Prepared rigging lines for new sunshade. Determined that awning support poles will work best at middle of each side. Will add two additional grommets to complete modification.
07/06/2008
Partly cloudy, 80F. Replaced broken plastic eye on mast for whisker pole with a stainless RWO-Marine R4252 spinnaker pole mast ring. Drilled two additional holes in traveler X-track to allow placement of new Rig-Rite control ends adjacent to rubber track end stops for maximum working range.
07/08/2008
Sunny, 88F. Repaired stripped screw hole in companionway hatch starboard track with Marine-Tex. Will re-seat screw later after adding a dollop of silicone sealer to the hole for good measure. Checked oil in Yamaha 9.9. No change from start of season. Noticed that one of the bolts used to mount the oil-water separator was missing and the other was quite loose, presumably due to vibration. Removed the unit and found the errant bolt and plastic washer in the bottom of the lower cowling. Re-assembled the unit. Will check these and other engine screws/bolts on a more regular basis. Completed sunshade by adding two grommets for support poles. Scrubbed topsides.
07/22/2008
Partly sunny, 75F. Changed oil cleaner in Yamaha 9.9 (Sierra Marine 18-7901 OEM for Yamaha 6G8-13440-00-00). Old cleaner trapped a few fragments of what appear to be carbon deposits which were retained by the very fine mesh screen.
07/30/2008
Partly sunny, 85F. Changed internal gas strainer in Yamaha 9.9 (Yamaha 646-24251-02). Replaced Tempo 5/16" in line external gas filter with Moeller 3/8" OD in line filter (part # 33317-10) since fuel line is 3/8" ID. Noticed that cooling bypass stream seemed weak; engine head and lower unit very warm but could still hold hand on these. Determined that no water was coming from upper cylinder bypass exit. Lower unit bypass exit seems OK, perhaps a bit slow? Will replace thermostat/gasket after flushing power unit with vinegar to try and clear blocked cooling passages in upper unit. Alternative is to use water or air pressure to clear passages. May need to haul and replace water pump impeller. For main outhaul, replaced old Schaefer 20mm single blocks with Schaefer 27 mm double blocks with front side shackles (SCH0223) to obtain better advantage. Cleaned topsides, cockpit and scrubbed hull to waterline on port side.
08/03/2008
Partly sunny, 80F. Removed the starboard genoa car for replacement as the sheave had broken. To access the nut to unbolt the forward track stop, Christopher and I had to remove the wood cabin trim panel and uncover the thru-deck bolts. Checked the thermostat in the Yamaha 9.9 to see if that was related to the cooling flow issue noted above. Low and behold the thermostat was missing but there was some salt buildup at the poorly swept sides of the housing! I suspect Frank forgot to put it back after a fresh water flush before winter storage. Will replace both the thermostat and gasket. Tried flushing the water jacket with vinegar then water. No improvement noted. Will try flushing in the reverse direction with fresh water using a large syringe barrel fitted with Tygon tubing, and if necessary, attempt to remove the upper bypass nipple for better access to the flow channel.
08/09_10/2008
Partly sunny, 75F. Cleaned cabin. Still trying to diagnose the weak (?) water flow out the engine cooling bypass (pee hole). Unable to clear the upper bypass port with syringe full of water using a tubing assembly. With a DC powered tire compressor, confirmed that the thermostat outlet and lower cylinder bypass lines were open; but the upper bypass port was plugged (to at least 180 psi pressure). Trying to remove the upper bypass nipple, I managed to pull out the small pipe in the nipple to which the hose attaches. Fortunately (!), I managed to get it back together and will replace later. Took off the engine valve cover hoping for access. No dice; will have to wait for winter overhaul. After noticing steam coming out the pee hole, I found yet another gritty obstruction at the outlet. Must be a Yamaha feature or old age (or both). Ordered a Clymer B788 manual (illustrated Yamaha 4 stroke outboard repair). All shall be revealed sooner or later!
08/24/2008
Sunny, 80F. Still suffering with temperamental cooling water flow from Yamaha T9.9. Several minutes away from the mooring, steam was coming both the bypass and exhaust outlets. Not a good sign. Had no choice but to slowly motor back to the mooring. Let the motor cool down. After several apparently unsuccessful attempts to find an obstruction, the flow returned. The water pump is evil and must be rebuilt. Interestingly, now when the engine is shut off, the water flow persists for ~ 5 seconds. Replacement parts on order! Need to get into a dinghy to check the water inlets for obstructions. Hope to finish out the season before having to really tear this puppy down. While motoring, we keep three 15 watt cabin lights on; otherwise if the battery is fully charged, the radio complains about a high system voltage (unregulated DC from motor). This time, I forgot to turn the lights off after stopping the motor for about an hour; now radio complained about a low input voltage. Just can't win. Ok, the battery (engine start variety) is three years old after all, and not well suited for quasi deep cycle use when using house power on overnights. Added to the list. Replaced the broken genoa car with a Schaefer Marine SC30386. Will do the other side next season. Needed a 7/16" deep socket to tighten the forward track trim piece machine screw nut (behind the wood trim) in the starboard cabin. Before tightening, applied a dab of silicone sealant to the threads near the screw head as waterproofing. Also applied small amounts of Tef-Gel to the stainless screws holding the spinnaker pole mast ring installed earlier.
Partly sunny, 80F. Christopher and I spent the morning working on the outboard. Installed a new thermostat and gasket. The pee hole stream seemed a bit stronger but then we noticed a little steam coming from upper exhaust hole in lower leg after idling for a few minutes. We brought the boat into a slip to pull off the lower unit. Using mover's blankets to protect the deck, we moved the T9.9 onto the cockpit sole. Fortunately, there was enough slack in the battery cables so these did not need to be disconnected. Removal of the lower unit involved uncoupling the shifting rod at an exposed break point in the middle of the lower leg. After removing four nuts, the lower casing was separated by using small block of wood as a drift while gently tapping the block with a hammer. Removing the upper water pump housing was also easy; indeed the impeller look quite new. Pulling up the wear plate underneath, however, revealed a big problem. The right side of the lower pump housing had a V-shaped hole near the top which must leak air into the pump. Even if Monahan's Marine had the part in stock (they did not), the drive shaft must be pulled just to replace this part! That involves disassembly of the gearbox and special tools! So, chewing gum and bailing wire time. We took the lower unit home. Cleaned up the lower pump housing mating surface with a grinding stone on a Dremel tool and filled the gap with JB Weld. Then installed a well greased mating gasket/wear plate/upper housing assembly and waited for the epoxy to set-up. Here are a few pictures of the process.
[; after one full season, found repair leaking and close to complete failure - switched to a used lower unit as replacement]
08/31/2008
Sunny, 80F. With the epoxy set, did a little shaping with the Dremel on the epoxy to match the the flow channel contour. Since the other parts looked OK, re-assembled the water pump using same parts. Hauled this puppy back to the boat. Don and I re-assembled the outboard expecting to be back up and running in ~ 30 minutes. Wrong! After installing the "repaired" lower unit, we mounted the beast on the transom and started it up. No water coming out the pee hole or anywhere else we could see. *@#$%&. We muscled it back into the cockpit (the damn thing is really heavy; 100 pounds used to seem a lot lighter) and took off the lower unit again. We noticed that the grease lubricating the water pump exit was not disturbed, as if the water tube going to the power head did not mate properly during re-assembly. There is a channel inside the lower leg in which the water tube rests to ensure alignment with pump outlet grommet. This time we made sure that everything was lined up properly. To access the shift linkage coupling nuts, it worked best not fully seat the lower unit; upon mating the lower unit, thread the nuts but leave about a 1/4" gap, make the shift linkage connection and then tighten the nuts. This time we did have water flow, but not very much. Lots of colorful language at this point. To make the situation even more depressing, we had lots of steam coming from the pee hole and exhaust after a few minutes under load! By now I was thinking screw this BS, junk this tired old motor and buy a replacement. During lunch, we and the motor all cooled down. Not satisfied to leave it alone, I found the plastic pee hole outlet badly obstructed with several large chunks of grit. Simply passing a thin wire blindly up the pee hole is woefully insufficient as the wire can skirt around an obstruction. With the latest grit obstruction cleared, the engine pees like a racehorse! We managed to break the plastic keeper on the pin which adjusts the motor angle (tilt rod assembly). In the full down position, the motor skeg acts as a rudder stop. Wired the pin in place for now. So, after almost three hours (including a nice lunch), we were able to get underway. Let's hope this temporary fix holds for a few weeks. Frank had suggested pipe cleaners were good for cleaning the water outlet; I now have a piece of equally thick weed whacker line for this purpose. Lastly, the Moeller in line gas filter internal element broke free from the housing despite being installed a few weeks ago. Replaced with a smaller in-line 5/16" hose gas filter from the Ace hardware store meant for lawn mowers!
09/01/2008
Sunny, 80F. Taking advantage of some dock time at Spectacle, scrubbed the starboard waterline with Simple Green. On the way home, while on deck dropping the main sail, the outboard stalled in forward gear at idle speed in a very strong headwind and opposing tide. Will check compression before haul out. Back on the mooring, I was able to remove the upper cylinder water bypass nipple using a careful twisting motion with vice grips. Probing the upper water passage with a stiff wire, I managed to dislodge some chunks of salty/muddy grit. My guess is that there is a lot more of this to be removed. Will have to keep working at this. At home, re-soldered the exit pipe to the upper bypass nipple as I had broken it earlier and it was only put back together using a press fit. Will try probing the flow path with a piece of weed whacker line.
09/04/2008
Sunny, 85F. Tried probing the upper bypass flow path with a piece of weed whacker line; got out a bit more grit but still plugged. Re-installed repaired nipple and re-connected hoses. Noticed that throttle cable housing is broken at entrance to lower cowling making throttle action a bit erratic. Repairs will await haul out. Cleaned the topsides. Rear bracket on support deck for Porta Potty came loose; brought support deck home for repair.
09/05/2008
Cloudy and humid, 80F. Re-installed repaired support deck for Porta Potty. Tropical storm Hannah arrives tonight; heavy rain and 35 to 40 knot winds with gusts to 50 forecast. Added additional lashing to mainsail cover, verified that tiller is secure. Stored LifeSling in cabin. Mark helped me move the boat to a recently serviced mooring.
09/14/2008
Partly sunny and humid, 75F. Checked the compression on the T9.9. After a ten minute warm up with both plugs out, upper cylinder about 118 psi, lower cylinder about 105 psi. Borderline with regard to specification (+/- 10 psi). Took about ten seconds of cranking for both readings to get to maximum. Top plug had normal wear and tear, bottom plug was lightly fouled with dark almost greasy deposits. Did not re-check after squirting oil in each cylinder to see if valve adjustment may be a factor. Learned that 90 lbs is the minimum per cylinder, and that a head cleanout and carburetor rebuild may be good enough for a few more years.
09/21/2008
Sunny, 75F. Cleaned cabin, measured deck dimensions for supports for winter cover.
10/13/2008
Overcast, 60F. End of the season. Sheila and I emptied the boat; nearly everything fit into the station wagon but the cabin cushions which will come home next time. Installed the winter hatch boards. Added 1 gallon of -50F potable antifreeze to the empty water tank. Ran the motor out of gas. Gas tank taken off as a fuel supply for snow blower (ugh!). Boat left at service dock to be hauled out later today. Sails brought home, folded and stored. Battery in the warm basement awaiting hookup to trickle charger.
10/25/2008
Overcast, 65F. Sheila and I took the cabin cushions and rug home. Installed the emergency tiller so the real tiller could be taken home and re-finished. Re-attached the back stay, which was disconnected so boat could be moved. The main halyard was used by the marina a temporary backstay. Scrubbed the hull, but still have to deal with stains at the water line. Noticed some pinhole rust spots on the keel. Will deal with those in the Spring. Loosened the starboard shrouds ~ 5 turns each; stored the boom in the cabin. Once the engine is removed for service, the boat can be covered. Lifted all locker and bilge covers to improve ventilation.
10/26/2008 [Water Music]
Sunny, 65F. Helped Cathy and Shawn get Water Music ready for Winter. Brought boat into dock and removed the Zodiac, outboard, interior cushions and other large items. Took sails off, folded and bagged. Several car loads of assorted gear now stored in Cathy's garage. Placed several cases of potable antifreeze aboard to be added to water tanks and engine cooling system.
10/31/2008
Sunny, 55F. Jim helping today. Took Yamaha T9.9 off stern; will attempt repairs. De-rigged lifelines and stanchions; stored in cabin. Emptied water tank of previous anti-freeze treatment. Added another gallon of -50F potable antifreeze to the empty water tank. Filled small split in rub rail with silicone sealant to prevent water ingress prior to further repairs. Rudder has more play than desired; will replace bearings in the spring. Noticed numerous pin hole size rust spots on keel. Will re-finish keel in spring. Arranged for boat to be shrink wrapped. Now for the Winter projects at home.
Season Totals; Tanqueray 10: 750 mL; Gas: 13 gallons; Emptied black water: 5 times.
See Winter Projects 2008_2009 for off season activities
Yamaha T9.9 repair parts inventory / installation history
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