Navigation light inversion

This change may not seem to be a big deal but in terms of boat handling and sail care it provides reassurance and improved efficiency.

The way the bow navigation light used to sit on the pulpit gave the maximum height of light possible and added to Little Grace’s character. But when sailing downwind the foresail would sometimes snag on it and could be difficult to free from the cockpit.

 

A simple inversion solved the problem.

Preventing the cockpit lockers draining into the bilge

During the main refurbishment I turned the port cockpit locker into what I intended to be a gas bottle locker. You can read about that in Work starts on aft and cockpit lockers and Completion of the aft and cockpit lockers
 
For the reasons stated in It’s a gas, or not as it happens; it is the spirit of the thing that counts I gave up on the idea of using gas at all. So now I had a self draining locker with the obvious advantage that any water ingress through the hatch would not find its way into the bilge, making Little Grace that little bit more seaworthy.
 

The rust is from where the gas bottle used to stand, where it kept the drain clear. The fact that this locker only drains through the transom makes it the obvious place to keep the folding bucket (a small ridged one lives in the aft locker) and the Whale stirrup pump.

 

Otherwise the locker is used for stowing the dock lines, the main four of which were deplyed at the time this picture was taken.



Drain from the port cockpit locker.

 
 
I was keen to do the same to the starboard locker as the erstwhile gas locker. But if I totally enclosed it would have to extend to the transom so that the boat hooks (we have two types as one is for the Handyduck) and emergency paddles could still fit in. This would mean that if the starboard locker filled with water there would be a large volume. If the boat heeled because of the weight the skin fitting in the transom would be higher than the outlet from the box and the water would not drain anyway. Adding another outlet further outboard was not an option as it would be in danger of going bellow the waterline on a port tack. I could add a flapper valve but I don't fancy putting more holes in the boat.
 
During the refurbishment I had installed a plastic box as a liner in which the fuel tank was stowed. This was connected to one of the skin fittings in the transom so that spilt fuel and vapours could drain out of the boat (the vapours being heavier than air). The latter would only work if the pipe was clear of any water, of course, but I could keep it clear as discussed in It’s a gas, or not as it happens; it is the spirit of the thing that counts.
 


After the original plastic box for the fuel tank was removed. You can see one of the boat hooks at the top of the picture.



Pipes connected to the skin fittings in the transom. The clear pipe is connected to the boxes in the starboard locker; there is a crossover just out of shot.

Clearly I had to find a compromise and after much processing of a range of ideas I settled on two plastic boxes bolted together, it not being possible to insert one larger box via the aft locker because of the dimensions of the boat don't allow the necessary turn. OK it's not a watertight compartment that drains overboard but there would have to be considerable flooding before much water finds its way to the bilge. However, if there is that much water it is better that the amount that can't drain from the boxes goes into the bilge than list the boat to starboard because the manual Whale Pump pumps from bilge and there is an electric pump there too. When I have time to write about the pump setup it will be listed in A - Z of Refurbishment and Ongoing Improvements. 
 

The two boxes in position. In these two photos you can see the drain from the grey to the black and the outlet from the black to the transom.

The boxes are bolted together and fastened to the wood below. For extra security they are braced against the hull by a small fender bought for the purpose.

The paddles are between the far side of the boxes and the hull. You can see the boat hooks on top. The box further aft houses the stern/kedge anchor (important here as Scandinavian mooring with stern anchor is sometimes required). There is a plastic grill under the warp so that water and fumes can pass from the box with the fuel tank to the skin fitting.

 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

Completion of the aft and cockpit lockers

This post, about work completed in the spring/early summer of 2012, follows on from the post Work starts on aft and cockpit lockers


The pictures tell most of the story. After sheathing in epoxy the wooden supports were primed. The lockers, with some veriation for the gas locker (see below), were sanded and undercoated with a coat of 10% thinned Hemple Multicoat. Finally 2 coats of unthinned Multicoat were added and touched up with a third where necessary. This was mainly where parts that were difficult to see or access had been missed for fear of leaning on wet paint. Multicoat is particually suited to the lockers and is easier to obtain locally than International's Danboline.

The aft locker. In the previous post on this subject I said that I intended to replace the hatch to this locker the other way up so it opened with a downward movement, to make access easier. It did not work because it jammed against the cockpit seats so it was reinserted with the original orientation.

The starboard cockpit locker. Note the sanded and shaped filler (International's Watertight) on the edge of the locker, showing that the painting of the inside of the lockers was completed before the cockpit and deck.

 

As stated in the previous post on this subject I intended the port cockpit locker to be a gas locker, or a least a safer locker for transporting the gas bottle, even if not permanently connected, than the original arrangement. After painting the inside of the hull epoxied plywood was used as a former for the glass fiber construction.

 

The layers of glass fiber were then built up gradually.

 

As you can see from this photo these steps were all carried out before the process of filling and sanding, filling and sanding and yet more filling and sanding of the cockpit and deck started.



Painting was with Multicoat. The hole is for an inspection hatch, just in case I need to get to the hull.

 

 

 

Ultimatly this locker only had half a season as a container for the gas bottle, which was never conected to the pipe you can see here. The story continues here.

 

It’s a gas, or not as it happens; it is the spirit of the thing that counts

When I obtained Little Grace she came with an old double ring and grill gas stove. She also had the piping in place to connect it to a gas bottle in the port cockpit locker.

Because of these facts I did not hesitate to replace the cooker. These days I would be more pragmatic and process the options carefully but hay ho.

 

During the half season of sailing we had in 2010 and 1212 I kept the gas bottle in the locker but connected it to the stove with a 1m flexible hose. To achieve this the gas bottle was removed from the locker and placed in the cockpit. During refurbishment I enclosed the port cockpit locker and added a drain. This was with the intention of converting it into a gas locker and reattaching the connection to the stove so the inconvenience of moving the bottle and it being in the way when in the cockpit could be avoided.

However, all this time I had a nagging thought based on the comparative danger of gas compared to an alcohol fuelled stove, which I won’t rehearse but click here for a good article.

Nonetheless I was going to stick with the original plan but various things came together to make me change my mind.

In 2010 I found that the angel of the drain from the intended gas bottle locker to the skin fitting in the transom was so slight that it could fill with water at a U bend. The lack of fall was always going to be an issue and not in keeping with current regulations but my logic was that it was better than the setup the boat came with, which was basically nothing other than scarily draining into the bilge. Undaunted I reasoned (to myself, no one was listening) that I could clear the unintended U bend by blowing down the drain via the pipe normally attached to the Whale stirrup pump, which proved to be very effective in 2012. I could then attach the bottle to the system when it was need with the knowledge that any gas leakage would be likely to go through the drain and out the transom as it is heavier than air. As we don’t envisage cooking or making coffee underway this would have been inconvenient but adequate for our needs.

Due to their age I arranged to have the existing gas fittings checked this spring. While arranging this it became apparent that the existing piping is of a smaller gage than the fitters use here. So, I was looking at a check of an old system for 40-60 € and if any faults found a replacement of the whole thing for an additional sum. The cost for the combination of the two would approach the price of a new alcohol stove and so...........

 

The single burner is adequate for our needs and fits the existing cooker box/chart table with room to spare for storage. I have put some Treadmaster on the storage box so that it can double as a place with a nonslip surface to put hot pan, saucepan or kettle or anything else that may fit there. The storage box itself is simply a book case from the range of crafted teak items available in many chandlers turned on its side.

In the in use position the pot holders are too high for the closed position of the chart table but if they are reclined everything fits in nicely.

 

The decision was also influenced by a video on Keep Turning Left, a post on the blog Yacht Zephyr and a conversation on the Yahoo group - see Yahoo Group on the panel on the right.

The water for the first cup of coffee prior to the delivery trip last weekend was boiling before I anticipated it would be ready, so no problems with speed.

 

Permanent handheld GPS holder - variation on an old theme

It had to be done, a more standard small boat setup for the GPS that is. This is as opposed to the improvised version we used last year (click to read) that was efficient but an obstacle to negotiate when using the companionway.

 

 

Connection to the main battery means a significant saving on AA’s.

The sprung catch underneath keeps the unit in place when folded back into the cabin.

The interface between the GPS and VHF is also set up, which means our position is automatically communicated should we ever have to push the panic button. Sorry about the action shot but you can just make out a position if you click the photo to enlarge.