Mast Alignment and House LED's

Today, after work, I met Jack Webb from s/v Drifter at the boat and he helped me to align the mast as much as we could while the boat is on the hard. The balance of the mast alignment and tuning will be completed when the boat is in the water. Jack is a very experienced West-sailor and has helped me on more than one occasion. Check out his boat and the great job he did in refitting s/v Drifter. He actually had a cold but still came over to help me out. Thanks Jack, feel better!

Then I moved on to a fun job. I just didn't feel like getting into anything too complicated. So... to the main cabin LED lights. I simply used Multi-Colored Waterproof LED lights from Amazon, ($13.62 BTW), and PVC Outside Corner Molding from Home Depot.

Fair seas and God bless!

Whisker Stays

I emailed Bud Talpin, (Mr. Westsail), and asked him about using a heavy duty chain for Whisker Stays. The WS's that came with the boat were damaged in storage when they were off the boat and I had easy access to some heavy duty 1/4" chain that would save some money if I could use it. Bud replied quickly as always, (thanks Bud), and let me know the chain would be fine for WS's since their load limit is minimal, but he was quick to inform me not use chain for the Bobstay or Boomkin Stays. That was good news, my Bobstay and Boomkin Stays are in good shape and already installed.

So, equipped with my 24' 1/4" heavy duty chain, shackle, and two 3/8" turnbuckles, and a substantial borrowed boltcutter, the WS's went up.

Another Westsailor in the marina, Jack, came over to help with some standing rigging issues, (thanks Jack), but that is a work in progress and will come to light in a later post.

Then... you guessed it... more rain!

Fair seas and God bless!

The Boom is Up... The Rain Comes Down...

Well, I managed to get the boom back up on the mast today. Though I do not have the rigging finished on the boom, I at least got it re-installed... then,... I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count... RAIN! Here's what I seem to run into almost every boat workday for the last three months... (only a slight exaggeration).

I still have an extensive punch list and only a month to go before the Florida East Coast Rendezvous... not sure I'm going to make it. Maybe October will quiet some of these daily storms...maybe...

I will blog more work if it will quit raining so I can get more work done. #frustrated.

Fair seas and God bless!

In High Gear!

Today was a very productive day...I'm in high gear!

I completely reworked the new V-berth hatch. Despite my using a huge amount of butyl tape in the original install, it still leaked, (I knew that job went in too easy and nothing is easy on a boat).  When I first installed the hatch, I cut the teak frame flush and inserted the hatch frame which had rounded corners. The problem was the rounded corners had no wood frame for the screws to bite into. So I had to make corner pieces, epoxy them in place, file those pieces to match the rounded corners of the frame and then reset the whole thing with almost a whole roll of butyl tape. I will still used some black caulk around the base to insure the leak proofing.

I installed a new fuel line to my new fuel injector. I then borrowed a starter battery, (my house and starter batteries are secured in the boat and I did not want to undo them), set up the water supply, and fired the engine up... NO LEAKS! I then changed the oil and prepared the engine for its professional tune-up and timing that will be accomplished on Thursday. Then Friday, the engine, timed and tuned, will go back in the boat.

Then, I installed the tiller and the boom cradle...

Then, I had a visitor stop in who was looking for something to eat...

Fair seas and God bless!

"A Tall Ship and a Star to STEER HER BY..."

In the poem, Sea Fever by John Masefield, the second verse of that poem has become somewhat famous, being used from Star Trek the original series, to Star Trek Five: The Final Frontier, to 66,000 quotes on the internet... the verse I speak of is, "And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;"

I used that verse when I stepped the mast, she was again a tall ship... BUT I had no way to steer her. My rudder lay on two sawhorses awaiting its repair and remount. 

Today, that is no longer true! Today, thanks to two new friends, John and Don, we wrestled the rudder back into place and now, she is not only a tall ship, but I can steer her. (Now if it will just quit raining in south Florida, I might find a star to steer her by).

A special thanks to Don and John for your help this morning. I can honestly say, I could not have done it without you.

This Westsail 32 is starting to LOOK like a Westsail 32!

Don (left) and John (right)
THANKS GUYS!

Hate the mismatched bottom paint
but that will be corrected with new black bottom paint
the week she splashes.

Fair seas and God bless!

The Rudder is Ready...

While waiting on a fuel line to arrive, I decided to prepared the rudder for its remount.

Most Westsail 32's have rudder cheeks; my rudder cheeks are gone and the previous owner filled and sealed the holes for the rudder cheeks. So, I decided, at this time I'll proceed with NO rudder cheeks and possibly add them later. (I do like the fact that five or six holes in the rudder are eliminated). The black bottom paint will go on the week of splash and cover the red bottom paint.

If I can get someone to help me, the rudder will be re-installed tomorrow.

Fair seas and God bless!

Working BETWEEN the Rain!

I guess the rainy season in South Florida is indifferent to my timeline and deadline. So, I'm working between the rain!

Today, I invented a fuel injector puller that finally managed to extract my leaky injector. (If you want to know how, shoot me a line and I'll fill you in). Then the rain came and I was forced to stop and cover the engine. When the rain ceased thirty minutes later I uncovered the engine and proceeded with the repair.

Then the rain came again, I covered the engine and thirty minutes later, I moved on to the next project on the splash list: Item 16 - Deep Cell Batteries installed. I decided to place the house batteries in the aft lazarette and believe that is the best location for them. There, the weight distribution will be balanced from side to side and the battery weight will offset the 130 feet of anchor chain weight in the bow, not to mention easy and quick access.

I secured the two 125 AH AGM batteries with six stainless steel threaded rods and aluminum bar. They aren't going anywhere once I finish the install with a piece of 2x2 teak to prevent front/back sliding.

Then the rain came again...I called it a day.

 Fair seas and God bless!

Back to Work!

Well I've been back from California for a week and it has not been as easy to get back to work on the boat as I thought it would be.

I had a wonderful time with my son, my daughter-in-law, and my three grandsons. The sights were amazing, (Google, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Redwoods, and San Francisco). The food was fantastic, (my son is quite the chef), as well as dining out at Super Duper Burgers, (did I mention my favorite food is HAMBURGERS?). The weather was wonderful and the laughter and smiles were frequent.

So, once back, I lagged a little in getting back in the swing of hot and sweaty boat work. That being said, I did manage to accomplish a couple of things; the rudder is painted and ready to be reinstalled, and the underwater lights are installed.

The next six to eight weeks are going to be a blitz! I have to have her in the water and at the marina where I will live aboard, by the end of October, or I may lose the slip I have reserved as well as my deposit to hold it. So buckle your seat belts, easy or not, the next few weeks will be wide open splash work for this man and this Westsail 32.

Pics below, (I included a couple of pics showing the lights as they look in the water on other boats).

I know, my boomkin tangs have to be replaced...

Fair seas and God bless!