My Whitby 42 Blog

This exhaust thing is driving me nuts.  Just when I think I have it, A new wrinkle.  The exhaust pipe for the generator needs to come out of the generator, and go DOWN BELOW THE FLOOR!.  Yes...so if you had it in you garage, it would have go down into the concrete.  So I had a choice, raise up the generator (weight up high = Bad), hard to mount a 400 lb vibrating machine up in the air.  So I chose to go down with to the lift.  It actually turned out as a really neat job.  The piece I cut out of the floor was then re-fiber glassed on the angled hull below to make a shelf.  Lift box fits right in.  Now I just need another elbow and I can connect it.  2 holes in the background are for the fuel lines going to the centre fuel tanks (I have 2 now).

I reattached the auto pilot and steering cables.  The boat is Hydraulic steering.  I have read all the arguments about hydraulic vs. cable.  I final decided that I have been driving a car with hydraulic steering for 24 years.  Can't be too hard.  I have the extended rudder to fight against the weather helm.  I understand how to trim a mizzen mast.  I have sailed double masted sailboats WITHOUT a rudder....just not this big.  And most importantly, it was cheaper to re-install than to change. (all the other arguments were really for nothing after looking at the price and amount of work). 
 
Here is the before:
You will notice that the rudder feedback, on the left hand side, was hanging by some sort of 2x4 construction that was screwed on with regular screws.  It ripped out when I was holding it and sneezed (well, not really but close).
The white round thing.......know idea.  I think it may have been attached to some sort of wind steering system that used to be with the boat but is now gone.  I took it all out and took a piece of bullet board and fiberglassed it in at the exact precise angle. give or take a few degrees.  This was the entire reason for the boards before. The board needed to be at a right angle to the rudder post.   Much neater now.  The new yellow looking board is just a piece of plain plywood that has been varnished to support the autopilot.  All lines for my steering are now flex lines rated for thousands of lbs of pressure.  The system only uses a few hundreds.  I ripped out all the copper lines that were great big green blobs after 30 years.
 
 


 

The dodger people, Sportech out of saint Catherine's Ontario are doing the work.  This was after their second visit.  The hardware is all installed and the panels are now being finished.
 
Thanks to Gerry and the idea for the Ipe wood.  The railing in the cockpit were dead, rotted away, and then destroyed as I tried to take them off.  Gerry recomended looking into Ipe wood.  Much cheaper, nice looking, and also very rot resistant.
We got it from Century Mill Lumber in Stouffville Ontario. (Central ontario).  Cost $3.99 a linear foot for 1x6 board.  Each board is about 6 feet long.  Not quite done attaching.  Were rushed to get them in before the dodger people arrived.  It is all happening at once as the weather has suddenly improved.  It actually feels like spring this week. .....even if it did snow last week.
 

I waited for a cold and very windy day.  I took off the bottom pain down to the old barrier coat.  I will re-coat and then repaint.
Hull looks good.

With the help of Geoff and Henry, we three football coaches were able to get the swim platform on.

I still need to attach a few bolts but it came out great.  Not a great picture, I will update later.

Discovery:  Dry erase pens are great for writing on the hull of a boat.  Comes right off when you want it too, but great for making nice marks you can read.  There are 2 points on the swim platform that the davits will eventually attach too.  That should happen soon.  The stern rail is now up on the boat, but not bolted down.  I need to get that done before the davits are finished.  The stern rail is a custom altered rail that is extended forward.  I also had a gate put in the back for the swim ladder.  Will update all the pictures after the davits are on.
 

(platform is still wrapped in plastic)
 

Had to get rid of the pool to rent the house.
 

A fellow Canadian asked me what prompted me to want to go on a sailing trip for a year to the Bahamas.......he asked me while it was snowing on April 22nd.  Enough said.

I need to keep up with pictures, but I am not always good at it.

Other jobs that are all happening at the same time are:

1.  Just epoxied freezer tops (Corian) to insulated lids and attached pull handles.
2.  Have run almost ever wire I can think of....except Solar Panel wires.  I want to make sure it works first.
3.  Run ever fresh water pipe, connected every sink.
4.  Ran hydraulic lines for hydraulic steering.
5.  Added more insulation to engine room.
6.  Ran wires for engine room (Blower fans, lights, etc...)
7.  More wiring at the never ending Control panel area.
8.  Ran all the wires up to the cockpit controls above the hatch (See post with wood work).
9.  Cleaned up all the parts of the auto pilot.  Epoxied in a new support for ruder feedback controller and a support board for the electronic portion.  Ready to re-install all of it.  I will post pictures when done.
10.  Epoxied in a support for the salt water pump
11.  Got rigging be redone by the Rigging Shoppe in Toronto.
12.  Have Sportech Sails people coming to make the new dodger bimini measurements 
13.  Desperately trying to think of a boat name.
14.  Purchased and measured out the in mast wires.  They are ready to run.  But I need warm weather.  It STICKS, and I mean you skin, when handling an aluminum mast in the freezing cold.
 

Non boat related, but Trip related:

1. I have posted my house up for rent July 1st for one year.  Anybody interested?
2. Sold my above ground pool (yes it is filled with ice!...later post will make this meaningful)
3. Started selling my furniture that I don't want to pack up.  One bed gone.
3b.  Got the kids selling everything they can think off.  Books, legos, games, etc...  Kids get to keep all the money, so that has inspired them.  They have made almost $100 each so far.
4. Trying to sell the green house I used for storing boat stuff.
5. Hired Andrews Trucking to take the boat to Virginia.
6. Hired a crane to lift up the boat and put it on the moving truck.
7. Trying to sell the cradle
8. Scheduled a marina to keep my boat for 2 weeks while I get the finishing touches on in Virginia before we start the trip. 
9. Figuring out home schooling (Should be easy as I am a high school teacher and wife is a University Prof).
10. Trying to stay as normal as possible. (which for me is not very normal).
11.  Got the kids U.S. Passports (i'm American, wife is Canadian)
12.  Looking into forwarding mail
13.  Looking into WIFI, Cell phones, SSB etc...
14.  Keep up this website.
15.  Started planning the going away/birthday party.  Kids both have birthdays in June, just before we go.  So we might make one big even.
 
And all the other normal stuff that comes with kids, like soccer, guitar, badmitton, birthdays, etc...
 
But that is all really that is happening here.  Most nights are pretty calm.......haha
 

I debated where to put these. 
Criteria were:
1. Just above the water line to make clean out easier. (check)
2. Quick and easy access. (Check)
3. Close to each other so I could interchange them in an emergency. (Check)
4. Not in the way of other things...or me when moving in the engine room. (unknown)
5. Close to the engines. (check)
  
So I have set them up just inside the engine room.  You can access them from the hall way.  
One for the generator and one for the engine.

Above them is one of the wiring junction that will eventually go up to the pedestal.(anchor controls, GPS power, GPS NMEA wires.)

While looking at the sailboat Real Life, off in the Bahamas, I saw this picture of a plate shelf. (my name for lack of a better name).  So I decided to copy it and build my own.  Not quite done.  Still need to put the face on, sand smooth and varnish....yes more varnishing.  Tara will be so happy I made some more work!

Just the shelves directly above the fridge/freezer tops.  I am not making the smaller spice shelves.
I dado cut the the shelve and sunk the dividers in.  Then epoxied it together.  The sides are epoxied as well.