And (Surprise, Surprise) Even More Boat Work

After I got off the plane from Montana on Friday, we drove over to work so I could file my trip report and pick up the CD2 firing module for the sail boat motor. Then we just had to go out to the Thai Thani restaurant so I could show the girls the dishes I had been talking about. Below is the work that was done this weekend.



In this picture, you can see that the cockpit has been fully painted. I decided not to paint the texture on the floor of the cockpit since I intend to put down a color-coordinated floor liner to combat the wear and tear it will have to endure. After the paint dried, new hinges and hasps were also installed on the fold-up cockpit seats too. The fuel tank was brought in to test-run the motor after the CD2 module was installed.

This picture shows the motor running and the water pump impeller / thermostat combo is working. I had to take the carb and fuel pump apart and clean them (of course) then the system had to be adjusted after running in gear for about 1/2 an hour. Everything looks good.

The Johnson 7.5 Sailmaster is an extremely long shaft outboard at 25 inches, but it is very good for our needs. I just wish it has electric start. I may try to install one at a later time, if I can find a starter motor small enough to fit into a pocket of the right-hand side of the motor. At least the alternator works too.

This is the position the motor will be locked into whenever we are sailing. This way, the bottom of the motor won't be dragging in the water while we're under sail.

I'm working on a linkage assembly and such so we can remotely run the throttle and gear shift. I'm also working on some kind of linkage so I can tie the motor to the rudder and steer the motor with the tiller handle. This extra effort will allow us to improve the steering response of the sailboat under power so we can steer her into a turn using the motor, rather than waiting until there is some movement of water flowing past the rudder before it can start to turn. It is going to be good to have if I can make it work.

After the motor work was done, Katrina and I spent the rest of Saturday installing and sealing the portholes into the openings. After the sun went down and while the girls were watching TV, I replaced the broken sail slugs on the Main Sail and re-riveted the gold aluminum headboard at the top of it too. Then today, I found a mini table saw rig I forgot I had, so I ripped the teak angle we had bought from Sailorman.com and made up the strips for each side of the cabin. (Sorry Uncle Frank, I just never seem to be in town long enough to set up a time to come by so I could work on it.) The strips were shaped at the ends, sanded smooth overall and then treated to a couple of coats of Cetol teak treatment. After they dried enough, I bolted them onto the cabin sides to help them take the shape while I'm on the road (again) this week. I wasn't able to get a picture of this work before the sun went down.

I decided to order a base for the mast and the front gooseneck mount for the boom. The mast came without a base and the gooseneck has a pin missing and an ear broken off of it. They were pretty inexpensive at $17.00 each. The mast / boom parts from Dwyermast.com and the sail hardware from Sailrite.com should be arriving this week, just in time for more work.