[typhoontye]

Skipmac,

I mounted my whisker pole on the front of the mast. My pole is 13 ft, collapsed, and I typically set the inboard end about 5 to 5.5 ft off the deck when I have the jib deployed on the pole. So four feet should not be a problem for you. That being said, my track bottom is only 33 inches from the deck and I think you should be able to find a longer track than 10 feet, if so desired. I believe mine is a Harken, though I cannot swear to it.

David
Blue Moon

[typhoontye]

Hello Rich,

 

I replaced a 2.5 by 3 ft section of deck on the port side, basically adjacent the forward hatch and extending to the edge of the deck house.  This is about the broadest contiguous area of the deck, and I replaced it due to what I considered excessive flexing.  I also had ‘crackling’ underfoot, over most areas of the deck on the deck house, but the flexing was in the area described.    What I found was, that the balsa core was in remarkably good shape, which was in a way a drawback because it was hell removing it.  Why was the deck flexing?  I simply don’t know.  But now, it is pretty darned solid.  I took core  samples with a 1 inch paddle bit throughout the rest of the deck, on the cabin top, and found no rot, no wet balsa, and no good reason to proceed with more core replacement.  I believe that the crackling sound that I hear is related to the plywood batts that are screwed to the bottom of the deck, and to which the cabin ceiling is screwed.  Someday, I may remove the headliner and the batts, and re-install the batts in a wet bed of thickened epoxy.  That should eliminate the noise and strengthen the deck to boot. 

 

I too did the stanchion bases.  I ground out the glass and balsa all the way to the bottom fiberglass layer, and built it back up with solid biax glass.  Perhaps overkill, but pretty solid now.  I also found the balsa core in the stanchion base areas to be in remarkably good shape, except for on two or three where I found wet balsa and or rotted and missing balsa. The damage looked much worse from on top, before I started the project.  A lot of fiberglass or gelcoat cracks.  Also the stanchion bases were pretty loose which turned out to be for the most part loose nuts on the underside.

 

David

 

[typhoontye]

Hello Rich,

 

Haven’t replaced the sender yet.  Mine is an aftermarket device that is bonded to the top of the extruded exhaust manifold near the exhaust end, and it measures surface temp, not water temp.  Surprisingly, during my test run, this area of the engine only runs 170 to 180 degrees.  I suspect the sender and need to do a bit more research.  I don’t know why the PO installed this sensor and apparently discarded the original, which would have been located in the thermostat housing, I believe.  The wiring for the original sensor appears to be gone, and I’m having a hard time making heads or tails of the wiring to the aftermarket unit.  So I have the choice of rewiring to the original location and purchasing an original equipment sensor, or finding something to replace what I have that will alert at a more appropriate temperature.  Or at least that’s the way I see it.

 

The PO has a switch on the buzzer (bell in my case) already.  And I agree with you, I am uncomfortable using it, and when I have, I watch the instruments closely.  But this situation has to go

 

David

 

[typhoontye]

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Hello Roger,

 

I took the temps with the engine cover and cowling fully removed, then I re-installed the cowl and the cover, ran for 10 minutes or so, then removed the lid and immediately took more readings.  I was a little surprised that the readings didn’t really change.

 

One thing I didn’t do, but in retrospect wish that I had, is shut off the water going to the house hot water heater to see if that would make a difference.  Perhaps that would force more water through the engine water jackets and result in better cooling? Don’t know.  My hot water heater takes engine coolant from the thermostat housing and returns it to the line just prior to the fresh water (circulating) pump.

 

On the buzzer, the PO apparently did install a switch down by the bell itself, in the Port side lazarette.  A little un-handy to get to, but it works.  But, I really think the buzzer (bell, in my case) is coming on too early.  Perhaps the overheat detector is defective. The detector is bonded with epoxy to the top of the extruded exhaust manifold (flow controller) near the exhaust end.  I expected the temps to be very high at this point on the engine, and attributed the pre-mature ‘alerts’ to this factor.  But according to the infrared heat detector, this is actually a pretty cool part of the engine, measuring 170-189 degrees.  I need to do some more research on this one.  Perhaps I just need a new detector.

 

Thank you for your correspondence on this issue!

 

David

 

PS, the diagram didn’t come through, but appreciate the effort.  I possess the owner’s manual, and believe I have studied the diagram that you tried to send.

 

[typhoontye]

Hello all,

 

I ran the boat at 2200 RPM for an hour and achieved these results:

 

Cockpit gauge reading:  190-205 degrees

Thermostat housing surface reading (with infrared heat detector): 197-203 degrees

Heat exchanger, cool end: 118-130 degrees

Heat exchanger, hot end: 170-200 degrees

Galvanized exhaust pipe (between extruded exhaust manifold and exhaust elbow): 360-380 degrees

Extruded exhaust manifold surface temp: 170-180 degrees

 

Conditions were:

OAT: 92 degrees

Water temp: About 83 degrees

Humidity: 72 percent

 

Performance achieved:

SOG: 6.7 knots with a 7 knot head wind.  7.6 knots on a reciprocal heading

 

Maybe this is as good as it gets in the Summer.  I believe I am a bit over propped, as evidenced by my WOT max RPM of around 2850 RPM.  This doesn’t help, I know.  When I install the new flex o fold, this will hopefully correct this and perhaps the motor will run cooler.

 

One other problem I need to resolve is the overheat warning horn issue.  It activates under the conditions described above, and won’t shut off unless I pull power to the circuit.  My overheat transmitter is an after market piece, I believe.  It is mounted (bonded) to the surface of the extruded exhaust manifold and relies on surface temperature, not direct water temperature.  I was surprised to find that this portion of the engine (the surface of the extruded exhaust manifold) is relatively cool, measuring only 170-180 degrees under the conditions described above.  I wonder if any of you have dealt with this issue?  I don’t like disabling the warning circuit as a regular practice, for obvious reasons.

 

David

 

[typhoontye]

I don’t think so Bob.  The v-drive was replaced by the PO about  a year before I acquired the vessel, which was two years ago.  Still has the nice blue paint.  Plus, I pulled the hose to the raw water pump with the raw water seacock opened, and water flowed pretty rapidly.  I appreciate the thought.  I too wondered about restrictions in the v-drive.

 

Bought the infrared heat gun today for thirty bucks at Lowes.  Fun to play around with and I look forward to using it for its intended purpose!

 

David

 

[typhoontye]

Hello Rich,

 

The Awlcraft is an Awlgrip product that I will apply as a topcoat to the non-non-skid areas of the deck and cockpit.  I’m using Interlux Interdeck for the non-skid.  It was recommended by an avid J22 racer, who applied the product to her boat and is happy with its properties.  I also saw the product applied to a Seamaster 47 and it looked good.  We will apply the Awlcraft at my friends dock (if it ever stops raining for long enough), and roll on the Interdeck back at our marina.  I will keep the group apprised…

 

David

 

[typhoontye]

Thanks for the feedback guys.  It makes sense to invest in an infrared heat gun, and become more familiar with the heat of the various components under different conditions.

 

I’ve moved Blue Moon from my club marina to a friends house so I can spray the deck with Awlcraft.  Due to a spate of rain here, it looks like I will not make the return trip for a while, but will play with it on the return trip

 

David

 

[typhoontye]

Resending this from the web, as I don’t know if responses are getting out via the e-mail. In any case, e-mail responses don’t seem to be posting to the website.

Hello Rich,

I replaced a 2.5 by 3 ft section of deck on the port side, basically adjacent the forward hatch and extending to the edge of the deck house. This is about the broadest contiguous area of the deck, and I replaced it due to what I considered excessive flexing. I also had ‘crackling’ underfoot, over most areas of the deck on the deck house, but the flexing was in the area described. What I found was, that the balsa core was in remarkably good shape, which was in a way a drawback because it was hell removing it. Why was the deck flexing? I simply don’t know. But now, it is pretty darned solid. I took core samples with a 1 inch paddle bit throughout the rest of the deck, on the cabin top, and found no rot, no wet balsa, and no good reason to proceed with more core replacement. I believe that the crackling sound that I hear is related to the plywood batts that are screwed to the bottom of the deck, and to which the cabin ceiling is screwed. Someday, I may remove the headliner and the batts, and re-install the batts in a wet bed of thickened epoxy. That should eliminate the noise and strengthen the deck to boot.

I too did the stanchion bases. I ground out the glass and balsa all the way to the bottom fiberglass layer, and built it back up with solid biax glass. Perhaps overkill, but pretty solid now. I also found the balsa core in the stanchion base areas to be in remarkably good shape, except for on two or three where I found wet balsa and or rotted and missing balsa. The damage looked much worse from on top, before I started the project. A lot of fiberglass or gelcoat cracks. Also the stanchion bases were pretty loose which turned out to be for the most part loose nuts on the underside.

David

[typhoontye]

I suspect what has happened is that individuals profiles are dropping ‘general mailing list’. This is what happens to me. If I haven’t received anything in a while, I go to the site and check my profile, and invariably I need to re-check ‘general mailing list’. Only reason I saw you mail is because I did this. I believe most folks rely on getting e-mails.

In any case, work proceeds unabated on Blue Moon. Deck paint with Awlcraft complete, and still working the non-skid with Interlux Interdeck. Going well so far…still need to do side decks and foredeck. Hope to get the Bimini frame and dodger installed early next week.

David
Blue Moon, #189

[typhoontye]

I believe the gauge is accurate because it records 180 degrees as the engine warms, and regulates at that temperature very reliably, until the power is pushed up.  And I know the thermostat in the engine is a 180 degree thermostat.  And I did replace it with an official new Westerbeke thermostat (no change).  It could be that the gauge is off at the limit of the gauge, near 220.  And it could also be that I am being over particular on the temp, and should be satisfied with 190-200 degrees at higher power settings in the Summer.

 

David

 

[typhoontye]

Thanks for the responses, guys.  I failed to mention that I pulled the heat exchanger (both engine coolant and engine oil) and had them gone through and pressure checked at a local radiator shop that I trust.

 

I also didn’t mention that I ran a radiator flush through the engine to clean up any deposits in the block water jackets…ran the engine three times for thirty minutes with the radiator flush, then drained and refilled the system.  Don’t think it did a lot.

 

Another question: Do you utilize the coolant overheat transmitter in the thermostat housing to provide the overheat warning signal to your bell or horn?  On my engine, the overheat transmitter opening in the thermostat housing is plugged, and overheat warning is provided by a device that is bonded to the top of the extruded exhaust manifold housing.   It doesn’t measure coolant temperature, but surface temperature.  Due to its location, it is warning prematurely.  Don’t know why the PO did not use the standard overheat transmitter in the thermostat housing.  Perhaps cost was involved.

 

David

 

[typhoontye]

I’m sorta’ intrigued by Kiwigrip.  It’s water based and has good reviews for effectiveness and longevity. The non-skid feature of this product is applied by a textured roller, as opposed to an aggregate in the paint itself.  But…my wife favors a Pettit product, which also has good reviews.  I suspect we will apply the Pettit product.  But the Awlcraft will go on first.

 

 

 

[typhoontye]

Thanks Rich.  Sounds pretty straightforward.

 

David

 

[typhoontye]

On my previous vessel I had a similar experience.  I used a 4” grinder with a cut off wheel, as I recall.  Just sort of sliced it off with several cuts, right at the hole.  Alternatively, I suppose you could go with a thicker wheel and just grind into the hole until the wheel contacts the fiberglass, then move on and do it again and again, in sort of chain drill fashion.  Either way, you can’t really mess this up too badly.  If you cut into the hull too badly just fill with thickened epoxy.

 

David

#189, Blue Moon

 

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