Hurry up and wait

After the boat was launched the fun didn't start yet. It was very exciting get the boat in the water but we still couldn't use the boat yet. I still needed to have the survey finished, submit that to the insurance company and get final approval on the insurance. Plus, I just found out that the alternator doesn't work, so I had to fix that before we left or we would not have anyway of charging the batteries, as the solar and wind are not hooked up yet.

The first night the boat was in the water, I was very nervous and decided to sleep on the boat with a crash pump waiting on the dock just to be sure nothing went wrong. Nothing turned out to go wrong and Veronica and I had an enjoyable night playing cards and getting used to being on the boat. The V-berth turns out to be a very comfortable place, as long as you are not in one of the crack between the cushions. And the first drink on the boat was some MD 20/20 courtesy of Ian, the CFBW yard worker who helped us out so much to get us where we were, and some Bud Light to wash it down (much needed). If you ever need a great boat yard where they will leave you alone when you want to, but willing to jump in a help out with anything, anytime, Cape Fear Boatworks is the place to be. Highly recommended!

After the excitement of the launch, there was still a lot of work to do before we could take off and go sailing. I got the surveyor back down to finish off the survey and go over anything that he wanted to see. It all seemed to go smoothly and he said he would have the survey back in a couple days, which he did. I submitted it to the insurance company when I got it back and started work on the suggestions in the survey. The new dodger, Bimini and sail cover were finished up and installed and makes the boat look great!

Installing the new covers!

The alternator was the main priority as we needed to charge the batteries at sea. After troubleshooting the charge controller for it and completely by-passing it, I determined that the alternator itself was not putting out any voltage. So, I pulled the alternator out and brought it to the shop. A couple days went by and nothing was heard from the shop, so I stopped by to see what was going on. The voltage rectifier was shot and they stopped making the parts for it. What!?! The alternator is last years model and they don't have parts for it! I don't believe it. Going back and forth for a while, I ended up buying the stock 80 amp alternator that came with the engine just to be on my way and get going. I will try and fix the Balmar later...

X-Mas Decorations!

Veronica on the other hand, was busy making the boat look nice. She finished painting the aft cabin and started making decorations for X-mas.

Finishing up the Aft Cabin

She also planned out all of our provisioning and stuff we needed for our trip. We went shopping and stocked the boat and started living on it at the boatyard. She kept the boat organized and was a huge help with getting it ready even though she has never really been on a boat before.

Provisioning!

The insurance company came back and said that they didn't like the survey and I had to fix everything above and beyond and have it resurvey before they would sign off on it. They wouldn't even give me only liability. The agent supposedly "working" for me didn't seem to know that much about what was going on and I felt like was against me the whole time.

I started to shop around, asking the owner of the boat yard for advice and got another one of his friends as an agent that he uses for his boat to shop around for me. I gave him my info and the survey and he had the same result because he only had the same insurance carrier that I already had. He did find out that the surveyor called my agent and basically told him that my boat was a POS. How low can you go... I felt beat down, defeated, and never lower in this whole project. But I was not to be defeated.

I picked myself back up and got the help of the boat yard. We fixed everything on the list that was wanted by the insurance company. I glassed up a rotted bulkhead by the water maker that probably leaked there. I fabricated a sealed propane locker because what was there was too big apparently. I installed a new bulkhead to protect the steering cable. I installed battery switches on the batteries because the ones down below were not close enough. I proved that the shore power system was wired properly by using a multi-meter and basic electrical knowledge. The tech from the boatyard helped out and we fixed everything within a few days. I called the surveyor back to come take a look.

Rotted bulkhead under batteries: BEFORE

Bulkhead after!

 "You've got a little dry rot here Boss. At least it's above the water line. Every boats got it!" 

In the mean time the owner of the boat yard came back with another agent that was supposed to be the best of the best. I got a call from him and gave him my info. By the close of business that day I had a policy in place and was on my way! It happened so fast! The first agent that I felt actually worked for me and got what I wanted, and all for a third of the cost of everyone else! I highly recommend him and can let you know if you want more info. I told the surveyor that his services were no longer needed. And I can let you know who to stay away from too! I may have made some people mad, and some people made me mad, I see it as the customer is always right and you don't want to get in the way of me and my dream. We took off that night to make the tide under the highway bridge... but that's another story.

Ready to go!

“If you are going through hell, keep going.” ― Winston Churchill

Speed bumps to the launch pad...

Well a lot has happened since the last update, so there will probably be a couple coming up soon. I just haven't gotten around to updating it even though a lot of exciting things have happened! (Seems like I start every post out that way)

Anyway, after the mast went up I thought all I had to do was install the propeller when it came back and finish the survey to satisfy the insurance company and be on my way, or so I thought.

While we wait for the propeller to come back from PYI in Washington I was plugging away at various jobs to get the boat ready for launch. I rigged up the mast, boom, sails, and everything that was taken off before, was put back on. She is really starting to look like a sailboat again! I got most of the electronics working as well as the fire place! It turned out to be a life saver later on!

After waiting and waiting, the propeller came back from PYI and looks brand new! Awesome! I get the yard mechanic to help put it back on because he took it off while I was gone and knows how all the gears go back together. As we get all set up and go to put it back on, there is something that is not quite right...

There is no key-way machined in the hub! They forgot to machine it in when they made a new one! After a phone call and complete disbelief by the guy who made it, I brought it to a local propeller shop to machine a key into it. PYI paid for it to be done and I would highly recommend PYI for anything, they did a great job and the propeller looks brand new! It was just a slight oversight, one of those days, that was fixed easily, although the local prop guy didn't want to do it at first because it was such an expensive piece.

After the prop was installed, final preparations were made to put her in the water. The travel lift was brought over and she was all hooked up and waiting to get wet!

Today was the day that she was going to go in! A huge milestone after a years worth of work to get to this point. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into her to get her ready. I have never been so nervous in my life. I have all these scenarios running through my head about what could go wrong, but I knew that I prepared her to the best of my ability and that what ever happened I could fix it.

I was pretty much shaking when she finally hit the water. I jumped on board, still in the slings and the travel lift walked the boat back to the end of the lift well. Okay, I was ready to go, and she was lowered into the water. She floats! That's a good thing I guess, I didn't buy a boat that doesn't float. I go down below and check every opening that could possibly leak water, sea cocks under sinks, bilge pump over board, and the engine... the engine! It's leaking! It's coming out of the impeller cover I put on, a new Speed Seal that is supposed to ease the changing and prolong the life of the impeller. I closed the sea cock and took off the impeller cover, realigned it and put it back on. Opened the engine sea cock and no leak! Awesome. But looking in the bilge there was still water leaking from the back of the boat?

I looked at the propeller shaft seal and could see water gushing in. Oh no! I thought to my self that I was going to have to pull the boat and take the shaft out and fix it. A huge job. It is one of those drip-less shaft seals that is supposed to be maintenance free. Then I thought, it has been sitting for a long time, let me try starting the engine and turning it over. The engine, by the way, started up first try and ran great! I turned the prop over and went back to check. No water! Awesome! It seated the seal and stopped the water. Plus I got to learn that both of my bilge pumps work great!

Next comes the first mini sea trial of the Stella Maris. We (Veronica and I) backed her out of the lift well. She has plenty of power with that nice and big prop and plenty of HP. We took her up the river a little ways and then back down. We learned that just about everything on board that needed water to work, did; like the engine, the depth and the refrigerator, but the alternator turned out not to put out a charge. It is an expensive 110 amp Balmar with an external charge controller, it should work! And I will troubleshoot it later. We did some circles and then practiced docking at the Cape Fear Boatworks dock. Where she would end up staying, much to our dismay, for most of the month...

“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

Turkey Day Update

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

A lot has happened from the last update. The boat is coming along nicely and everything is starting to fall into place.

First of all, the mast has been put up! It went up easier than I thought even with the old crane that the boat yard has. The only snag was that the new pins for the stays were a little larger than the holes in the new chain plates that were made so I had to temporarily pin them up with bolts. I then bought an expensive bit for stainless and enlarged the holes to the right size. No big deal, easy fix. Before the mast went up, I had a new mast step created that was 2" taller so that I could cut the corrosion off the bottom of the mast. I took an angle grinder and chopped off the bottom 2" of the mast and drilled a new hole for the mast wires. The new step has proper drainage so that the corrosion won't happen again.

To put the mast up I had help from the guys at UK Sail-makers / Sailfish Canvas , who ran the show on the stepping. They are the guys who are making the dodger, Bimini, and new sail cover. Thanks for the help!

As you can see from the pictures, the bottom has been finished and looks great! We have moved on to a lot of interior work. The aft cabin has been torn apart, the old water tank removed, an access hole cut to get to the side of the engine, and a new water bladder installed for the time being. The cabin is now back together and being sanded for new paint. The engine has a new impeller and filters and has been primed. It starts right up and sounds great!

Old tank gone, access hole for engine

New bladder installed, starting to rebuild berth

Bunk back together and starting to sand bulkheads for paint!

Other projects completed included hooking up all the wires on the mast, making sure all electronics work, testing the refrigeration, testing the propane system, and various other cosmetic jobs to make her look nice. The plan is to launch her next week after the propeller is put back on (hoping it is delivered on Monday) and movie onto the boat and get everything set up. Then move down river to Southport for sea trials and sailing lessons. Then moving south to warmer weather from there, nothing is set in stone yet but a little warmer weather would be nice! Hopefully everything goes well! Fingers crossed...

After cleaning it out and a new fuel pump the heater works great!

Can't wait to launch her!



Believe you can and you're halfway there.
Theodore Roosevelt 

1 step forward, 2 back

Well, I'm home from work and back to the grind on the boat. Not much was done since I left her in August. The eye-brow and hand rails have been varnished for me and the bottom has been stripped. The boat was moved outside of the building and a couple guys with the Farrow System stripped the bottom. The nice thing about having it done with this system versus sand blasting is that it does not hurt the gel coat.

The bottom looks great with only a couple places that need to be faired. We then put three coats of barrier coat on the bottom, we used Petttit Protect because the bottom paint that followed was Pettit Ultima SR 60.

For bottom paint, we used one layer of black, then finished off with 2 of red so that you can tell when the paint wears down and it is time to pull and apply another. The yard had some left over black that we used to start and bought 3 gallons of red to finish the boat. It looks great finished! (forgot pics today though) Here's the start of it:

Next, the interior is starting to look great too! We brought the cushions up to see how it looks and for the initial survey. We did some painting in the cabinets and started to put things in their place.

Ok, for the bad news. The Max Prop was taken off while I was gone to have the cutlass bearing replaced. The bearing was replaced but when the prop was taken apart it was found that a piece inside was sheared and had to be sent out to the company to have it rebuilt. They still have the prop and should be sending it back in about a week. This has been the limiting factor for launching the boat, although probably not the only factor. 

The mast, after being inspected by the surveyor, is in great condition but the bottom 2 inches have to be cut off due to corrosion because the mast step did not have adequate drainage and held water to the mast. The mast step was very corroded and I have a new one being fabricated with a lift on it to account for the 2in that I am gong to cut off. 

Finally, the engine. The engine should be fine, it is just working on it that is the problem. I wanted the impeller replaced while I was gone, but there was no way to actually get to it. The engine is a re-power and the engine is larger than the original in the boat. So they must have got the engine, barely fit it in and forgot about ever doing maintenance on it. So, what I had to do to gain access to the side of the engine is cut out the steel water tank in the aft cabin. So after all of the steps forward, this is a large step back, but hopefully won't slow down the launch that much. I already have it out and a bought the wood to get it back together. I will try to post pictures when I get the camera from the boat tomorrow. 

Anyway, its moving along and looking to put the mast up next week and launch the boat as soon as the prop gets back.

“Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.” 
― Babe Ruth

Dang J-O-B getting in the way...

Well, sorry for the lack of updates. I had been working hard on trying to launch the boat in July, but work called and wanted me to come back early, so I changed the plans and left it inside the building until I get back in October. Turns out I didn't have to be back at work until August 1st but thats another story...

The boat is looking great. The exterior is just about finished and only needs a few touch up jobs here and there. I completed putting the life lines on, most all woodwork is finished, and the cockpit is all redone. The main hatch is redone with new teak on most of it. It looks amazing.

To redo the cockpit, I ran a router down all of the seams to get rid of the old caulking and deepen the grooves to allow for a better seal. I then took Maritime Teak Deck Caulk and re-caulked all the seams. I then sanded the entire deck flush to refinish the wood and make the seams flush. I have a lot of extra wood in the cockpit so I was not worried about removing a little when sanding. The other way to do this job is to tape off all the seams and remove the tape while the caulk sets. Once complete I used Semco Teak sealer to finish it. It is more like a teak oil with a lot of UV inhibitors but retains the teaks natural non-skid attributes. 

Caulking the seams

After sanding

Other exterior work completed is that the name was put on and the new dodger has been finished. I also installed new hatches on the stern and the dorade boxes were painted and installed, while the cowls are off being powder coated.

The interior is still kind of a mess, but all it needs is a quick cleaning to be ready to sail, but there are still a lot of cosmetic issues that I would like to take care of. The galley is all put together. The shelves have been painted and new cabinet doors were made for where the microwave used to be. All the galley ware that I bought last time at work is all stored with plenty of space for provisioning. I am happy with how it all came together.

The aft cabin is coming together. I ended up replacing all the wood that was weak and rotten on the top half of the cabin. It was a lot of work. I had to pull out the porthole and rip out all the old wood carefully so I could use them a templates for the new stuff. I took it all out and cut new from marine plywood or Okume to try and make it match the rest of the boat. I reinstalled all the new wood, rebedded the porthole, and trimmed out the entire space. Still need to install the overhead light and some kind of reading light and fan for creature comforts. The carpenter redid the outboard bulkhead with plywood and mahogany slats. Looks great! Still need to figure something out for the base where the veneer peeled up?

This time back I also bought and installed a new battery bank. I decided to go with 6v deep cycle golf cart batteries wired in series to give me a 840AH 12v bank. This should provide ample power and be sustainable with the 2 solar panels and wind generator that I have. It is all wired up and I made a new battery box for it. I also bought a new AGM engine start battery and still need to wire it up. I also hooked up all the electronics and made sure that they all work. Everything except the SSB is working great. I need to do a little more research on the SSB radio to get it going, but it turns on which is a good sign. 

New Battery Bank

The bottom is getting ferro-blasted while I am away and I will barrier coat it and bottom paint it when I get back. The mast is going up after a little wiring of the new mast head light and radar dome. Then she gets splashed and we christen her with a bottle of something nice! Can't wait!

 "Believe you can and you're halfway there."

Theodore Roosevelt 

Some one drilled holes in the new deck!

Well the work is progressing along nicely. The cap rail has been varnished with Epifanes Wood gloss. It came out great and the pictures don't do it justice.

Next step was to start drilling. It is a little scary drilling holes in the new deck and paint job. I only messed up one but it was easily fixed with some epoxy. I started by drilling the holes for the life line stantions and worked from the bow back. Once the varnish was complete I put the bow pulpit back on and started putting the new life lines back on. 

Once the holes were drilled, I then sealed the core where I didn't put a piece of e-plate. I used thickened epoxy to fully seal the opening and then sanded it to the proper dimension for the fitting. 

I have the entire bow back together now and everything looks great!

So moving on today, the varnish was fully dried and I was able to mount the bow pulpit and anchor windlass. The bow area is now pretty much done and I can start moving towards the stern. 

Most of the life line stantions are mounted and next I have to install the stern pulpits. There is some other work going on as well in the interior. I have the batteries hooked up and working. The nav station is back together now that the through bolts are back from the deck hardware. The carpenter is working hard on getting the companion way back together. He also is redoing the dorade box trim so I can remount them.

I also rebuilt the forward side of the main hatch so that new teak can be installed to match the sliding hatch. 

All in all, the boat is starting to be put back together. I am a little behind schedule with how I would want to be, but I am plugging along in the hot humid heat down here. By the end of the day, I look like I just got out of the shower and have drunk over a gallon of water, nothing too much different than working on a ship in the Middle East. I'm trying to stay motivated but may need some time off before the next trip back to work in August. Hopefully I will be sipping Margarita's on Stella Maris before the end of summer...

“The fatigue was there, but some people understood that putting it aside was the single most important factor in succeeding.” ~ Seth Godin

Back to the grind

Well, I am back at it. Made it back to Wilmington and found the boat freshly painted with awl grip and tuff coat non-skid. I am happy how it came out, there are still a few spots that need to be touched up and are being addressed.

Over all it looks great and like a whole new boat. Now I am working on sanding the cap rail to varnish it before I re-install all the deck hardware. The old varnish sanded off nicely and should look great when done.

Also getting back I found a mountain of boxes of gear that I order while I was at work and had a pay check burning a hole in my pocket. Everything I ordered seems to be here and I should have a well stocked boat for cruising, although there is always a long wish list of more stuff that would be nice to have. 

I have also received my new 6 person life raft, which is smaller than the 4 person I had... I still have the old one if anyone wants to buy it and have it re-certified? The canvas guy came by and made patterns for the new dodger that I am having made. Should be a great investment for the boat and really make it look great. Can't wait to see it!

This is just a quick update as I get back into the swing of things down here. It is hot and humid and tough working but I am plugging along making head way. I planned on launching her by the end of June but don't know how it will plan out. The carpenter didn't do any work while I was gone and that will set me back some time, but I will have to make up for it other ways. Starting to look like a real sailing boat now, getting excited to go sailing!

“A leader, once convinced a particular course of action is the right one, must have the determination to stick with it and be undaunted when the going gets tough.” -Ronald Regan