Winter Projetcs 2009-2010

October -

Ran Nissan outboard in tank to flush water coolant path; drained fuel and carburetor; fogged cylinder.
Scrubbed Avon inflatable clean
Removed cabin and V-berth doors from boat. Brought home for re-finishing.
Replaced upper grommet in Questus backstay mount.
Scrubbed bottom to remove sling marks.

November -

Brought headsail to Steve Thurston in Bristol for inspection and cleaning. Brother Neil at Thurston Canvas to make duplicate hatch covers, and repair the bimini, mainsail and Edson pedestal covers.
Cap'n Cathy has taken the teak cockpit table to her shop for refinishing!
Began re-finishing saloon and navigation table drawers; sanded off old varnish with 60, 120, then 180 grit paper; four coats of Interlux Goldspar Satin 60 varnish. Sanded with 220 grit paper between coats. Varnish reduced ~ 10% with Interlux 333 prior to filtration.
Began re-finishing drop boards; sanded off old varnish with 60, 80, 120, then 180 grit; six coats of Interlux Original 90 gloss varnish. Reduced varnish with ~ 10% of Interlux 333. Filtered between each use. After sanding between coats wit 220 grit, wiped down with tack cloth, then Interlux 333!
Had all interior cushion covers dry-cleaned.

December -

Sanded rough areas of port hull bottom with 80 grit, then 120 using a variable speed orbital sander
Checked anode for Isotherm heat exchanger; will serve for another season
Cleaned barnacles from all thru-hulls
Cleaned and lubricated pump out seacock on starboard side (need to tighten nut); 15/16" nuts
Seacock on port side for direct overboard OK; will lubricate exposed sections
Ordered replacement screens for raw water strainer (Groco part # WSA-751)
Built two WiFi extenders as described in Practical Sailor. Parts from Data Alliance, Alfa AWUS036NH 2000mW USB Wireless Adapter 802.11N/G/B; Antenna: 8.5dBi omni; RP-SMA male to N male 10-inch cable; USB 2.0 Active Repeater Extension Cable: 5 meters. Housed in 3" ID PVC pipe with domed end caps.
Began re-finishing cabin and V-berth doors. Finish on cabin door was in good shape, except for one section. Sanded off most of the old varnish on that section with 120, then 180 grit paper. Otherwise, 180 grit. Finish on V-berth door was in fair shape. Sanded off old varnish with 60, 120, then 180 grit paper. Finished doors with four coats of Interlux Goldspar Satin 60 varnish. Sanded with 220 grit paper between coats. Varnish reduced ~ 10% prior to filtration.
Changed oil in lower unit of Nissan 3.5 (drain plug gaskets; Tohatsu part # 332600060M from United Boaters), drained carburetor.

January -

Began re-finishing door jambs around cabin and V-berth doors. Spot sanded off old varnish off with 60 then 120 grit paper. Finished jambs with three coats of Interlux Goldspar Satin 60 varnish. Sanded with 220 grit paper between coats. Varnish reduced ~ 10% prior to filtration.
Re-glued several small fabric seams and portions of rub-rail on Avon inflatable; repaired using Clifton Hypalon® adhesive.

February -

Spot treated some of the cushion foam inserts with Mold Off. Took a few treatments (spray and let sit) to see a difference.

March -

Replaced the two saloon reading lights with LED bulb model SBSB01 Reading Lights from Sailor's Solutions.
Replaced 5/8" ID vent line for forward water tank.
Tested each Odyssey battery with a ZTS MBT-LA2 pulse load tester. Unfortunately, the results indicated that each battery had <10% capacity left. Start battery - Odyssey PC1200 (installed Feb 2000). House bank - one Odyssey PC1700 (installed June 2003) and two Hawker Energy (became Odyssey afterwards) TI1700 batteries (installed May 1999). Will replace all batteries.