Gryphon IV Maintenance Log 2012

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|| Winterization 2012 Checklist || Winter Projects 2012 - 2013 ||

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  • deploy soft wood tapered plugs or equivalent at each thru hull fitting
  • inspect rigging and fixtures atop mast
  • inspect chain plates; re-bed cover plates
  • epoxy and Marine Tex caulked holes aft of vang attachment point to mast
  • epoxy and re-seat two outboard dodger attachment pins on port side.
  • inspect turnbuckle inside Questus radar mount tube
  • replace AC outlets with GFCI type
  • replace cones in Norseman Navtec fittings
  • re-torque 2GM20F head bolts

01/28/2012

Sunny, 48F.  It's been a mild winter so far!  Not much snow.  Time to get started getting Gryphon ready.  Had built a custom enclosure for the stereo over the Winter.  Installed over the hanging locker.  Almost done replacing the worn out brown foam trim in cabin.  Used 3.8" teak quarter round molding from Buck Woodcraft, stained lightly with Minwax 233 English Chestnut stain followed by two coats of satin polyurethane.  One 1 inch piece to go!

02/04/2012

Sunny, 50F.  Finished replacing trim in cabin.  Upgraded the black and white Raytheon RL70RC Radar/Chartplotter (part # M92670) with a Raymarine color RL70CRC unit (part # M92735).  A very nice improvement!  However, the color unit is 3" deeper than the B/W one.  Ordered some teak to design an extension for the backing plate of the enclosure at the Nav table.  Should look pretty good when done.  Serviced sea cocks in V-berth (black water pump out), head (intake), and port cockpit scupper; lubricated with Mercury Quicksilver anti-corrosion grease (SKU 802867Q 1).  Unfortunately, dropped the dog washer for the head intake seacock into the bilge under the floor.  Will try to retrieve later and complete the job  Have ordered silicone bronze washers (5/8" ID, 1 1/2" OD) from McMasters-Carr in case the original part cannot be recovered.  Touched up a few scratches on the cabin ceiling with Interlux Goldspar Satin 60 varnish.  Removed 3/4" ID hose from head intake for replacement.

02/12/2012

Sunny, 25F.  Windy!  Sheila and I first enjoyed the February "Blizzard Brunch" at the club.  Removed the cabin curtains to use as models for new ones from Seamstress Sheila!  Finished spot sanding the starboard hull bottom.  Too cold to finish the port side!

02/18/2012

Sunny, 43F.  Stanley's crew had started with the cutlass bearing replacement.  Prop, shaft, bearing, and packing gland now removed from the boat.  Finished prep sanding port side.  Serviced seacock for starboard cockpit drain.  Filled a few small depressions around anchor locker drain and black water through hull with Marine Tex. 

02/20/2012

Sunny, 40F.  Sanded Marine Tex repairs made earlier.  Spot treated any exposed gel coat below waterline with Interlux 2000E.  Initiated repairs on several gouges to hull using West Marine non-laminating (part # 12953873) white waxed gel coat tinted with a spec of yellow.  Surface prep first with MEK.

02/25/2012

Sunny, Very Windy, 40F.  Stanley's yard finished installation of the new cutlass bearing, drive shaft and re-packed gland.  The set screw on the starboard side was in OK stern tube threads.  Coated set screw with Loctite blue before tightening.  Threads on the port side are worn out.  Will repair these with epoxy.  Lightly sanded Interlux epoxy treated areas on hull from last week; applied a second coat of epoxy barrier coat.  When barrier coat had just dried, spot treated hull with Interlux Micron Extra.  Applied a second coat of white waxed gel coat tinted with a spec of yellow to complete filling a few remaining depressions on hull.

02/26/2012

Sunny, 45F.  Replaced head intake hose with 3/4" ID Trident Flex 100-250 hose.  Re-drilled port side stern tube set screw hole to cutlass bearing with 5/16" bit.  Sprayed a 1/4-20 bolt with WD-40.  Coated bolt with West System 105 epoxy thickened with 404 filler. Taped bolt  in place to set.  Hope the WD40 will serve as a release agent.

03/04/2012

Cloudy, 50F.  Finished servicing head intake sea cock.  Cleaned stern with TSP solution; allowed to dry and touched up lettering with Sheffield Super Bright gold enamel and Interlux 316 Dark Blue striping paint.  Finished minor gel coat repairs on hull.  Epoxy plug in stern tube to hold cutlass bearing port side set screw failed.  Cleaned out again and re-epoxied.  Will drill and tap; likely at another spot.

03/10/2012

Cloudy, 40F.  Re-sanded the epoxy repair to the stern tube.  Drilled and tapped a new 1/4-20 set screw hole 120 degrees apart (at 330 degrees) from the one on the starboard side (at 90 degrees).  Also dimpled the bearing.  The logic is that when the set crews are 90 to 120 degrees apart, the set screws force the cutlass bearing against the shaft log and provide three points of contact.  The combined friction points between the bearing and the shaft log prevents the bearing from moving fore or aft or rotating.  Coated set screw with Loctite blue before tightening.  Finished sanding prop in preparation for anti-fouling.  Treated exposed gel coat on stern tube below with Interlux 2000E.

03/11/2012

Cloudy, 52F.  Painted bottom with a single coat of Interlux Micron Extra thinned ~ 5% with Brush Ease 433.  A few spots left to touch up next time.  Stanley's will do under the stands on launch day.

03/24/2012

Cloudy, 60F.  Finished up bottom paint.  Removed Winter shrink wrap.  Re-painted 2/3 of boot stripe on port side (Interlux Brightside 316 Dark Blue).  Installed CAMP C3 1" ID donut collar zinc anode on shaft.

03/25/2012

Cloudy, 50F.  Sheila and Jan helping.  Took off the frame for the shrink wrap.  The RL70CRC is deeper than the RL70RC; installed the modified and re-finished teak trim/backing plate for the custom enclosure.

04/01/2012

Cloudy, 50F.  Started bringing cabin cushions to boat.  Re-painted cove stripe on port side (Interlux Brightside 316 Dark Blue). Spray painted prop with 3 coats of  Pettit zinc coat barnacle barrier.  Mixed 100% silicone caulking ~ 1:1 with a 50/50 paint thinner/MEK.  After mixing well, medium syrup consistency.  Pained a thin coat over the zinc spray treated prop.  We'll see if this helps keep the prop cleaner.

04/07/2012

Sunny, 52F.  Re-painted cove stripe on starboard side (Interlux Brightside 316 Dark Blue).  Replaced accent striping on port side with red 1/2" trim from Linear Designs, Mo.  Sanded and touched up Cetol Marine on port rub rail.  Picked up mainsail (now with full battens and hull number) and canvas at Thurstons.

04/08/2012

Cloudy, 50F.  Sheila helping.  Applied a second coat of  Cetol Marine to touch up spots on port rub rail.  Washed port topsides with Starbrite Boatwash. Cleaned port hull with Collinite # 920 Fiberglass Boat Cleaner using a variable speed buffer equipped with a 3M Superbuff Buffing Pad (#05703).  Next, waxed port topsides with Collinite's # 885 Fleetwax using a  3M Superbuff III Polishing Pad (#05705).  Re-rigged all halyards.

04/14/2012

Sunny, 58F.  Replaced accent striping on starboard side with red 1/2" trim. Polished and waxed  stern with Collinite products.  Mounted AIS receiver.  Flushed and filled water tanks. Installed quarter berth cushion.  Vacuumed interior.  Lightly sanded under starboard settee; applied a single coat of Interlux Goldspar Satin 60 varnish.  Briefly ran the diesel for the first time this season.  Start up sequence coming out of Winter layover; check oil (oil and filter replaced in the Fall), set decompression levers to "reduced compression" position, throttle to lowest rpm position, turn over engine for 15 seconds (to lubricate internal components), wait 15 seconds, turn over engine for 15 seconds again, set decompression levers to "run" position, throttle to ~1/8, start engine and adjust rpm to 800-1000 rpm.  Ran for only a few minutes since no water.

04/15/2012

Sunny, 75F.  Washed starboard topsides, polished and waxed as above.  Applied a second coat of varnish under starboard settee.  Removed leaking pressure relief valve from 1999 Isotherm "Regular" Type 0220 hot water heater.  The Raymarine RL70CRC resets itself intermittently when loaded with the (2010) C-MAP C301 NT+ chip.  It is OK, albeit temperamental, with the older (2002) C312.04 chip (Cape Cod and Long Island).

A replacement Isotherm "Regular" hot water heater safety valve (4 bar) on order from Isotherm-parts.com.  Phil at Jeppesen explained that the 2002 NA-C312.04 C-Map chip has an 8 Mb capacity.  The C prefix denotes an NT+ format.  After 2006, the NT+ chip format was increased to 16 Mb.  The 16 Mb format had additional data and was used in the Raymarine Plus series (e.g. RL70CRC Plus).  These units have a faster processor, more internal memory and HSB2 support.  This revised format simply has too much information on a single chip for the original RL70CRC internal memory and processor speed, which is why my unit hangs or resets.  The original 8 Mb NT+ chip needed for that older RL70CRC is no longer supported.  However, NT format chips (which predate the NT+ format and have less area coverage per chip) are still available.  To get the same coverage as the NT+ C312.04, two NT format cartridges would be needed.  For Cape Cod to Block Island only, the part number is NA-B-323.  For Long Island only, the part number is NA-B-324.  Ordered the NA-B-323 for this season.

04/21/2012

Cloudy, 65F.  Installed NA-B-232 C-Map chip in RL70CRC.  Works as advertised.  Installed 4 bar safety valve on hot water heater.  Water pressure from Jabsco pump (nominal 40 psi) opens this one as well. Will investigate further.  Touched up outer starboard rub rail with Cetol Marine.  All set for launch date next week!

The freshwater pump is a Jabsco Par Max 4 (# 30620-0012).  It has a 40 PSI pressure switch.  Given that the water heater pressure relief is a nominal 56 PSI, the tolerance of these spring loaded devices may overlap.  The standard switch (Jabsco # 37121-0010) cuts in at 25 PSI and shuts off at 40 PSI. The low pressure switch (Jabsco # 44814-1000) cuts in at 10 PSI and shuts off at 20 PSI.  Ordered a low pressure switch.

04/27/2012

Sunny, 50F.  Launch Day!  Replaced Jabsco fresh water pump switch.  Ran diesel to charge batteries.  Installed cockpit canvas.

04/28/2012

Sunny, 60F.  Adjusted freshwater pump switch turn on pressure.  Hanked on both  135 headsail and mainsail.  Rigged new sail cover.  Re-filled fresh water tank.  Lightly sanded and applied a final coat of varnish under starboard settee.  Repaired cockpit drinks holder.

04/29/2012

Sunny, 55F.  Installed new Sunbrella covered foam tubes on the stern safety lines made by Sheila.  Replaced impeller in the Johnson F4B-903 10-24509-01 water pump using the 09-810B-01 kit.  Set up the Avon inflatable at the BYC dinghy dock.  Began installed of new lazy jacks using a kit from EZ-Jacks purchased for our Pearson 26.  Will next have to go up the mast to install a set of cheek blocks above the spreaders for the control lines.

05/05/2012

Cloudy, 55F. Avon inflatable and Tohatsu 3.5A now at the club dinghy dock.

05/13/2012

Sunny, 75F.  There was a weepy fuel line fitting near the Racor.  Disassembled the fittings from fuel line to Racor; cleaned off old sealant.  Re-sealed threads on fittings with Permatex #3.  Bled fuel system.  Replaced CNG tank.  At hull speed, checked temperature at stuffing box with handheld laser IR thermometer; 106 F.  Yanmar ignition switch has broken; removed unit from Type B bezel.

05/26/2012

Sunny, 80F.  Replaced ignition switch (Yanmar part # 124070-91250).

06/17/2012

Sunny, 80F.  Yanmar 2GM20F coughed and stopped while motor saiing hard on the wind.  Would not bleed at secondary; suspected clogged filters.  Replaced the Racor R20T (10 micron).  Bled system; engine restarted.  Replaced 2GM20F secondary fuel filter (Yanmar part # 104500-55710) and filter housing O-ring (Yanmar part #24341-000440) once back on mooring.

06/22/2012

Sunny, 95F.   Repaired broken Racor 230R primer pump assembly (part # RK 20025).  Redid all fuel line threaded fitting connections at Racor with Permatex #2.  Several had been sealed with teflon tape which is not appropriate for fuel systems.  Replaced flapper valve (Raritan part #1228CW) and joker valve (Raritan part #C253) on PHII head.

06/23/2012

Sunny, 85F.  Replaced anchor chain (10 feet of 3/8" West Marine G40, part #6972939).  Replaced CNG tank to have a full one for the BYC Summer Cruise.  Still dealing with aftermath of engine quitting.  Rented a portable 12V fuel polishing unit from DePaul Diesel Service; Algae-X TK-180, nominal 3 gpm.  The unit was equipped with a Goldenrod 496-5 water block filter (15 micron rating).  Fuel tank half full (~10 gallons).  After 15 minutes of operation, vacuum rose to 25 psi.  Drained the bowl (some sediment and ~ 1 tbsp water), replaced the filter.  Continued polishing for 45 minutes; with new filter, vacuum rose to and remained steady at 6 psi.  Filled remainder of tank with fresh fuel; added a shot of ValveTech biocide.  Topped off fresh water tanks; pumped out holding tank, washed deck.

06/24/2012

Sunny, 85F.  Yanmar 2GM20F secondary fuel filter assembly had a drip.  Replaced the filter housing O-ring (part #24341-000440), copper crush washer aka packing (part #23414-080012) and nylon bleed nut washer (part # 23418-060000).  Washers snugged with a wrench then tightened an additional 1/3 turn.  Bled secondary filter assembly and took a test ride down river.  Not leaking now!  Added a few tbsps of 25% bleach to each water tank.  Patched a small scrape in the Avon 2.8 starboard stern tube.

06/28/2012

Sunny, 80F.  Avon 2.8 starboard tube still has a slow leak.  Found a leaky inflation valve.  Will replace over the winter.  Forgot the pump for the Avon at home.  West Marine to the rescue.  Tohatsu 3.5 quit while going out to the mooring; hard to start, acting fuel starved.  Put it on the list.

06/29/2012

Sunny, 80F.  Cleaned several deck fittings and turnbuckles with MaryKate Rust Stain Remover.  Work quit well with a bit of bronze wool scrubbing.  Tohatsu 3.5 still being temperamental.  Cleaned the carburetor and changed the plug (NGK BP6HS-10).  Running fine now; not sure what problem really was.  On way over to Cuttyhunk, could not get Yanmar 2GM20F past 2700 rpm in gear.  Bled the high pressure line going to each injector; seeing bubbles still.

06/30/2012

Sunny, 80F.  Re-bled the system, but still seeing the odd tiny bubble.  More sleuthing; and now the tachometer is acting up!

07/01/2012

Sunny, 80F.  Re-did the starboard stern patch on the Avon; found another slow leak just behind it.  Another patch. 

07/02/2012

Sunny, 80F.  Sanded and touched up varnish under V-berth.  Still chasing an apparent air leak on engine.  Found that the fuel clamp on the inlet to the secondary was loose!  Tightened that, re-bled the system once again including the bleed screw on the high pressure pump.  We'll see what happens on way back to Cuttyhunk.

07/03/2012

Sunny, 80F.  Epoxied a small cracked  edge of the sole under navigation table.  The tachometer is still acting up.  Voltage at unit OK, but AC across signal from sending unit low (0.8V).  Should be > 1.0 V.  Removed 2M20F air filter to get access to sending unit.  Resistance across terminals 1800 ohms (1700 nominal).  Cleaned terminals and connectors; a spritz of WD40 and re-assembled.  Tachometer now working.

07/04/2012

Partly sunny, 84F.  Sanded and touched up varnish under starboard settee.  Filled a few gouges on deck with tinted Marine Tex.

07/07/2012

Sunny, 86F.  Applied two patches to starboard stern on Avon 2.80 while up on the beach at Cuttyhunk.  Some bubbles underneath; will re-do at Winter haulout.

07/28/2012

Sunny, 80F.  The Avon 2.80 has a leaking Leafield A7 valve.  Replaced the outer valve and cap assembly (parts from Rivergear).  Sanded and touched up Cetol finish (single coat) around rub-rail.

07/30/2012

Sunny, 84F.  Still sleuthing engine performance and some wispy steam/white smoke from exhaust.  No sign of coolant loss, very good flow of raw water at outlet of heat exchanger.  Found loose banjo nut bolt at outlet of secondary filter!

08/04/2012

Sunny, 90F.  Re-bled the diesel; sounds great but no difference on max rpm under load (~2700); a little grey-white smoke after warm-up.  Topped up fuel, water and pumped black water.

08/12/2012


Partly cloudy, 78F.  One possible cause of low RPM under load and soot on stern is an occluded mixing elbow.  Removed the exhaust and raw water outlet hoses from the mixing elbow.  The bolts holding the exhaust elbow assembly came off easily.  Visual inspection of the mixing elbow outlet revealed significant scale on the raw water path and lots of carbon buildup.  Brought the assembly home.  Joe and I were able to get the mixing elbow off with the assembly held in a large bench vise.  The inlet side of the mixing elbow was really plugged with slag!  Almost 80% occluded.  Pictures here.  This certainly has to be part of the problem.  New part on order.

08/19/2012

Sunny, 80F.  Had re-assembled the exhaust manifold, coupling and new elbow (Yanmar part # 124070-13520) in Joe's vice.  Installed the assembly with a new gasket (Yanmar part # 128370-13201).  Used Permatex Copper Spray-A-Gasket Hi-Temp Adhesive Sealant on the gasket and lightly coated SS bolts with Mariners Choice Never-Seez.

09/20/2012

Cloudy, 68F.  Replaced burned out bulb in temperature gauge (VDO # 918-600-809).  Temporally re-bedded two loose dodger mounting pins in Marine Tex.  .

10/13/2012

Cloudy, 60F.  Boat out of water and on-stands.  Brought boatyard ladder over.  Several trips to bring rest of the cabin cushions and other gear home along with the Avon inflatable. 

10/14/2012

Cloudy, 60F.  Disconnected head intake.  Pumped ~ 1 gallon AF into head; pumped bowl nearly dry.  Added 1 gallon of AF to forward water tank.  Bypassed HW heater.  Drained HW tank.  Drained remainder of water in HW tank by attaching and blowing into short length of hose at potable water inlet.  Drained AF from forward tank into cabin tank.  Ran all H/C water lines (head, cabin, deck shower) until AF coming out.  Added two more gallons AF to cabin tank; flushed all water lines again.  Disconnected raw water intake.  Ran engine for 5 minutes taking fresh water into raw water intake from a bucket.  Pumped out engine oil.  Changed oil filter (Yanmar part # 119305-35151).  Refilled oil with 2 1/4 quarts of Shell Rotella T3 15-40W.  Started engine and drew ~ 2 more gallons fresh water, then ~ 3 gallons of -50F AF.  Made quite a mess with the hand operated oil transfer pump.  Need a better solution for next year!  Cleaned barnacles from hull; removed main anode.

11/4/2012

Sunny, 60F.  Back from a two week business trip to China!  Installed the adjustable framing brackets (DRB Innovators), winter frame hoops and ridge pole.  Flushed Nissan 3.5 with fresh water.

11/10/2012

Sunny, 60F.  Completed winter frame; boat ready for shrink wrap.

11/11/2012

Sunny, 50F.  Cleaned water line and hull stains using Marykate On&Off gel.  Charged batteries.  Removed Raritan PHII head; brought home for re-build.  Removed waste line from head to Y-valve.  Not really calcified which was encouraging.  Will also replace 1.5" RC Marine (Forespar) anti-siphon after Y-valve.

11/17/2012

Sunny, 65F.  Cleaned platform under head with CLR.

12/12/2012


Sunny, 55F.  Prep sanded and feathered several loose paint spots on bottom with rotary sander using 80 grit paper.  Sanded entire starboard bottom with 80 grit using random orbital sander.

12/15/2012

Sunny, 47F.  Sanded entire port bottom with 80 grit using random orbital sander.

12/16/2012

Cloudy, 42F.  Replaced 1.5" black water hose with Raritan Sanifelx and vented loop with Forespar MF 840 90300 going from from head to Y-valve.

Season Totals: Tanqueray 10 - 2  , Campari -  , Rum - 1 , Fuel - 28.8

Engine Hour Log; 865.8 (042912), 960.1 (0915212),

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