Maintenance Log

Went over to the shop first thing and met up with Al. We loaded the truck with all of the remaining items that Al wanted and took them over to his shop. I then went back to my shop and loaded all of the items that should have gone to Atlanta, but did not make it. I took them over to Al's shop and put them all on the top shelf of the shelves I put in Al's shop.

I then went back over to my shop and loaded up all of the items to take to the boaters resale shop. I got all of the items over to the Boaters Resale shop and did all of the paper work for the goodies. Hopefully they will all sell at my asking price and I will have lots of money to go into the cruising kitty.

From the resale shop, I went back to the shop and moved all of the cardboard boxes off of the second floor and the overhead shelf. I broke down the boxes, and loaded more wood into the truck and some other items that were trash. I left the shop, stopped by the dumpster and put all of the trash items into it, then off loaded the wood and other items that might be useful to the pier four pavilion.

I went to Dream Away and decided to pack away the new inflatable dinghy into the forward deck box. Naturally the new 9'2" dinghy is bigger than the old 10' 2" dinghy. It took me awhile, but I got it all packed away in the forward deck box. Then I started on the raw water manifold. I cleaned the strainer, the manifold, the ice maker strainer, the reefer strainer and the A/C strainer. That also included flushing out the hoses with fresh water. I then replaced †he lift pump for the raw water washdown/ watermaker. I got that system working, and started the watermaker running into the port water tank. I have a kit to rebuild the old raw water pump, as it was making a lot of noise, and I believe there is a problem with it.

Next I replaced the freshwater pump. I wanted to get one of the spares into the system to make sure we were good for the passage. The new freshwater pump checked out great.

Then I went to dinghy and worked on getting it all ready for the passage. When I attached the blocks to the tabs I welded onto the davits, the line was not long enough. I will have to get more line from West marine tomorrow so I can secure the dinghy to the davits.

We went to dinner to Oscar and Elizabeth's boat, and had a great gumbo. After dinner we went over to the shop and loaded up the truck with a full load of trash which we took to the WYC dumpsters.

Went back to Dream Away with the new 80 cu ft bottle of Argon and packed it away under the bunks in the front cabin, along with a lot of teak for projects. I then started the watermaker. I was able to top off the port tank and started on the stbd tank.

Yesterday was a long we. I finally finished packing spares, tools and sundry other items at 0030.

First thing this morning I went to Al's boat, had coffee, then we went over to the shop. We dismantled some large shelves I was giving to Al so we could move the shelves to his shop, and put them back together. A friend of Al's come over to help, which was a great help. We moved all of the big tools and tables including the vise over to Al's shop. We also moved two truckloads of stuff that Al wanted over to his shop.

The big set of shelves we moved to Al's shop, the top shelf is reserved for me. I am putting some items on there that I can move to Atlanta later, or I can use when I get back to Texas.

When we got all of the stuff moved over to Al's shop, I went back to my shop and started to do more cleaning. I worked on separating out the ferrous and non-ferrous metals for recycling. I also loaded all of the non teak wood into the truck to take to our pavilion for our winter fires. I also loaded a bunch of trash to take to the dumpster. Friend Troy came over to the shop and hauled away my big work bench. Now even more space. I still have a fair amount of items to take care of but I am getting closer.

I left the shop and went over to Dream Away. I loaded a bunch of tools and consumables into a cart and took them to the boat. I got them all loaded onto the boat with Kitty's help. After lunch friend Oscar showed up with the two raw water pumps rebuilt. That was great timing. I unloaded the truck so Kitty could run some errands. I was going back to the shop, but I decided to stay on Dream Away and check out the raw water pump on the main engine. I installed the pump on the engine, connected all of the hoses, opened the sea-cock, and hoped for the best. I started the engine and ran it for about ten minutes. No sign of a leak. Oscar is a hero!!

When I finished that project, I removed one of the propane tanks from it's locker to take to the propane store. I took a shower, loaded the propane tank and headed out with Kitty. We stopped by Gordon's boat and picked up his propane tank. We then stopped by the shop and loaded the 120 cu. ft. argon tank. down the road to the propane store. We got my tank and Gordon's tank filled.

We then went down to Texas city to the Argon store. We had purchased a 120 cu. ft argon tank to use while I built the davits. It became obvious the 40 cu. ft. tank I had purchased with the welder was not big enough to do some serious welding. The purchase of the big tank was a sliding scale thing. Your purchase the tank, and in the first month you return the tank you get back 90 percent of the price. The second month you get back 70 percent, and so on until the fourth month you own it. When we went to the Argon store I wanted to trade the 120 tank I had for an 80 cu. ft. with no charge except the Argon. The reason being is I have room for the 80 but not the 120. Anyway, they agreed to the swap, but did not have any filled 80 tanks. They will fill one tomorrow morning, and Kitty will pick it up.

We left the Argon store and went to the Reef for dinner. After dinner we stopped by Walmart and filled all of the diesel jerry jugs with diesel, and one jerry jug with gasoline. We got back to Dream Away, and we brought all of the jerry jugs to the boat and got them loaded onto the boat.

Next I put away all of the tools and consumables I brought down to the boat before lunch. An early night, it is only 2300.

Jim picked up Gordon and went to the shop to bend some tubing for him, and to pack the truck with chemicals, tools, and spare parts to bring to the boat. From the shop Jim went to Walmart to fill the diesel jerry jugs. He bought 35 gallons. Then he went back to the shop, picked up Gordon and took him home, and then he went to West Marine where he checked out the new dinghy (it was the right one this time), filled out the registration for the dinghy, and picked up other parts, including a new lift pump for the watermaker.

Jim came back to the boat, unloaded the oxy-propane torch, and bent the newly welded cleats. Then he brought down two cart loads of items from the truck that had to be stowed on the boat. While the carts were being loaded, the dinghy was delivered from West Marine, so that, along with the jerry jugs of diesel, were also brought down to the boat.

After lunch, Alan came over and he and Jim put the new exhaust elbow on the generator. Then they ran generator, and it checked out great. No problems encountered. Next they started the engine to check out the installation of the newly cleaned heat exchanger. Unfortunately, the heat exchanger could not be checked out thoroughly as the engine had to be turned off quickly because the raw water pump was leaking. This was bad news because our backup raw water pump had a known leak that had not yet been repaired.

We decided to work on the pumps tonight, and use the daylight to get the fuel in the boat, and to set up the dinghy. Twenty-seven gallons topped off the starboard fuel tank. Then we got the dinghy out of the box, took the wrappers off all the pieces, and set them out in the grass in front of the boat.

Being already behind on projects and packing due to yesterday’s storm, Jim was very concerned about having the time to properly repair the raw water pumps. When Oscar kindly volunteered to help in any way he could, Jim took him at his word, and asked if he would repair the two raw water pumps for us. Oscar graciously agreed to do so, at a cost of $2,000, which was magically the very same amount that Jim was charging Oscar to borrow our big grinder :-). Oscar now has the pumps and repair kits in hand, and said he would make the repairs and return the pumps tomorrow.

While Oscar and Jim removed the raw water pump from the engine, and discussed the repair procedures, Kitty and friends put the floorboards into the new dinghy, and inflated it. It looks great. It has been tethered to a tree in front of the boat for the night to see if it holds air correctly. Then we left for a lovely steak dinner with Pam and Steve.

After dinner, we hauled two more cart loads of stuff from the car, and loaded them on the boat. Jim is stowing chemicals and parts, and Kitty is assisting as possible, and writing this update with the Captain’s input.

Started off the day welding tabs onto the dinghy davits. These will serve as hold-down blocks to keep the dinghy from moving laterally. These, in addition to the PVC pipes that have been installed, should help keep the dinghy stable while we are underway, and minimize its banging into the stern of the ship. I also welded two cleats onto the davits.

In an effort to beat the weather front headed this way, the torch parts were brought down from the truck and set up on the dock very early in the morning. However, the front came in with a vengeance so no torch work could be accomplished. The torch parts were set on the aft deck while the day’s appointments were undertaken, and then put back in the truck later in the evening.

The boat had been moved close to the dock to accommodate the torch work, but the front was so severe that the boat had to be moved away from the dock to keep the davits from being damaged. This was no small feat as the winds were in excess of 25 knots. It rained all day, soaking all the cockpit cushions, and everything else that was outside. The good news is that the heavy rain was a good wash-down for the boat.

From noon until late in the evening, we were involved in a doctor’s appointment, going to CostCo for some provisioning, stopping by Johnson’s Paint and Supply for a quart of resin, and getting some tools from Tommy’s Tools with which to replace the elbow on the generator. We then had dinner with Iris and Terry, and heard about their travels and travails aboard their barge in the canals outside of Paris. We look forward to visiting them some day and taking a lazy trip through France’s famed wine country.

When we got home, Jim packed away the welder and the associate equipment. Then the late night found him at his computer, as usual, attending to family business and emails.

I checked on Blue Water Ships Store web site, and they listed the wet exhaust elbow and the gasket I need on line.

Went over to the shop first thing. On the way to the shop I stopped at Blue Water Ships Store. Their computer said they had the parts in stock, but they could not find them on the shelf. I left a note to get the parts ordered first thing tomorrow morning. I will call tomorrow to make sure the parts are on order, and the shipment is expedited. When I got to the shop, I worked on cleaning up the new parts I am going to weld on the davits for more dinghy support.

I then loaded a bunch of parts into the truck that needed to be loaded onto the boat. This included one SCUBA tank, several pieces of stainless steel and aluminum. Also the new portable ladder was included. I went through all of the teak wood in the shop and kept what I wanted. The rest will be given out, or fire wood. I also loaded the seven diesel jerry jugs into the truck. Also loaded into the truck were three jugs of Muriatic acid and the PVC pipe I use to clean my heat exchangers. Next were the davits we took off of Gordon's boat. I left the shop and filled the seven jerry jugs with diesel.

I called Gordon, and he met me at the Boaters Resale shop, where we off loaded the davits. He is going to put them up for sale. I then went back to Dream Away.

Now I had to bring all of the stuff from the truck to the boat. While I was doing this, Kitty was packing her side of the forward cabin under the bunks. She also cleaned out the sewing goodies. Next on her list was to clean out and pack the mid-cabin hanging locker. Finally she cleaned out the area in the galley under the sink.

First on the list was to get the Muriatic acid and the container and clean out the main engine heat exchanger. This was done using the method of dipping the heat exchanger into the Muriatic acid for 60 seconds, then pulling the heat exchanger out and washing with fresh water. You continue this process until you see bare metal in the heat exchanger. It only took three submersions to get the heat exchanger clean, so now we have a good spare ready to go.

Now I turned too on the rigging. I got out tools and my stash of cotter pins. I went and put cotter pins in all of the turnbuckles in all of the standing rigging, including the bobstay fitting. While I was on my work raft and at the front of the boat I applied the Eyes to the boat. I had promised the fairy princesses I would apply the Eyes to the front of the boat during the Christening ceremony this past June. A toast of Zaya was enjoyed by captain and crew.

Now I moved the boat back into the slip about four feet. This was to get the dingy over the dock, so I could take the dinghy off of the boat. I got the dinghy off and the area cleared around the dinghy davits so I can do the welding tomorrow morning.

Kitty was finished in the forward cabin, so I now loaded all of my stuff into the area under the forward berth. I only have left to load the bottle of Argon.

Kitty and I then drove over to the shop to off load some boxes and containers, and we loaded all of the welding stuff into the truck. This way I can get right into the welding in the morning, hopefully before the wind comes up.

We finally finished up the day around 2030.

Went over to the shop first thing. Fabricated the parts I will need to weld onto the dinghy davits for the extra tie-downs of the dinghy. Friend Al showed up, and he helped me drill out all of the pieces of metal I will be using to support shelves, and to hold up Pelican cases.

I also went through all of the teak wood I have and separated out what I want to put on the boat for projects. I also cut a piece of PVC sheet to put on the boat for backing plates. I separated out some sheet fiberglass pieces i want to take in the boat. All of the separated out pieces I loaded into the truck to take to Dream Away. I also loaded the spare heat exchanger for the main engine.

Went back over to Dream Away. I took all of the doors off of the engine room, and did a good look around. I had to find the source of the salt build up in certain areas. I ran the generator for about ten minutes, but did not see any leaks.

Friend Al showed up to help me so we started on replacing the main engine heat exchanger. We took the old one off, put a zinc in the freshly cleaned one, and installed the clean heat exchanger. While we were doing the worked on the main engine, Al noticed a small crack in the generator wet exhaust elbow. We looked at it closely, and this seems to be the source of the problem. Water would leak out of the elbow into the generator pan. When there was enough water in the pan, raw water, the cooling fan of the generator would sling the water in the pan out right into the area where I was seeing the dried salt. So the source of the salt problem was solved.

We finished off the installation of the heat exchanger. We had a look at the old heat exchanger, and sure enough several of the cooling tubes were clogged. I had cleaning this heat exchanger on the list, so it will get done tomorrow.

Al and I started in on removing the old wet exhaust elbow. Of course the socket I needed, I did not have. I have a complete set of 1/4" drive sockets in metric, but somehow I have misplaced the 10 mm socket. So AL and I went over to his shop and retrieved a deep-well 1/4" drive socket from his tool box. We then went back over to Dream Away, and we were able to get the exhaust elbow off of the generator engine. When we got the elbow off, it was cracked on the back side also.

I am going to get a new elbow as soon as I can, and also see if I can get the old one welded up. The old elbow is cast iron, and I have no experience with welding cast iron, so I will have to take it out to get welded.

By the time all of this was done, it was time to go see Steve at SeaTech systems. We went over to his home/office, and he checked out my navigation computer, which is a virtual XP machine running on my Mac. We did some tuning ox XP, and he loaded a lot of new government publications, and the latest copies of the government charts for the US.

I got up the morning and started in on the email, and cleaning up the computer files. The wind was still blowing. It was a beautiful day, but cold, the overnight low was 53 degrees.

Kitty got up, we had breakfast, and then got ready for the anchor dance. I knew, as usually happens in Offatt's Bayou, once I get the anchor set, it really digs in. Having the wind blow all night from 20 to 30 knots really buried the CQR plow. I also knew it was going to be a hard slog home up the Houston Ship Channel (HSC), with an outgoing tide and a 20 knot wind on or nose.

It was a struggle getting the anchor up. The chain was very muddy, so took a long time to get it in as I had to hose the chain off as it came onto the boat. Finally got the anchor in and stowed, and on our way. As predicted, when we got the HSC, it was slow going. We averaged about 4 knots. Because of the crud on the prop I could not speed up the engine any more as it would cause the engine to overheat. We finally got into our slip at Watergate around 1730. I am having a friend come over on Monday and he is going to clean the prop, and clean all of the thru-hulls.

One problem was discovered on our trip up the HSC. Kitty noticed some water on the floor in the garage. She opened the door to the engine room and could not see a problem. I went down and could find nothing wrong with the main engine, but did find residue of salt that appeared to be coming from the generator, but I could not find the exact source of the problem. That will be something I will have to look into tomorrow.

Kitty and I generated a project list that must be finished before we leave a week from Saturday. The list probably has 15 items on it, so this week will be a very busy one.

While backing Dream Away into the slip, I had to rev up the engine a bit, and it overheated just as I got into the slip. It appears the heat exchanger project has moved up on the list. Got Dream Away secured into the slip. electricity and water connected, and we were good to go.

I started off the day by getting on the computer. Really not much else to do as it was raining and the wind was really blowing. Continued with emails, and more back and forth emails and phone calls to get the insurance squared away for the boat.

I decided to look into the issue with the watermaker. I decided that the pump may still be part of the problem, but the first 30 micron filter in the water input could be clogged, so I was going to change it.

While I was getting all of the goodies out to work on that project, both of the anchor alarms went off on the two GPSs I keep running while at anchor. The weather had cleared up, and the norther had come through, so we were swinging on the anchor. The weather report said the front would come through later in the afternoon, but here it was 1100. So we dropped everything, got the engine running and went to the anchor drill.

We got the anchor up without any problems, and headed over to the north side of the Bayou to re-anchor. As expected it took over two and a half hours to get the anchor set. I do not know what the issue is with Offatt's bayou, but I have the devil of a time getting the anchor to set. Anyway after eight attempts we got the anchor set, and the snubber set. Just in time as the wind was really starting to pick up, 15 to 25 knots.

I went back to the water maker project. I go the first filter changed, and bled. I started the generator, then started the water maker. I set the unit to 600 PSI, and was making about 20 gallons per hour. The unit ran for about two hours, so I think the real problem was the filter, but the pump makes a lot of noise, and it was very hot after the two hour run. While the generator was on I also charged the batteries, and had the hot water heater on.

Felt pretty good about all systems on the boat, so to finish off the day went back to the computer to scan documents and answer emails.

Another day started out with electronics. I used the Single Side Band (SSB) radio to download weatherfax. It went pretty well, but had some problems. I went through the help file with the WeatherFax2000 software and set up the software. I made several changes, so I will have to see. The USCG broadcasts the weather faxes every six hours, so if I can remember to tune in I will check out the new setting in the program.

We also spent time getting new insurance for the boat. We have to change policies to go to Mexico and Guatemala, so we were getting all of that organized.

Next was the dinghy and motor checkout. I was very pleased with the way the dinghy handled the trip. The tie down system I have seems to really work. I will have to weld on a couple of tabs and two more sets of cleats. It should work out very well. The PVC pieces will have to be adjusted some, but the basic down will work.and

We got the dinghy all untied and into the water. We dropped the Yamaha on the dinghy and got it all connected and set up. The engine started right up. We let the engine idle for a bit, and then put the peddle to the metal. Everything worked just fine. We went to the other side of the Bayou and stopped at the convenience store to get a couple of items. The dinghy really performs well with the Yamaha 15HP. It gets up on a plane quickly, and is a very dry boat. Both Kitty and I love it.

When we got back, we secured the dinghy and the motor. The checkout was very successful. Kitty turned too on contacting various people and Doctors in preparation of our departure. I wanted to get the WiFi system finished off. We got in the 12VDC to 24 VDC converter last Saturday. The converter had to be installed to power the EnGenius bridge. I finally got the converter installed, along with fixing a cabinet door in the mid-cabin. Got that all completed and everything put back the way it was. The WiFi system now runs completely off of 12 VDC. It also works very well. We are using a WiFi network here in Offatt's Bayou that is not secure, and is much faster then the Verizon Broadband. The only problem with the connection is we can not send email. To send email we switch to the Verizon Broadband connection. I will probably look for another free WiFi network that will work completely.

While I was working on finishing the WiFi system. I started the genset so I could run the watermaker. Got everything all set up and working, and was making water in about 10 minutes. After about an hour and ten minutes, I noticed the watermaker was making some sounds that told me it was not getting enough water. I shut the system down, and checked the overboard discharge from the lift pump. There seemed to be enough water flowing, but when I reached down and checked the pump motor, it was extremely hot. That means it was working way to hard. It was then I realized I do not have a spare pump, nor the parts to repair the pump. This will have to be fixed tonight. I will order the repair parts, and a spare pump.

I remember I was going to solve the problem with my one pump solution, but that did not pan out, and I forgot to get the spares for the lift pump.

Got up in the morning, had breakfast and got Dream Away ready to get underway. The windlass and wash down system worked great, and we had the anchor up and stowed in about 20 minutes.

We jumped into the Houston Ship Channel (HSC), and headed down to Galveston and Offatt's Bayou. With the wind direction, we were not able to sail, so we motored down the HSC, switched over to the Gulf Inter-Coastal Waterway (GIWW), and went into Offatt's Bayou. We were concerned about the wind instrument, so when we got into the clear and calm waters of the Bayou, we calibrated the wind instrument. It seems to be operating normally.

We then started the anchor dance. I do not know why, but Offatt's Bayou has it in for me when anchoring. I have never had really good luck getting the anchor down and set. Today it took six times, but I finally got the anchor set. Of the five times the anchor did not set, I let out 125" of chain. The windlass performed outstanding, so I could say all of the anchoring attempts were just to check out the windlass!! I know when we try to up the anchor, it will really be buried in the mud and will take a real effort to get it out. That will be an issue tomorrow. There is supposed to be a front come through tomorrow afternoon. The wind is now coming out of the south-southeast. When the front comes through the wind will blow out of the northwest, then the north. We will have to move to the north side of the bayou, and set the anchor.

I got out the Iridium phone and all of the accessories to have a look and see how much effort it will be to get the phone system installed. I was hoping I could install the phone without removing the Globalstar phone, but that will not happen. Just do not have the physical space. So I will have to remove the Globalstar phone and all of its accessories. I am going to leave the antenna and the antenna wire installed. At least that way I can re-install the Globalstar with out too much trouble.

Today started off with us getting ready to take Dream Away out and around Galveston Bay to check out the boat, the systems, and the captain and crew.

We left the dock about 1030 and headed out to the bay. When we got past marker #2 we raised the mizzen sail, and rolled out the Genoa. Everything looked good. We then raised the main sail and shut off the engine. We sailed across the ship channel into Trinity Bay, and just sailed around changing tacks when necessary. Everything checked out very well. We were able to tack with almost no problem, since I moved the stay sail stay back to the port main fife rail. This seems to be a good solution, and cheap!! I also checked the rigging on both a port and starboard tack. It needed very little adjustment. When I get back from this week's checkout, I will put cotter keys in all the turnbuckles on the main and mizzen standing rigging.

We were going to anchor at Red Fish Island. I wanted to anchor here for several reasons. First was because if we had a problem with the windlass, it would not be very far to get back to our marina. The windlass performed perfectly and we had no oil leaks! We also got the anchor down on the first try. The other reasons I want to anchor at Red Fish Island is because it is right beside the Houston Ship Channel (HSC). That means lots of traffic. I wanted to check out the radar and the new AIS systems. It is easier to be able to check out the radar if I am stationary, and can watch the targets go by. This worked perfectly, and the radar is working great. The new AIS system worked great also. The targets all came up on the CAPN software, and I could identify all of the ships and tows moving up and down the HSC. Both these systems were important, because I took the mizzen mast down and back up on Saturday, and both the antenna for the radar and the AIS are on the mizzen mast.

We then checked out the Hummer Grille by grilling out steaks, potatoes and peppers. The grille worked perfectly. The meal was washed down with wine and rum!

Went over to the shop first thing, and went to work drilling the stainless steel shelf parts. The bad news is I broke a drill bit, so could not continue with that project!! I did get the teak covers all sanded down and drilled out to fit over the fasteners for the SCUBA compressor rack.

Disappointed again with the fiberglass resin application. The resin kicks off great when I put the resin on the fiberglass, but the resin that was not applied to the fiberglass mat, did not kick off. I am at a loss. I am going to a company called Johnson glass and purchase some of their resin.

Got to work on the SCUBA compressor rack. Put more roof mastic on the base pads, and bolted the rack down to the after deck. Used longer bolts than before so I could put the teak pieces over the bolts, and then put an acorn nut on the bolt to hole the teak piece in place. Looks pretty good.

Next was getting the mizzen mast back together. I had to splice some wire onto the wires for the wind generators because I used about a foot of wire in the "S" fold in the wind generator mount. I got the splice made, then ran the wires back down through the hole in the deck. I then connected all of the wire back up. Wouldn't you know, when I got all of the wiring done the wind dropped so the wind generators would not turn. I hope the wind comes up so I can check out the operation of the units.

Got all of the wiring done. Climbed back up the mizzen mast to disconnect the line I used to attach the main topping lift to. I got the mizzen boom back on the mast and the sail folded properly. Put on the sail cover and dressed all of the lines, sheets and halyards. I put the Hummer Grill back into its place of honor. I then put new polypropylene line on the Horseshoe Buoy overboard system. The line is great because it floats, and is perfect in this application, but the polypropylene line really does not like UV. The line has to be changed yearly, in cruising conditions.

Got everything back together on the mizzen mast, so we are ready to go on our check out cruise this coming week. I then turned to on my work bench in the garage. I got most everything squared away for an offshore trip.

Alan came over first thing in the morning to help with the mizzen mast project. We had coffee, and a nice breakfast prepared by Kitty. I had added the SCUBA compressor rack to the area just behind the mizzen mast. We had to remove the rack to be able to safely drop the mast. Alan and I got the rack removed, then we loosened all the rigging in preparation for the event. I secured a safety line around the base of the mizzen mast so if the mast kicked off of the mast step, it would not go flying.

Finally all hands showed up, we had nine folks helping with the project. We got under way and had the mast down in about 20 minutes. We moved the mast to a convenient area so I could fix the wind generator wiring problem. We got the wind generators removed, but my original plan for the fix would not work. The #8 AWG has a jacket on it, and the clamp I made was to go over the jacket. I had removed the jacket on the wires inside the wind generator mount. I came up with another plan. What I ended up doing was lashing a line to the wires, folding the wires over in an "S" shape, then shoving the wires down into the pipe mount. The line holding the wires was clamped down to the pipe using the clamp that is used to mount the wind generator.

We tested the installation by putting on the wind generator, then removing the wind generator, and pulling out the wires using the line. It all worked very well. It was great with the mast on the ground. It will not be easy removing a wind generator while the mast is up. We got both wind generators wiring repaired, now we were ready to put the mast back up.

I got the crew all back into place and we got the mast back up in about 20 minutes. I got all of the rigging secured, and we were done. I released the crew, and we went to the pavilion and had pizza and beer. Kitty and I felt it was least we could do for the crew helping with the mast project. Certainly it would have cost a bunch more than the cost of four pizzas and a case of beer if I had to do it at the yard.

After our pizza lunch with good friends John and Lee, I went back to the boat to get the rigging all tightened down and make sure the mast is aligned. Got that finished up, and it was the end of the day.

Picked up the new Iridium phone and all of the accessories from SeaTech systems. Now I have another project.

Went over to the shop and started working on stainless steel shelf parts that I will be taking with me. The parts are 2" stainless steel flat bar that I have used the torch to bend at 90 degree angles to be used to support shelves or Pelican cases or anything. I am using the drill press to drill holes in the stainless steel. The drill press is much easier than trying to use a hand drill. Now I will already have the holes in the pieces to mount them.

I also started cutting out pieces of teak with a hole saw that I will use to cover the holes in the overhead in the aft cabin where the bolts for the SCUBA compressor rack come through.

Loaded some more goodies into the truck to be stored on the boat, and went over to Dream Away.

Hauled all of the stuff to Dream Away, and got most of my stuff stored away in its proper place.

Got busy on getting the mizzen mast ready to drop tomorrow to fix the slack cable issue for the wind generators. To get a better idea of the problem, please see the April 25 entry in the maintenance log on the web page. http://www.dreamaway.net/maintenance_log_04-2009_06-2009.html

Took off the mizzen sail and the boom. Then took both out into the grass behind the boat and replaced the mono filament line on the sail that is used for the DutchMan system. Finished the installation of the mono filament line and folded the sail back onto the boom, and took the boom and sail over to the boat.

Went up the mizzen mast and tied off a line so the mizzen mast can be lowered to the ground using the main mast topping lift. Also removed the Hummer Grill, the boat hook, and the Horseshoe buoy overboard system. I verified the mizzen topping lift and mizzen halyard were long enough to act as staying lines as the mast dropped. I then disconnected all of the electrical lines that go to the mizzen mast. When I was sure I got everything done I could for the mizzen mast dropping project, I went back to the shop.

Kitty had purchased the two new belts for the drill press, so I installed them. Those belts made quite a difference. I finished cutting out the pieces of teak using the drill press and a hole saw. I also sorted out more stuff to get rid of in the shop, and loaded more stuff into the truck.

I then mixed up some more resin, and put some fiberglass onto the SCUBA compressor cover. This cover would be completely finished if I did not have so many problems with the resin not kicking off properly. Any way we will see if any progress has been made.

Went over to the shop first thing in the morning. Did not stop by the auto parts store to get the new belts. I decided to let Kitty do that errand, and also to stop by Triad and check on the pricing of a new inflatable dinghy. I worked on the SCUBA compressor cover. I completely washed out he inside of the box with acetone. I also worked on the clamps for the mizzen mast wiring. Loaded some more stuff into the truck to take to Dream Away. Left the shop, and went over to Dream Away.

Only took one cart full of goodies down to Dream Away. I stored away some spare rigging wire in case of an emergency in the forward cabin port side under the berth. I also stored away some fiberglass parts I will be using on the forward cap rail under the port forward berth. I also put some teak doors there that I will be using to make some changes in the mid cabin to take advantage of storage space not being used. Stored away a few other items.

Went to work on a problem we have with the staysail stay. When we tack the big genoa I have, the tack always gets hung up on the staysail stay. The solution is to move the staysail stay out of the way, but it is not as easy as it sounds. Any way I believe I have come up with a solution. That is all I'll say now. After we go out sailing next week and the solution is successful, I will take pictures and explain.

Next project is to try and get the dinghy in the davits from moving around while under way. Here again, I believe I have come up with a solution. I had two block systems left over from the previous davits. I have installed them in such a way I can keep the dinghy from moving horizontally back and forth in the davits. The arrangement I have now works, but is temporary. If the system holds up next week, I will weld a couple of rings to attach the blocks directly to the davits. Right now the blocks are attached to the davits with line. I will also weld on another set of cleats to tie off the line. If I do this, I will have to get new line, as the old line I have is not long enough.

To solve the vertical motion of the dinghy while under way, I decided to use 3" PVC pipe. I cut the pipe to the proper length, and then notched each end to fit around the dinghy, and the other end to fit around the dinghy davits. I then tied a line on the dinghy, ran the line through the PVC pipe, then tied the line off on the davits. This PVC pipe, in conjunction with the blocks and tackles keep the dinghy very secure. Again this will be checked out next week.

The last thing for the day was a high and a low. I am getting way to many of these. With Stacy's help we purchased a new inflatable dinghy at West Marine today. It is a really good boat with a lot of the features I want in an inflatable. It has aluminum floor boards, it is made out of Hypalon rather than PVC. It also has three chambers, and an inflatable keel. It also comes with a pump, repair kit, oars, seat and a carrying case. The folks at West Marine delivered the boat to me late this afternoon. When I finished with securing the hard dinghy to the davits, I wanted to get the new inflatable out, pump it up and make sure it holds air over night. Now comes the bad news/good news. The boat we ordered was not in the box. The boat that was in the box is a much better boat. It is a sport cat by AMI. It is a great boat, a bunch of features, but two items that made me decide not to keep it. First and foremost, it is much bigger, so to store it in my forward deck box means I will have to remove some stuff, and I have no place to put it. The second item is the boat is made of PVC, which has really poor UV characteristics. It is a bummer, because the boat I have in my possession is a $2800.00 boat, and the one I purchased is a $1500.00 boat. I will return the boat tomorrow, and hope they can find another boat of the one I ordered. I will try and get some money off, because I am saving West Marine about $1300.00. I will see if they will throw in a cover for free. Oh well more fun

Took a good look at the SCUBA compressor cover, and I am still having problems getting the resin to kick off all over. Just as I was shaking my head, John came by the shop. I had him come over and look at the cover. He seems to think there is some kind of contamination on the outside, and inside of the box. He recommended I was the box down with a lot of acetone, then sand the whole surface of the box both inside and out, then another generous washdown with acetone. I started that phase of the project. I washed down the outside of the box with acetone, and started sanding. I do not have many 80 grit disks left, but I have a bunch of disks for my big grinder, which was on Dream Away.

I loaded a bunch of stuff into the truck and went back to Dream Away. It took two cart loads to get all of the stuff down to the boat. One item was the ditch bag which I put into it's place. I also brought over the remaining sails and packed them all onto the storeroom. I also put the boarding ladder in it's proper place, and filled the fuel tank for the Yamaha. Also packed away several other items. I replaced the shock cord around the aft trash containers. The shock cord was in bad shape due to UV, and I came across my stash of shock cord while stowing away the sails. It was a good time to get it done.

I/We decided not to go out and test the boat this week. Too many things were cropping up, so we have decided to go out Monday for the entire week next week.

After lunch Kitty had some errands to run, so she took me to the shop to work, while she ran the errands.

I am taking down the mizzen mast on Saturday. The one thing I need to fix is the wire for the wind generators. The wire drops down into the mast, and the wire is so heavy, I can not lift up the wind generator to remove it. Alan and I came up with a fix for the problem. Build a cable clamp to put on the wire, and drop it down into the wind generator support. So while at the shop this afternoon I cut out the two clamps I need out of the 3/4" fiberglass I have left over from the stern stanchion project. I got one clamp fabricated, and will make the other tomorrow. I am planning to drill two holes in the wind generator support pipes, and put a rivet in each one. This will prevent the wire clamps from dropping down any further. When that is all done, I should be able to remove the wind generators from the support pipes.

Also while at the shop I sanded down the outside of the compressor cover. I will wash it down with acetone tomorrow and then put some resin and fiberglass onto the box.

I also started cutting out the four teak pieces I need to cover the holes I put in the aft cabin overhead to secure the SCUBA compressor rack. I ran into a problem as one of the belts on the drill press broke. So tomorrow I will have to go get new belts to be able to use the drill press.

Kitty arrived at the shop around 1730, so we both headed back to Dream Away for a welcome shower.

I started to use the new WiFi setup I finished installing yesterday, but was very disappointed. With the MAC I cannot access the wireless network. If I take the MAC into the same room as the wireless router, I can access it. BTW, the router is only 8 feet away from the MAC. I used the Gateway PC, and was able to access the wireless router from the main saloon. When I moved to the aft cabin with the PC, I dropped the connection. Very disappointing!! I looked up the EnGenius router specs, and it says the transmit power is 6db. The transmit power for the Kyocera we normally use is 15dBm of power. This tells me there is not enough power from the EnGenius router. This of course will necessitate a few calls to get to the bottom of the problem.

Never left Dream Away today, and it was a day of highs and lows. First the low. Triad called us in the morning to tell us about our inflatable dinghy. It has a lot of very small leaks, a seam coming apart, along with the bad valve which I knew about. They said it would cost around $800.00 to get the dinghy fixed. A new Achilles from Triad would be around $1600.00. For me there is not much of a choice. I can not see spending half the cost of a new dinghy on the old one, and I still end up with a 20 year old dinghy. I also cannot see spending the money for a new dinghy right now, so we shall see what plan we can come up with.

Started in on the continuing wiring project. First off was the WiFi amplifier wiring. Naturally I had to take half of the mid cabin apart to get the wiring completed. I finally got it all done. I had to wire the antenna from the antenna to the EnGenius EOC160 bridge. From the bridge I had to run a CAT5 Ethernet cable to the EnGenius ESR1221 router. I also had to run power to both units. I got the power cable ran to both EnGenius units, and the WiFi amplifier. Last was actually connecting the power cable to the correct breaker in the breaker panel. I then powered up the complete system and verified operation, and it does work.

Next on the list was installing the new EPIRB in the old EPIRB box. This was done, so we are ready to go with the new EPIRB. With the EPIRB and the Spot, everyone should know where we are under all normal and emergency situations.

Now we move onto the AIS receiver. Got the power ran to the AIS receiver. Naturally the power connector is unique for the receiver, so had to cut and splice to get the power working. I got the power cable wired into its proper breaker in the breaker panel. I was able to get a PL59 to BNC adapter from SeaTech systems. This item saved a bunch of hassle. I got the antenna connected to the receiver. When I powered it on, the lights blinked. I still had to connect the receiver to the computer via a new Serial to USB converter, install the drivers, and then make sure the CAPN software would see the new AIS signals.

Before I could do the AIS checkout, I had to put the navigation station back together. I got all of the pieces put back into their proper places, and checked out. I brought up my Mac, then the virtual XP machine. I loaded the new drivers on XP, then brought up the CAPN. Bingo, I was able to see vessels going up and down the ship channel so that system checks out good.

When I got the boat put back together, and all of the tools and other things I had scattered about, Kitty and I had a tot of Zaya to celebrate the tasks accomplished for the day.

Went over to the shop first thing and worked on the SCUBA compressor cover. The wax added to the resin seemed to help, but could not say for sure. Mixed up some more resin with some wax in it, and glassed some of the outside corners of the cover. Film tomorrow morning.

Went back over to Dream Away, and started back into the wiring project. I installed the new black box for the Globalstar satellite phone. That went good, and was able to charge the battery on the phone. If they ever get the satellite constellation back up to par, will be be able to communicate with the Globalstar phone.

Next on the list is the AIS receiver. Naturally a bunch of problems there. The antenna coming down from the top of the mizzen mast needs to be plugged into a piece of antenna wire running to the navigation station where the AIS receiver is located. I have PL59 connectors at the end of each wire, but did not have a PL59 union. At the end of the antenna wire for the AIS receiver is a PL59 connector, but the AIS receiver takes a BNC connector. Now I will have to get two parts to get the AIS receiver working!!

Started in again on the power wire for the WiFI amplifier, and Sirius antenna. Got both wire run up through the navigation station. Ran the power wire through the navigation station and into the electrical panel area. Ran the Sirius antenna up through the navigation station up next to the radar display. This is where we decided to put the Sirius radio. I ran the power connector and the audio wire for the Sirius radio. Was able to get the Sirius radio working with the aft external antenna, so now we will have music, news and games all the way across the Gulf of Mexico.

Went into a small locker on the starboard side of the main salon and installed a terminal board for the WiFi power cables. The power is run from the main breaker panel to a terminal board in the locker. From the terminal board, power is run aft to power the WiFi amplifier. Power is run forward for the EnGenius bridge and router. I started on installation of the EnGenius bridge, but did not get very far. Hopefully the 12 VDC to 24VDC converter I ordered will be in so I can complete the WiFi amplifier installation.

Went to San Antonio Texas for a reunion of the employees of Bendix Field Engineering Corporation. This was the company I worked for when I was working on the Apollo Manned Space Flight Network.

Went over to the shop first thing and worked on the SCUBA compressor cover. Applied some more finishing putty in areas on the edges. Talked to one of the guys in another shop about the problems i am having with the polyester resin not setting up, or kicking off properly. He suggested I am using a lamination resin, and I need to add wax to the resin so the surface of the resin will kick off. I mixed up a batch of resin, added the hardener, then a small amount of wax solution. We will see.

Went back over to Dream Away and got back into running wires. Ran the Sirius antenna wire, plus the 50' extension cable from the aft starboard side to the main salon, then under the floor to the port side in the navigation station. While running the antenna cable I also ran the power cable for the WiFi amplifier system. I installed the WiFi amplifier on the bulkhead between the head and garage on the starboard side.

I did not even get the power cable for the WiFi system, and the Sirius antenna wire ran all the way to the ultimate destination. Both wire stopped just under the navigation station. The WiFi antenna did get to the mid cabin.

That is all I was able to finish. It is very difficult moving everything out of the way to run the wires, then put it all back in place. I should have taken a photo of the mess in the main cabin.

Alan came over first thing and he helped me get the repaired anchor windlass on deck. It really helps to have a second person, because my arms are just not long enough. We got the basic windlass with the new gasket installed. Alan had to go, so he went off. I decided to finish the windlass installation later. Kitty was going off to shop.

With Kitty gone, I was able to turn off the air conditioner and open the boat. I disconnected the AC electricity coming into the boat, and got to work on the wiring. I got all of the AC wiring from the input breakers to the output breakers with new 8 GA wire. I added in a new double pull, double throw breaker for the SCUBA compressor/welder outlet at the stern of the boat, and got the breaker all wired up with the new 8 GA wire.

I installed two new DC breakers, and moved the main salon light to a different breaker. I then ran a wire for the AIS receiver power. I still have to run the power wire for the WiFi amplifier. Hopefully tomorrow.

I finished the installation of the anchor windlass. I attached the anchor chain to the anchors, so now we are ready to go.

Kitty and I had a meeting to get all of our plans together for the next two weeks to make sure we have everything on the list to get done.

I went over to the shop, but forgot the key, so had to come back to Dream Away and get the key. Back over to the shop to work on the SCUBA compressor cover. I sanded down a couple of areas, then put some putty on a couple of seams. When the putty had kicked off, I cut out some pieces of fiberglass, and glassed then to a couple of seams. I left the shop while the resin kicked off.

Got back to Dream Away, and put the "Whales Tail" on the Yamaha outboard motor. This device helps keep the prop of the motor down in the water, and also allows more power of the prop to actually push the dinghy along. I then used one of the new locks to lock the two outboards to the rail. I also used one of the new locks to lock the dinghy to the new davits using a stainless steel wire for that exact purpose.

I then went to the Hummer Grill on the davits, and rotated the arm the Hummer sits on 90 degrees towards the back of the boat. I fabricated the arm to be able to rotate the grill out of the way of the mizzen boom. Great idea, but I have not tried it. The good news is after I rotated the grill, the mizzen boom cleared the grille. This rotation will be used for passages.

Next was a fun part. I ran the new wire, 8 GA tri-plex wire, from the back of the aft cabin to the circuit breaker panel. This job took about 1.5 hours, but I did get it done. Hopefully tomorrow I will get the time to get it all wired up in the circuit breaker panel.

I then replace the two Hella 12 VDC fans in the aft cabin with the two new fans I purchased last week. These new fans are much quieter, they move more air, and hopefully parts will not fall of while in use. One of the fans removed from the aft cabin went to replace a bad fan in the forward cabin. The second fan will become a spare. It the tropics, it is very important to have air moving. Hopefully i will be able to afford new fans to replace all of the old Hella fans remaining in the boat.

I then put the second bronze padeye on the outside of the boat on the starboard side right at the gate. This padeye along with the first padeye i put on a couple of weeks ago will support the boarding ladder. That finishes a small project, but I can now deploy the teak boarding ladder on the port or starboard side of the boat.

Last item for the day. I went back to the shop and loaded the anchor windlass. I have made arrangements for Friend Alan to come over in the morning to help me install the windlass, hopefully for the last time this year or next!!

Participated in the annual Harvest Moon Race. Dream Away did not participate because we did not get the anchor windlass back in time. The Harvest Moon Race is an annual race from Galveston, Texas, to Port Aransas, Texas. It is usually a fun time, especially because of the social events in Port Aransas and the Bacardi sponsored parties.

The morning of the start of the race, October 1, Rick had pancakes for breakfast at 0600. We enjoyed the breakfast, than started out around 0700 to get to the start by 1420 in our case. It takes about five hours to go from Watergate Yachting Center to the start of the race off of the Flagship hotel on the beach at Galveston.

We had a good start, but the wind was on our nose. We tacked back and forth for many hours, but did not make much headway. Finally a cold front blew through. It was very exciting for a while, but after the front came through, we had good steady wind from the north, and Vista Cruiser really started to go. We finally finished the race around 0140 on Saturday morning, with barely any wind blowing at the finish.

We got settled into our area, got the boat tied up, had a margarita, then a shower, then sleep. I slept in to 0930 Saturday morning. Had a great day visiting with a who;e bunch of friends.

At the awards ceremony Saturday night we got first place in our division. There were only two boats that finished in our division, and we beat the other boat!

Next day after breakfast, we departed Port Aransas to sail back home. Had a great sail all day, as the winds were out of the south and we were heading north. The winds finally gave out to such a point we were only making three knots, so we started the engine to get our speed back up. Jacob, one of our crewman, had purchased fishing tackle in Port Aransas. During the trip back he caught two fish, a Kingfish and a Bonita. Both were cleaned and put into the refrigerator.

We got back to Watergate around 1700 on the 5th of October. Vista Cruiser was pretty well cleaned up when we arrived. We all took showers, then grilled the fish in our pavilion. With all of the fixins' we had some great fish tacos. I was in bed by 2100, and slept through till 0600. It was a great race and sail, and I am really happy I decided to do it.

Went over to the shop first thing in the morning with Gordon. I worked on welding two support pieces for Gordon's dinghy davit's. While Gordon worked on fabricating pieces for me to weld, I worked on the other storage room. I moved all items out of the storage room, and moved them into the shop. Most of the items were to move onto Dream Away, but just did not have time to clean up areas on the boat, and get the stuff moved. I did get the other storage room emptied and swept out.

I finished Gordon's welding. We loaded the two pieces into the truck and went back to Watergate. We took the two pieces out to Gordon's boat. I then went back to Dream Away.

I spent the afternoon getting my equipment ready for the Harvest Moon Race. I also helped friend Rick do some last minute items on his boat to prepare for the race. I got all of my gear packed and loaded on Rick's boat, Vista Cruiser. By the way, Vista Cruiser is a Hardin Voyager 44'. It is almost exactly the same as Dream Away. Also went by the Watergate office and picked up the anchor windlass. I opened up the box to verify that there were no leaking seals. I also verified a gasket was included.

Went by friend Oscar's boat and picked him up. We then went over to the shop and loaded the welder and the Argon bottle. We then went back to Oscar's boat. He had asked be if I could weld one of his aluminum stanchions that had broken on his boat. This seemed like a small job, so I agreed. He needed it done by the first of October as Oscar and his boat are participating in the Harvest Moon Race. The good news is the job went very fast, and the welding was done in about 15 minutes. Earned another bottle of rum!!

I then took all of the welding gear back to the shop and unloaded it. I loaded the truck with three SCUBA tanks, the oxygen tank, and all of the dive gear I could locate. Because we were installing the SCUBA compressor rack over the aft cabin, I had Kitty break down our bed in the aft cabin. Because the bed was broken down, it left the whole area under the bed exposed, and that is were we store the three SCUBA tanks, the oxygen tank, and all of the dive gear. Two birds with one stone.

Got the SCUBA compressor on the boat, and got it aligned on the pads I had glassed onto the deck over the aft cabin. I drilled the four holes for the through bolts, through the deck. With the four holes in the overhead of the aft cabin, I was able to use a four inch hole saw to cut four holes in the overhead liner. This was to make room for the three inch backing plates. I cleaned out the area exposed with the holes in the overhead liner. We did a dry fit of the rack, but I did not have the correct size bolts. I had four inch, and three inch bolts, but needed three and a half inch bolts. Off to Kemah hardware. We purchased the bolts, and the PVC pipe and fittings to store the spare water maker membrane.

We came back to the boat, Kitty dropped me off, and she went to Best Buy to get her computer repaired. I went back to work on the aft cabin hatch. I marked all of the holes that required drilling with a screw starter. I then drilled the holes out with the screw starter. I did another dry fit of the hatch, and all of the holes were right on. I then applied plenty of roof mastic to the hatch, and installed the hatch onto the base.

Kitty returned, and we were able to get the SCUBA compressor rack installed. I needed a second person because my arms were not long enough to hold the head of the bolt and twist the nut. The installed rack looks really good.

I then carried the three SCUBA tanks, the oxygen tank and all of the dive gear to the aft cabin. I got all of the tanks put into their places. Kitty tightened down the tank hold downs, and put all of the SCUBA gear and dive gear away.

Meantime, I was working on the mid-cabin hatch. I marked all of the holes that required drilling with a screw starter. I then drilled the holes out with the screw starter. I did another dry fit of the hatch, and all of the holes were right on. I then applied plenty of roof mastic to the hatch, and installed the hatch onto the base.

That is another milestone on our way cruising. The hatches and the compressor rack is the last of the major projects. What remains are several small projects that I will probably get done before we leave in November, but we could leave now. A toast was drunk in honor of the finished project.

Mid-cabin Hatch Base With Gucci Hatch In Place. New Lewmar Hatch on Top Of Gucci Hatch.

Kitty and I went over to the shop first thing in the morning. We loaded all of the stuff in the staging storeroom that was give away into the truck. Kitty drove the truck over to Goodwill and dropped it all off. I moved all of the remaining items I want to try and sell, back to the main shop. All that remains in the staging storeroom are items that need to be loaded onto the boat.

I also worked on the SCUBA compressor cover until Kitty returned. I then loaded both outboard motors into the truck along with their fuel tanks, then we went back to Dream Away. I unloaded the motors and tanks and took them to the boat. Got some help from friend Harold, and was able to get the 15 HP Yamaha onto the outboard bracket. I then loaded the 5 HP Mercury onto the bracket. This was the first time both motors have been on the new outboard bracket, and they both fit perfectly.

Kitty went out to the Doctor's and to run some errands, so I was able to shut down all of the AC power to the boat. AS I said in an update a couple of months ago, I am running a AC wire to the aft deck box so I can plug in the SCUBA compressor and the welder. The wire is an 8 AWG wire, so I have to change all of the wires on the input breaker panel and the main AC Switch to 8 AWG wire. I started this process, but did not get it finished. I still have a fair amount of wiring to do. Hopefully when I return from the Harvest Moon Race, the weather will be cool enough that Kitty will be able to have the air conditioner off.

When Kitty returned to the boat, I put all of the wiring stuff I had out back into its proper places, got AC power back to the boat, and started the air conditioner. I then went over to the shop and worked some more on the SCUBA compressor cover. I am making very good progress with the cover.

Went over to the "staging" storeroom with Jimmy and Barbara. They looked over all of the stuff we are selling and giving away, and took some of it. They left and Kitty and I remained behind. We went through all of the stuff I had saved to go onto the boat. A few things were added to the give away pile, but most remained to go to the boat.

Went back to Dream Away. I prepared the hatch bases of the two hatches. I hit the bases with 220 grit sandpaper. Got both of the bases smooth, then wiped them down with acetone. I then went over the bases with a tack rag, and then put on the second coat of the Interlux Brightside single part epoxy paint. The bases really look good. I will now wait 48 hours before I install the hatches and the SCUBA compressor rack.

I then went below and worked on the battery wiring. I had noticed a couple of problems with the wiring yesterday while charging the batteries with the main engine. There is still a weird reading I have no explanation for. I measure the battery voltage at the batter with my DVM. The LINK 2000-R also measures the voltage at the battery, but my meter consistently measures at least a tenth of a volt higher. More checking will have to be done on that issue.

Went to the shop first thing, and started on the library store room. I loaded the remaining two sets of shelves into the truck, and took them over to Alan's shop. Back to my shop and the library store room. Loaded all of the trash into the truck.

I then spent some time working on the SCUBA compressor cover. Since I am making this cover out of several pieces of fiberglass, I have to put the cover together in pieces. I put two or three pieces together with finishing putty. I also use the finishing putty in the corners so I have a nice radius for the fiberglass. When the finishing putty dries, I then put one or two layers of mat plus resin, to build up the strength. I need to do this because I am sure the cover will be stepped on.

Went back to Dream Away, unloading the trash into a dumpster at the marina. Went over the two hatch bases looking for problems. Found a few, and hit them with 220 grit sandpaper. Got both of the bases smooth, then wiped them down with acetone. I then went over the bases with a tack rag, and then put on the first coat of the Interlux Brightside single part epoxy paint. The bases really look good.

I then attached the brackets that hold on the man overboard light and horseshoe ring. I then installed the light and horseshoe ring onto the brackets to finish that project.

I washed the third awning, and got it dried. I folded it up into a nice compact package, then had to re-fold the other two awnings so the foot print was the same for all three. There is limited space for the folded awnings, so I have to be careful.

I ran a complete battery cycle on just three of the gel cells in the house battery using the engine alternator. It took about five hours to go through the bulk charge, accept, and then float. That time is more like what I would like to see, but the real problem is, the measured voltage at the LINK 2000-R never for above 13.95 volts. The bulk charge cycle, and the accept cycle should have been at 14.4 volts. I generated an email and sent all of the information concerning the charge to Xantrax. I have a technical support call open with them concerning this problem. I opened the support call on 9-22-09, and have not heard anything more from them.

Started off the day by removing the covers from the hatch bases. Got out a soft cloth and wiped down the area around the hatch bases so they area would dry and continue applying the primer.

While waiting for the drying to occur, I installed the blocks Robert took off the stanchions for the roller furling back in place. I also removed the forward awning and put it off on the dock.

Next I got a new soft cloth, and with acetone, wiped down the mid-cabin hatch base and the aft cabin hatch base and compressor blocks. I then used a tack rag on both areas and applied the second coat of primer.

I then washed down both sides of the forward awning and hung it out to dry.

Kitty returned from the airport, we had lunch, and I went over to the shop. I loaded a chest of drawers into the truck, and moved everything out of the library storeroom except a pile of trash and a set of shelves. I loaded a few items for Alan into the truck, and a set of steps for our friends Elizabeth and Oscar. I then swept out the library store room.

I then went to work on the cover I am building for the SCUBA compressor. Work on it had stopped, so now I am putting time in on it again. I glassed one corner for strength, and then put some putty over an outside corner to fill in some imperfections. I will be glassing over that corner tomorrow.

Next project was to repair the Lewmar hatch I am putting over the aft cabin. I have a spare hatch, so I removed a part from the spare, removed the same part from the aft cabin hatch, then put the spare on the aft cabin hatch. The the hatch is ready to drop in the base when the base is ready. I continued taking parts off of the spare hatch, to take along as spares.

I left the shop and went back to Dream Away. On the way back I dropped off parts at Alan's shop, dropped the chest of drawers at Goodwill, and the steps at Elizabeth and Oscar's boat. Finally arrived at Dream Away.

September 24, Thursday.

Started off the day by going by Alan's to have coffee. Alan and I left his boat and went over to the shop. We worked on getting the library store room emptied out. We moved two sets of shelves to Alan's shop. I went back to the shop and loaded a bunch of "trash" and the large Fisherman storm anchor into the truck.

Went over to Dream Away. Unloaded the storm anchor from the truck, and hauled it down to the boat. Got started on sanding the final coat of finishing putty off of the mid-cabin hatch base and the aft cabin hatch base and SCUBA compressor pads. Got both of them finished. I then washed down the area with water to make sure all of the dust was gone. I let them dry.

While the drying (Mother Nature) continued, I took the awning off the the after part of the boat. I then was able to use the mizzen boom to raise the storm anchor off of the dock, and put the anchor on the boat. I have a special bracket on the port side aft for the storm anchor. I got the anchor secured, and the mizzen boom put back into its proper place.

Next I got a new soft cloth, and with acetone, wiped down the mid-cabin hatch base and the aft cabin hatch base and compressor blocks. I masked off the mid-cabin hatch. It is not necessary to mask off the aft cabin hatch, as I plan to paint the entire area in the near future. I then used a tack rag on both areas and applied the first coat of primer.

I then washed both sides of the aft awning, and hung it out to dry. I also washed out one of the trash barrels I have on the back of the boat.

While the washed parts were drying, I got all of the parts out to do the installation of the EnGenuis WiFi parts. I got everything connected, what fun. I got the output cable from the WiFI amplifier connected to the EnGenuis bridge. I got power to the bridge, and the CAT5 Ethernet cable connected. The PC browser would not connect to the EnGenuis bridge. Called tech support, and they could not figure it out either. They had me reset the EnGenuis bridge, hold the rest button for 10 seconds. I did a reset, but only held it for three seconds. Then of course they had me reboot Winblows. Of course after the two resets, the browser was able to talk to the EnGenuis bridge. I got the bridge set up, and next went to the EnGenuis router. I loaded the installation CD that had a wizard on it and went through the installation procedure. That did not go as planned, but I am sure I had a bad CAT5 cable. I replaced that cable, and I was able to complete the installation of the router. With both devices up and connected, I was able to get both of our computers on the WiFi network at our Marina. I know it works, because normally, I am not able to connect to the marine WiFi network on my Mac from its location on the boat. Now all I have to do is get all of the wire and pieces put properly in their places, and get power to them. The day of the wiring is planned for this coming Sunday and Monday.

September 20-23.

We went to South Carolina with Stacy, for the weekend to see good friends Dale and Karen. Had a great time. Came back to Atlanta and spent more time with the kids. Left Atlanta on the 23rd and had an eventful trip back to Houston.

September 15-19.

September 14, Monday.

Went over to the shop first thing, and spent the day loading the Dino onto the trailer, and then loading the truck with all of the Atlanta stuff. Had lots of help from many friends, so it all went very smooth.

Tomorrow it will be up very early, and then under way to Atlanta with a truck full of stuff, and the Fiat Dino on the trailer.

September 13, Sunday.

Went over to the shop first thing, and brought all of Gordon's Davits back to his boat. Helped him get his davits installed on the boat.

September 12, Saturday.

No Dream Away Projects today. Was employed with the Buffalo Bayou Partnership pontoon boat for the day.

September 11, Friday.

Went over to the shop first thing in the morning. It was off and on raining, but I was able to get the generator working long enough to weld the chain on the SCUBA compressor rack, and the two aft gate wire.

The remainder of the day was spent working on getting stuff packed and ready to move to Atlanta.

A small historical note, we had a Ike survivors party party, and it was well attended. It was a year ago today we all evacuated for the storm. Much of the area is back to normal, but there are still many areas that have not been rebuilt, and even still living in tents. It is all up to the media where the suffering is. Even with Katrina, all anyone remember is New Orleans, but the Mississippi Gulf Coat suffered much more damage than New Orleans. They just rebuilt and moved on. Pretty much the same with Ike, you are still hearing about Katrina in New Orleans, but nothing about Ike, we are rebuilding and moving on.

September 10, Thursday.

It was raining like cats and dogs, so did not do the walk with Puss-N-Boots. Stayed inside and worked on getting the EnGenius bridge working. Another hour and a half wasted, no progress.

Went over to the shop to do some welding. I wanted to weld the stainless steel chain to the SCUBA compressor rack, and to fix the two gate connections for the stern. Would you believe, as soon as I got the generator started, and the welder set up, it started to rain - a lot. Had to stop the generator and put it away.

No welding, but for the next two or three hours worked on getting the storerooms cleared out and organized. Kitty and I made good progress.

Went back to Dream Away for lunch. After lunch got back on the EnGenius Product. Called their support line and found out I have to use the router that was purchased with the system. Spent the next hour and a half working on getting the bridge and router working. Did not get it working. I will be calling the support line again tomorrow to see if I can get the system up and running. It is really interesting, in that the on line manuals are horrible, and do not match the software installed on either device. They could really use a technical writer.

Back outside and started in on the hatches. Worked on trimming and cleaning up the mid cabin hatch. Got the first application of the filler putty on the base.

Went to the aft cabin hatch, and finished off getting all of the gelcoat cleaned off of the hatch base, and the pads for the SCUBA compressor. Did not finish, but the filler putty on the mid-cabin hatch base had kicked off, so went back to that hatch.

Cleaned off and sanded the hatch base on the mid-cabin hatch. Got it looking pretty good. Applied the first coat of the finishing putty on the mid-cabin hatch base.

Back to the aft cabin hatch base. Got all of the gelcoat cleaned off of the area, and all sanded down. Of course there were a few bad spots, so had to put on another application of the finishing putty. This will be the last application of finishing putty on the aft cabin hatch base and compressor pads. Tomorrow, weather permitting, I will sand the area down and get the first coat of primer on the area.

Went back to the mid-cabin hatch, and sanded down the hatch base. it was looking really great except for a few minor issues. Applied the last coat of the finishing putty. Like the aft cabin hatch, when I sand down this last application of finishing putty, and clean up the hatch base it will be ready for the first coat of primer.

September 9, Wednesday.

Started off the day on Dream Away wanting to continue work on the hatches, but Mrs Nature had other thoughts. I made the attempt several times during the day, but each time it was raining. So it was other things that needed attention.

I went to work on the battery connections. I did not like the way the batteries acted when I did the last charge, So I split up the six batteries in the house bank to two banks of three batteries each. I do not have all the wire necessary to wire both banks properly, but I want to see what happens when I charge one smaller bank of 680 amps. It will probably take two or three days of normal usage before the bank gets down to 50%, but I will be updating the log.

Decided to work on the head sink. It was not draining overboard, but into the shower sump. We decided to get the sink to drain overboard again. Of course this was no easy task. I have a ton of hose on the boat, but of course no 1 1/4" in my supply. This necessitated a trip to Kemah hardware to purchase two feet of hose. I finally got it all put back together and functioning. Then I had to put the hose storage back in place, then put all of the items I had to move from under the head sink back in place. Next was to clean out the shower sump, and get it working properly.

Next project was to see if I could get the WiFi amplifier and bridge working. As usual because this is a computer based issue, I knew it would not be easy. I guessed correctly. I am still working on the problem, and will probably continue on it tomorrow, before I call for help. It appears the WiFi amplifier is working properly. When I have the amplifier on and connected to the EnGenius EOC1650, the software on the see a huge amount of wireless networks. What seems to be happening, is the EnGenius EOC1650 is not acting as a bridge and re-broadcasting the WiFi signal on the boat. The signal strength for the Watergate WiFi is the same with or without the EnGenius EOC1650. I will keep at it!

The last project for the day actually happened while work on the WiFi network was progressing. The air conditioner had stopped, and I heard water dripping. This was not a good sign. I investigated, and discovered the condensate from the air conditioner evaporator, was not draining properly, and running out of its pan. I also discovered the sump for this overflow was not working. I got the sump cleaned and working properly, they was able to blow out the hose for the condensate pan, and get it flowing properly. Just the routing maintenance of living on a boat.

September 8, Tuesday.

Went over to the shop first thing, and finished up the major welding on Gordon's Davits. Finally!!

Went back to the boat, and went down hill from there. There had been a major rainfall at the marina, but barely rained over at the shop. When I walked up to the boat, I noticed Robert's canoe, which he left behind our boat, had about 3 inches of water in it. He also left a lot of his work tools in the bottom of the canoe. I jumped down into the canoe and started to bail out the canoe. Next thing I know the canoe had capsized, with me in it. My iPhone got soaked. Major Bummer. I got all of Roberts things out of the canoe onto the dock, and hosed everything off with fresh water. We then put it all out on the dock to dry. I also finished the canoe bailing, and was successful this time.

Kitty and I went to the dentist for a six month cleaning, so that shot the remainder of the day.

September 7, Monday.

Went over to the shop first thing and spent the day welding on Gordon's davits. Finished at the shop around 1430.

September 6, Sunday.

Went to Gordon's boat first thing and helped him get his backing plates in for the Davits I am constructing. I know, please leave it at that!!

Went back to Dream Away to get ready to put the second coat of gelcoat on the after hatch base and SCUBA compressor pads. Not a good thing. For some reason, not all of the gelcoat had kicked off!! Some had done a fine job, and some of it was a bit tacky. I was pretty upset about it. I fumed about it for a few minutes, and decided to blow off the gelcoat. I could futz around with it for a couple of days, but the bottom line is I do not want to solve some kind of chemical problem. I want the hatch base to look nice.

I decided to remove the wet and dry gelcoat, and paint the area. Of course it is not as easy as 1-2-3. I started off with a scraper, and Acetone and paper towels. I got about half of it done before I had to got to the shop.

September 5, Saturday.

Went over to the shop first thing and worked for 2.5 hours on getting stuff ready to ship to Atlanta. I also put another layer of finishing putty onto the new piece added to the aft hatch cover. Went back to Dream Away.

Once at Dream Away, I got the mid-cabin hatch ready to glass. I got all of the fiberglass pieces out and made sure they fit onto the hatch base correctly. When I finished the sizing, I mixed up the resin. I went out and put both layers of fiberglass down on the hatch base which had been wetted-out with ample resin. Then I applied the hatch insert to the wetted-out resin, and made sure the insert was in the proper place.

Next, I started on the aft cabin hatch and the pads for the SCUBA compressor. I wiped down the whole area with Acetone and got the gel-coat ready for application. I was going to roll and tip the gel-coat. I thinned the gel-coat with Styrene, then added hardener. Then I applied the gel-coat to the aft hatch base and to the compressor pads. It looked pretty good, although I will have to add a second coat. I did not want to put it on super thick at first and have it look bad.

I went over to friends Alan's boat and helped him with some electrical connections. From Alan's boat I went over to the shop. I welded tabs on Gordon's davits. Went back to Dream Away around 1830.

September 4, Friday.

First thing in the morning, I masked off the water line on the dinghy. I stirred up the anti-fouling paint and applied two coats to the bottom of the dinghy. When I finished the painting, I pulled off the masking tape.

Started on the mid-cabin hatch. I removed the old Boman hatch and put it aside. I then cleaned off the hatch base on the deck, and sanded it all down. I then made the masking tape dams around the outside and Inside of the hatch base to keep excess resin from getting onto the deck. We are now ready to glass the hatch insert to the hatch base.

Mid Cabin Hatch Ready To Be Removed.

Next was the aft cabin hatch. I did the final sanding and preparation of the aft cabin hatch and the pads for the SCUBA compressor rack. That is now ready for the application of the gelcoat.

Went over to the shop and helped Trey build a stanchion base for his boat. He did most of the prep work, and I did the welding for him.

I started on putting together the cover for the SCUBA compressor. I am using the finishing putty on the cover to hold the pieces together until I can get fiberglass and resin where it is needed.

SCUBA Compressor Cover With End Puttied Onto The First Piece.

September 3, Thursday.

Went over to the shop first thing to work on the spreader bars for the dinghy davits. I cut some fiberglass pieces that just fit into the square tubing of the spreader bars. These fiberglass pieces will prevent crushing of the square tubing when the bolts and nuts on the eyes are tightened down. I inserted the fiberglass pieces into the square tubing, and drilled the holes for the eye bolts. I had marked the location of the eye bolts yesterday. I cleaned up the spreader bars, and went back to Dream Away.

On the way back to Dream Away, I stopped by West Marine and purchased four carabiners for the spreader bars. They only had three in stock, but I would get the fourth later in the afternoon.

When I got back to Dream Away, I got all of the hardware needed and constructed the spreader bars and put them on the dinghy. I then pulled the dingy over to the stern of Dream Away, Hooked up the block and tackle from each davit, and lifted the dinghy off of the dock so it was supported by the davits. Everything worked great and the project is mostly finished. I put the dinghy back onto the dock, and pulled it over to the grass. I turned the dinghy over and masked it off for a coat of anti-fouling paint. I will put the paint on tomorrow.

Dinghy Hanging From Davits From The Stern. Spreader Bar With Eyes to Davit Block and Dinghy Attachment Point.

While I was working on the davits, Kitty had called Lighthouse Manufacturing, and talked to Jordan. He was very surprised the gasket was not included and upset about the oil leak. He issued us a FedEx Label to send the windlass back to him. Before the day was out, I had the windlass packed back up and in the truck. Tomorrow I will take the windlass over to the Watergate office to be picked up by FedEx.

Kitty found the missing Sirius radio outdoor antenna last night. I installed the antenna on the starboard antenna mount on the dinghy davits. I will run the cable next week when I have the "Day of the Wiring".

I started the installation of the pad eyes on the starboard side of the boat for the boarding ladder. I got one pad eye installed before I had to leave to run the flu shot errand.

After getting our flu shots, we went back to the marina, where we picked up Gordon. We then went to the shop. Kitty dropped Gordon and I off at the shop, and Kitty left to run more errands. I helped Gordon with cutting and drilling pipes for his dinghy davits. I cut out fiberglass pieces that I can use to complete my cover for the SCUBA compressor. I have all of the pieces cut out, now all I have to do put them all together into one piece and finish it off so it looks good.

September 2, Wednesday.

Started off today with friend Alan coming over to help me re-install the anchor windlass. The windlass had been sent back to Lighthouse Manufacturing because the seals on the shafts were leaking. I wanted to get the windlass installed, but it was very difficult to do by myself, so Alan came over to lend a hand.

I had not even opened the box with the windlass in it, because I first wanted to finish the forward hatch before installing the windlass. When I opened the box, which had been shipped upside down, I was shocked and depressed to see grease leaking out of the seal on one of the shafts. I also realized the gasket between the windlass and the deck, had not been returned with the windlass, so even if there was no leak the windlass could not be installed. I was so mad and upset, I dared not call the company. I just sent them an email with pictures asking what they are going to do, and where was my gasket.

When I got over the windlass disappointment, I next got started on the dinghy. The bimini that came with the dinghy was attached using just tapping screws into very thin fiberglass. With the use this dinghy will take I decided to use thru-bolts with Starboard backing plates. So I took off the original hardware, and put in the bolts and backing plates.

I also wanted to change the way the dinghy is lifted in and out of the water. I have pad eyes on each corner and a big piece of chain between the aft two pad eyes, and another piece of chain between the forward two pad eyes. This was a strong arrangement, but the chain went with the dinghy, and it was not the way to go. I had decided to use spreader bars. I had made the spreader bars from the square tubing I purchased in the past. (Pictures Tomorrow) I had not measured the spreader bars on the dinghy, so now I did it. My plan is to have three eye bolts in each spreader bar, two of the eye bolts will be located directly over the pad eyes on the dinghy. The third eye bolt will be in the middle of the spreader bar to attach to the lifting block and tackle on the davits. I will have carabiners hanging from the eye bolts to attach to the pad eyes on the dinghy. That way when I drop the dinghy into the water, all of the lifting hardware will stay on the davits and not the dinghy.

When I got all of the measurements completed on the dinghy spreader bars, I started in on the after hatch. I was able to get the SCUBA compressor blocks sanded and ready for gelcoat before I had to quit.

September 1, Tuesday.

Started out the day and went over to friend Alan's. We then went to his shop and I worked there helping him move boxes around. I left his shop and went back to Dream Away.

I got out the new forward hatch and got it installed. I did the dry fit and it fit perfect. I marked all of the holes on the hatch base. I drilled all of the holes using a #10 screw starter. I vacuumed out all of the holes, and made sure the hatch base was clean. I then got out the roof mastic and applied two layers of the mastic to the actual hatch. I then set the hatch in place and put in all of the screws. Like most things of this type, a week of preparation, 30 minutes to insert the hatch and it is all done. One down and two to go.

New Forward Hatch Opened

I then got to work on the after hatch and the pads for the SCUBA compressor rack. I made sure the compressor rack fit on the pads, so we were good there. Next was sanding down and smoothing the finishing putty applied yesterday. It all went very well, but there were a few places that needed another application of the finishing putt. I know Stacy, just one more application of the finishing putty. I put on the finishing putty, cleaned up the area, installed the temporary Gucci hatch, and went over to the shop.

After Hatch Base And SCUBA Compressor Rack On Fiberglass Pads

I picked up Gordon, and on the way to my shop, I stopped by Alan's shop and picked up an old fiberglass tank. It is the tank that came with Dream Away. I used the area where the tank was to put the holding tank, but I built and installed a stainless steel holding tank. Naturally I saved the fiberglass tank, but when I went cruising the first time I gave it to Alan. Now Alan is cleaning out his shop, and was going to throw the tank away. When I got the tank to my shop, I measured the tank, and realized the if I cut up the old tank, it would cover about 2/3 of the compressor.

I then got out my saw and proceeded to chop up the tank. I will have to cut some pieces out of another piece of scrap fiberglass, but it will take a lot less time to built this cover from scraps, than to build a new one from scratch.

I left Gordon working on his davit project, and went back to the marina to get Troy and his truck. We drove back to the Dino store room, and picked up the Livingston dinghy. We loaded the dinghy onto the truck, and went back to the marina. We unloaded the dinghy onto a dock cart, and brought the dinghy to the area behind Dream Away on the grass.

Went back over to my shop. Cleaned up the area, picked up Gordon and went back to Dream Away, dropping Gordon off at his dock. The end of a really long day, 1945.

August 31, Monday.

Started off the day by checking the filler putty on the aft hatch. It kicked off as I expected so that was good. I threw away the cream hardener that did not seem to work earlier. The interesting part is that the cream hardener that worked was the oldest of all I had. The cream hardener that did not work was the newest. So, here I am again, being the quality control person for these manufacturing companies.

I started sanding and cleaning the aft hatch base, and also the blocks for the SCUBA compressor rack. I got those areas all cleaned up and sanded, and applied a coat of the finishing putty. This putty set up as planned, and hopefully will be the last application for the aft hatch.

I checked into installing the forward hatch, as the Brightside paint was dry, and ready to accept the hatch. Naturally, with all of the fasteners I have, I did not have the correct size. I called West marine, and they had a box of 100 of the correct size. I went by and purchased the fasteners. The forward hatch will have to be installed tomorrow, Tuesday (9/01/2009).

After lunch, I went by Gordon's boat and picked him up. We went to Great Western Metals to get a stick of 1" pipe. We got back to the shop, and unloaded the pipe. Gordon started cutting all of the tabs he will need on his dinghy davits. While he was cutting and trimming up his tabs, I moved a lot of the Atlanta-bound stuff to the store room that is acting as a temp area. I also got all of the Fiat Dino parts packed into boxes, or into the vehicle. SO, the Dino is ready to roll, so to speak.

Next, I got out the welder and finished the welding on the rack for the SCUBA compressor. I got all of the welds made, some very good, some not so good looking, but all strong. I now have to clean up the rack. When I left the shop to go back to Dream Away, I took the rack with me.

When I got back to Dream Away, I checked the fit of the rack on the blocks, and it still fits. Now, all I have to do is the final cleaning and polishing on the rack, and I can install it on Dream Away.

Since I know the rack fits, tomorrow I will take the rack back to the shop, and start constructing the cover that will rest on the rack and cover the compressor.

August 30, Sunday.

No work done on Dream Away today. Catching up on email, scanning, and financial issues. Also, ran the pontoon boat for the Buffalo Bayou Partnership.

August 29, Saturday.

Went over to Gordon's boat to help him with the first dry fit of the davit pipes. We had to remove a screw in each of the old davit bases, before we could try the fit. The pipes are very unwieldy to move around, but we got them on the boat and checked out. The pipes fit where they belong just right. When we finished the fitting, I went back to Dream Away.

First on the list was the second coat of Brightside on the forward hatch base. I cleaned the area off with paper towels, and used a tack cloth. Then I applied the second coat of Brightside, and removed the masking tape.

Next was the aft hatch base. For some reason, some of the filler putty did not kick off, so I had to scrape it all off and cleaned up with acetone. I also cleaned up the fiberglass around two of the compressor blocks, and the finishing putty around the other two blocks.

I applied the new filler putty (using a different tube of cream hardener) around the hatch base where it was needed, and applied finishing putty around the compressor blocks. The finishing putty kicked off without a problem, and the filler putty seemed to kick off with great gusto. I will really be able to tell on Monday.

After lunch, I went over to the shop with Gordon, to work on his davit pipes. I finished the welding on the davit pipe bases and on some tabs on the pipes. Gordon has to fabricate the remainder of the tabs for his davits, and I will weld them on for him. I also cut out two pieces of 3/4" fiberglass plate for Gordon to use as backing plates for his davits.

I drilled out the holes on the feet of the compressor rack. I finished the welding of the feet to the compressor rack. The welding on the compressor rack and on Gordon's davit pipes worked hand in hand. Everything has to be clamped up so the metal does not warp. I would weld on one piece, then switch to another piece, and so on, until the job was finished.

I also welded a top piece onto the compressor rack. I still have one more top piece to weld onto the compressor rack, then I can start construction on the cover. I am pretty sure I will be able to use the deck box lid mold to make the necessary pieces for the compressor cover.

August 28, Friday.

We took the one pipe on which I had welded the base plate incorrectly, and I was able to cut off the tack welds. We line up the base plate on the pipe and I tack welded it properly. Gordon also measured where some of the tabs are to be welded for the davit supports. We got those cut out out, and I tack welded the tabs onto the port and starboard pipes

When I tack welded the feet onto the compressor rack, I did not drill the holes for the hold down bolts first. I then had to mark I also cut out two pieces of the 3/4" the feet for the holes to be drilled.

We left the shop with the two pipes in the truck. Stopped by Gordon's dock and off loaded the two pipes, and I continued on to Dream Away. It rained almost as soon as I got to Dream Away, so I was not able to put the second coat of Brightside onto the forward hatch base.

August 27, Thursday.

Started off the day working on the forward hatch. I sanded down the second coat of primer, prepared the area, and cleaned it up using acetone and a tack rag. I applied the first coat of Interlux Brightside singe-part Polyurethane paint to the hatch base.

Next, I fiberglassed the insert to the aft hatch base. I am also going to fiberglass the blocks to the deck for the compressor rack. When I did a dry fit of the insert on the hatch base, was I surprised! The hatch base was not square, and, of course, the insert was square. The front hatch base has been square, so this was a bit of a surprise. I made the necessary measurements, then went over to the shop to make the cuts with my diamond saw blade. I got the cuts made, and the insert all sanded down. I also rounded the corners of the blocks for the compressor rack. Then it was back to Dream Away.

When I got back to Dream Away the dry fit of the insert went great. I sanded down the area where the compressor rack blocks were going. I then used masking tape to mask off the areas around where the hatch insert was going, so the excess resin would not cause a problem. I next got out the pre-cut fiberglass I had for the hatch base and made sure two layers of fiberglass were ready. I also got the fiberglass pieces cut and ready for the block to be used for the base of the compressor rack. Everything was ready to start the fiberglassing process.

I got the resin mixed up, and made the hardener a bit light because I was working in the direct sunlight. I got both layers of resin wetted out, then put the insert on the hatch base. It went on just great. Next I glassed in the blocks for the compressor rack. It all went very well. I had lunch, then went out to cover up the aft hatch to prevent water (rain) egress, and did the same for the forward hatch.

Picked up Gorden, and we went to the shop. Gordon worked on the davit base plates while I tack welded the feet onto the compressor rack. I finished up the welding, allowed it all to cool, and then broke down the jig and clamp setup I had for the project. The rack was set outside to cool completely.

I received the part for the Makita sander. I installed the part, and the sander now works perfectly.

Gordon and I then cut the proper angles for the base plate on the bottom of the pipe. We also cut the pipe to the proper length. Next we tack welded the base plates onto the pipe. The first task went great, but on the second task we made an error, and the plate was off 90 degrees. I told Gordon, I was very tired, and probably caused the mistake. I told him I was pretty much done for the day, and needed to go back to Dream Away and shower. It was 1900 when I got back to Dream away.

August 26, Wednesday.

Went over to the shop first thing, and started on Gordon's project. We got the 1 1/2' Pipe and made two bends in each pipe. It took a lot of time to get everything all set up, and get the bends made.

We then went back to Watergate. I dropped Gordon off so he could work more on the project, and I went to Dream Away.

I got to work on the forward hatch. Got out the 220 grit sandpaper and sanded down the area that was primed. Cleaned up the area with acetone, wiped down the area with a tack rag and then applied the second coat of primer.

Next, I turned to on the aft hatch which also needs to be replaced. I taped a large trash bag under the hatch to keep all of the dirt and dust from getting into the aft cabin, and then removed the hatch. Next was cleaning off all of the roof mastic I had used to seal these hatches and ports onto the boat. It is really a good news/bad news situation. It really seals much better than anything I have used from the marine industry. The bad news is that it really sticks. If it is out of the sun, it just does not quit. Thus, it is a real nightmare to clean off of the deck around the hatch base. I finally got it all cleaned up, and sanded down the top of the base to get it ready for the insert to be glassed into the base.

Went back over to the shop with Gordon. Got him started on how to use the chop saw and the drill press. I left him to cut the bases for his davits, and to drill the center holes in the bases.

While Gordon was working on his project, I sanded down the blocks I am using for the compressor rack on the aft deck. These blocks will be glassed down to the deck next to the new hatch insert I am installing on the aft cabin top. I also cut out the pieces of square tubing that will go on the top of the rack; and, set up the jig and clamps for the compressor rack so I can tack weld the foot pieces onto the rack.

August 25, Tuesday.

Started off the day by getting the first coat of primer on the forward hatch base. Took off all of the covers, then wiped down the base and area with acetone. I then masked off the area to be painted. I used a tack rag to wipe down the area to remove all bits of dust or dirt. I then applied the the primer. As my luck would have it, the construction crew right across from the boat, upwind, used their cement saw, and now there was a fine dust in the air!! As I would be leaving for most of the day, I went over to the shop to get a tarp to cover the painted base, in case of rain.

I picked up friend Gordon, and we went off on our errands. I am helping Gordon construct some davits. He is buying all of the material, and doing most of the grunt work, and I will be doing the welding.

Our first stop was Diesel Pump and Injector Service on Navigation Blvd. near the turning basin on the Houston ship channel. They are going to look at the injector pump for the generator, and see if it can be rebuilt, and then tell me how much it would cost.

Next we went out to West Houston, and stopped at Land, Sea, and Sky. They had repaired the telltale compass Kitty had found for me. The compass really looks good.

From Land, Sea, and Sky, we stopped and had lunch, and then went to Great Western Metals to pick up the pipe and tubing required for Gordon's project. We dropped off the pipe and tubing at the shop, then went down to Texas City to get our bottle of Argon filled. We came back, dropped off the bottle at the shop, then back to Gordon's boat to do some measurements. When that was completed, I went back to Dream Away. I did install the outboard motor mount on the starboard aft rail.

I checked the primer on the forward hatch, and sure enough the paint was gritty. I will have to sand it down tomorrow before I put on the second coat.

August 24, Monday.

Got to the shop and got right into welding on the SCUBA compressor rack. I needed to get the rack welded to a certain point so I could set the compressor onto the rack. I was able to get two more separators welded between the stringers. Next I had to weld the rings to the vibration isolators into which the compressor fits. This was a pretty tight tolerance. I measured and welded on the first two rings. I let them cool, then put the compressor on the rack again so I could verify the placement of the second two rings. I got them set up, and welded on those two rings. I let them cool, then put the compressor on the rack, and the compressor dropped right into place. The rack was now at a point at which I could take it to the boat and mark off placement of the rack on the aft dog house.

BTW, I have already lifted the compressor (90 Lbs), four times onto the rack to check measurements. Now I put the rack and the compressor in the back of the truck. I then went over to Dream Away.

I put the compressor and the rack into a dock cart and took it down to the boat. Put the rack on the aft doghouse, then put the compressor onto the boat, and into the rack. Got all of the measurements taken, and marked. Off-loaded the compressor and the rack back into the truck. Since I do not have a good way to secure the compressor to the boat until the rack is installed, I leave the compressor in the shop. I also have to finish welding the rack. I have to clean up some of the welds. I also have to weld the tabs onto the feet of the rack. I will also weld a piece of square tubing across the top of the uprights so there is a good clean, flat surface on which the covering box can rest.

Next was the forward hatch. I sanded down the second coat of the finishing putty, and got the whole hatch base area on the deck and the new piece I installed looking really good. I washed down the area and got it prepared to put on the Gelcoat. That is when I remembered I had painted the hatch base area before. To use Gelcoat, I would have to remove all of the paint, and then sand and finish the area again. I decided not to take all of that time, and to paint again. Before I did either the paint or the Gelcoat, I wanted to dry fit the hatch, which I had left in the shop. So I called West Marine, ordered the paint, and went over to the shop. I picked up the hatch, stopped by West Marine, and then back to Dream Away.

I dropped the new hatch into the new base, and it dropped in perfectly. The weather outlook was a bit shaky, so I did not attempt to apply any paint tonight. If it is dry, and the weather looks good, I will put a coat of primer on the hatch base in the morning before I go into Houston.

August 23, Sunday.

No projects worked on today. It has been a month since all of the raw water strainers have been cleaned, so I decided to get that done before I had a problem.

August 22, Saturday.

Went over to the shop first thing, and ended up spending the entire day there except for a break to go over to friend Jim's boat to help him get a haul out set up.

I wanted to get the rack for the SCUBA compressor welded up and finished today if possible. As it turned out I was not able to finish, but I did get pretty far along. I had to cut all the pieces of the square tubing that are going to be used as uprights, stringers and other separators. I also had to cut out four pieces of tubing that will be used to fit the compressor rubber vibration isolators into. There are four vibration isolators on the bottom of the compressor. I also had to cut out four pieces of flat bar that will be the feet on the bottom of the uprights. I also cut out four fiberglass pads for the feet to sit on.

Once I get the rack built, I will be able to see where the four fiberglass pads will go on the after doghouse. Since I will be working on the hatch right next to where the compressor will go, I wanted to be able to work on both at the same time.

Back to the rack. The stringers were longer than 24", so I had to weld two pieces of the square tubing together to get the 30" length required for the stringers. Of course, it required lots of clamping of the pieces as I was welding. I also had to plan my work so that, after I was finished welding and was waiting for the cool down period, I was able to perform productive labor. I was able to get quite a lot done. All the pieces that were cut initially had to be cleaned and polished, to weld. So a system came together pretty well. I got the stringers welded together, then I welded two uprights to each stringer, and then welded two of the separators to them.

Next I welded the remaining stringer upright combination to the piece in the above picture. It was a lot of fun trying to come up with all of the clamps necessary to get it all into position, and be able to actually weld after everything was clamped down. I finally got done, and enough welds put on it, so I will be able to finish it off on Monday. Once the welding is done, and I can place the fiberglass pads correctly, I will be able to polish the rack up, and engineer some way to be able to lock the cover onto the rack and not permit water from entering. The fun continues!!

August 21, Friday.

Started off the day on Dream Away. Got out all of the tools and wire cable needed to attack the dinghy davits. Called friend Alan and asked him to come over and help me run the wiring down the davits. I had messenger wires in each davit, but it makes the effort go better if you have one person pulling on the messenger wire, and a second person feeding the wires.

On the port davit, I attached the wire for the stern navigation light, and the antenna wire for the SSB DSC VHF antenna. I also attached another messenger wire, to leave in the davit, just in case I want to add something else in the future. On the port davit we were pulling the wires into the boat. On the starboard davit, we had to pull the cable, and the spare messenger wire out. I got all of that attached, and Alan pulled the wire out the starboard davit while I was feeding the wires. Well, the easy part was done.

Alan went back to his boat, and I started attaching the wires and cables. First I connected the stern navigation light. I got it all connected and verified that the light worked.

I then went forward and applied the first application of the finishing putty on the new hatch base.

Now it was back to the davit cabling. The VHF antenna was not long enough to reach the SSB radio. I had to add another piece of the antenna wire. I also had to run the wire through three cabinets and the wire raceway. Only three cabinets you say? Well, first you have to remove everything from the cabinet, then run the wire, and then replace all that you removed. When I finally got the cable run to the incoming VHF cable, I took a break.

Back to the front of the boat, and sanded down the first application of the finishing putty. It really looked pretty good after sanding, but I decided to put on a second application of the finishing putty. I got the second application of the finishing putty on, then back to the cables.

I put a connector on the VHF antenna wire coming in from the davit. I also put a connector on the cable I ran from the SSB radio. I had a union, so inserted it and then put the antenna wire and the navigation light wire into the raceway, and got it all buttoned up. Next was the WiFi antenna. I got that antenna wire run down the starboard side of the boat from the aft cabin to the garage. I will install the amplifier in the garage, and run the next antenna wire to the mid-cabin where the bridge will be located. I now have to run the wire for power to the amplifier in the garage.

I then turned to on clean up. The work bench in the garage needed a lot of attention, and I had to put away all of the tools and accessories I had out for the front hatch and the wiring. Got that all done and the area vacuumed because of all of the dirt I managed to shake out of the areas in which I was working.

Still not able to test the VHF antenna for the SSB or the WiFi, but hope to do that soon.

August 20, Thursday.

Went to shop first thing to make a second Gucci hatch. I felt this was necessary so I can be working on two hatches at the same time.

From the shop I went by Alan's and we then went to the metal recycling shop. I was looking specifically for some tubing or pipe to make spreaders for the dinghy. The spreader will aid in lifting the dinghy using the davits. On each davit is a block that can lift one point on the dinghy. This makes the dinghy very tippy when lifting, so the norm is to add a cable or chain from the port side to the starboard side of the dinghy, front and back. This works very well, but then you end up with the cable or chain in the dinghy, when it is not really necessary. So I want to add spreaders, which are metal bars, pipe or tubing, that have attachment points on the outer ends of the spreaders that will attach to the eyes on the dinghy where the chain or cable used to be. With the spreaders, when you have dropped the dinghy into the water, the spreaders stay with the boat and not in the dinghy. This means less hassle and less weight in the dinghy.

When Alan and I got to the recycle shop, I did not find anything that would do. Then I found some 2 foot pieces of 1.5" square tubing. If I weld three pieces together, I will be able to make the spreaders I need at the proper length, plus it is square tubing, it is stronger than round tubing. I purchased six pieces for $14.00. The recycle shop is great, because when you purchase metal, it is at the scrap price.

Left recycle shop and dropped Alan off at his boat, and then went to Dream Away. I started looking at the placement of the SCUBA compressor, and as I was thinking about how to make the mounts. I thought I could make a really great mount out of the square tubing. We had planned on covering the compressor with a Sunbrella cover, but both Kitty and I were concerned that someone would step on the compressor while working the mizzen sail. If I make the mount out of the square tubing, I will be able to make a cover out of wood or fiberglass. This will better protect the compressor from the elements, and will also provide a place to step while working on the mizzen sail, without worrying about damaging the compressor.

Seemed like a great idea, so back to the recycle shop to see if they had ten more pieces of the square tubing. When I got to the recycle shop, the bin I had found the square tubing in had been moved, so initially I was down. I then found the bin somewhere else in the shop, and there were ten pieces of the square tubing left! I purchased all ten pieces for $23.00. I left the recycle shop, and went back to Dream Away.

Sanded and filed down the filler putty that was applied yesterday to the first hatch base. Got the hatch base all sanded down, then put on the first coat of the finishing putty.

Went over to the shop, and welded up the dinghy spreaders. I welded three pieces of the square tubing together for each spreader. I only need 58" for each spreader bar, so I will have some left over for the SCUBA compressor mount. Since I have learned about metal doing funny things when it is welded, I clamped the work down and welded two sides. I waited until the work cooled to the touch, turned the work over, and welded the other two sides. It took a lot more time, and I still got a small amount of warpage, but both pieces looked pretty good. It was 2000 when I left the shop to go back to Dream Away.

I have some photos, but I added a photo to yesterday's update showing the final tie down for the stern anchor.

August 19, Wednesday.

Got a late start today. I actually slept in until 0700. Just as I finished my walk with PNB, friend Alan showed, so we had a visit. When Alan left, I had breakfast, and then got started on the most forward hatch.

I wanted to get started early while the wind was down, and it was not so hot. When I started to get out all of the necessary items, I realized I did not have the polyester resin on Dream Away. I had to go to the shop, and on the way to the shop I made several stops, including one at the Post Office.

Got to the shop, picked up the gallon of polyester resin, and a fitting that I could use to tie down the stern anchor. I then went back to Dream Away.

I got out all of the tools and materials I needed to glass the hatch base down to the deck. I got my box of fiberglass out and started to go through it, and realized there was not enough mat in the box for me to do one hatch. I also measured the fitting and a piece of starboard to use on the final tie down of the stern anchor. This arrangement will be much better than a piece of line. Then it was off to the shop again.

At the shop, I got out my stash of fiberglass mat, and cut the pieces I would need to glass the hatch base to the deck. I cut the pieces for the other two hatches I would be putting on in the next few days. I also cut the piece of Starboard to go with the fitting on the stern anchor. Then it was back to Dream Away.

Now I REALLY had all of the tools and materials to glass the base to the deck. I did a dry fit to make sure it would all work. I also put layers of masking tape around the inside and outside of the work area to act as dams to keep the resin from going all over the place. Since it was much later in the afternoon, and the sun was now shining on the area in which I was working, I decided to not put as much hardener into the resin. I got the resin all mixed, and went out and wetted out the deck area, applied the fiberglass, more resin, and another layer of fiberglass, then the hatch base. Once I verified the base was placed properly and the resin was starting to kick, I put some weights on the base to make sure there was a good bond.

While waiting for the resin to kick off completely, I went and visited another boat to talk of projects.

When I got back to Dream Away, the resin had kicked off so life was good. I then took off the masking tape dams, and cleaned up the fiberglass and resin around the hatch base. The hatch base is now ready for the first application of finishing and filler putty.

Robert showed up while I was cleaning up the hatch base. He had come to do the eye splices in the new dock lines to get ready for the hurricane season. We got all four of the dock lines done and the two spring lines. We now have all new un-stretched lines for the dock, in case of storm. I will use the old dock lines as a backup in case of another hurricane.

August 18, Tuesday.

First thing this morning I worked some more on computer items. I was waiting for Kitty to get up so we could go to the airport.

On my way back form the airport, I stopped at a roofing supply center. I was looking for a roll or two of the sealant that is used on the roofs of metal buildings. BTW this sealant is called "Roof Mastic". The supply center did not sell the roof mastic, and they suggested I check at Home Depot. I continued on home.

Got work clothes on, and made some measurements for the stern anchor area. I then went out to the aft stanchion where the stern anchor will go and removed the plate on top of the fiberglass stanchion base. Of course, this was easier said than done. I had to remove the life rail from three stanchions, and the life line from two stanchions. When I completed that, I was able to get the plate off of the stanchion base. I left Dream Away and stopped by Home Depot, and sure enough they had the roof mastic. I purchased two rolls, and then went over to the shop.

When I got to the shop I realized I had not marked the plate front or back. Got back into the truck, drove back to Dream away and verified the front of the plate. Then back to the shop.

I was able to find a bunch of scrap pieces of 5" plate to fabricate a holder for the stern anchor to weld to the plate. This I did, and got the holder all put together and polished and cleaned. While all of this welding was cooling, I fabricated the fiberglass pads I will be fiberglassing to the deck to anchor the SCUBA compressor. When the plate had cooled, I went back to Dream Away to attach the plate with the stern anchor holder.

I forgot about the bolts I put through the stanchions and the bases to prevent the stanchions from pulling out. The stern anchor holder would not go over the head of the bolt. Back to the shop. Got out the Oxy/Propane torch and heated up the holder, and bent it out of the way. While waiting for the holder to cool, I applied paint remover to the two oars for the dinghy and the spare oar. They are all varnished, and look really good for about a month after initial varnish application. After one month they look really bad until I apply more varnish. I am removing the varnish, and painting the oars -- less maintenance!! The holder cooled down, so I cleaned and polished the holder. Back into the truck and then back to Dream Away.

The holder fit perfectly, and the anchor fit into the holder perfectly. All I need to do is come up with an elegant way to tie the anchor off to the stanchion.

August 17, Monday.

Went over to the shop first thing. Spent time cleaning up shop and putting tools and equipment back in it's place. Started moving items from the shop to the staging store room.

Started cleaning and polishing some pieces of stainless steel that I had heated and bent to be used as supports to hold up folding chairs and umbrella in the forward cabin. The supports I presently have are barely adequate. These new ones will fit the bill much better.

I loaded the new Dutton-Lainson Sentinel fluke anchor to be used as the stern anchor, and the SCUBA compressor into the truck. I then went back to Dream Away. The plan was to work on boat projects, and to spend time with Kitty.

We first spent time trying to figure out where to store the SCUBA compressor on the boat. The SCUBA compressor weighs 89 pounds, so there is almost no way I can store the compressor down below. It would be nearly impossible to get the compressor out on deck to use it. We had very few choices topside. We had to be able to store the compressor where it would not have to be moved for use, it had to be covered from the weather, and it had to be secured to the boat. We ended up deciding to put the compressor over the aft cabin between the two hatches. I am pretty sure I will not have enough time to build a stainless steel mount for the compressor, and will not have enough time to build a metal or fiberglass cover. We decided to make a Sunbrella cover for the compressor. I purchased four eyes I will glass down to the aft cabin top deck. These pads with eyes will be used for securing and locking the compressor to the boat. Perhaps in the future I will be able to build a stainless steel mount for the compressor.

Kitty and I went on a shopping trip to Kemah Hardware and West Marine. I purchased the eyes, two shackles for the dinghy davits, and the VHF antenna to be used as the DSC antenna for the SSB radio at West Marine. We then went to Kemah Hardware to get some new bolts of the proper size for the davit main cross support pipe.

I got the new bolts put into the davit main support pipe. With the configuration of the new VHF antenna, I had to drill a hole in the center of the antenna mount I had welded onto the plates on the main support pipe. We had a rain storm before I got into this project, and I noticed the flag pole holder on the center plate of the davit main cross support pipe was full of water. This necessitated drilling a hole in the plate to allow water to drain, which was done. Everything should be ready to run the wires and cables for the stern navigation light, the VHF antenna, and the WiFi antenna.

The last project for the day was to figure out where to mount the stern anchor. The anchor had to be moved due to the installation of the new davits. We finally decided to mount it on one of the aft stanchion next to the 100 Lb storm anchor. I will have to take off the stanchion mounting plate on top of its fiberglass block. I will then take it the plate to the shop and fabricate a holder for the stern anchor. Having the two anchors close together where the lead in for the port stern dock line comes in will cause trouble, but there is a compromise that has to be made.

August 16, Sunday.

No actual work done today on Dream Away. It was work on computer day, doing email, and getting caught up on financial issues, and scanning. It was also spend time with Kitty day. Kitty is going off for two weeks, on Tuesday the 18th, to be with her friend Kathy while Kathy will be recovering from surgery.

August 15, Saturday.

Over to the shop first thing to try and straighten out the warped plates. I started on the center plate as it was the one in need of the most repair. I assumed the problem came from me not clamping down the work well enough, and un-clamping the work as soon as I finished. Learning this did not help the problem right now.

I took the center plate and attempted to straighten it out by putting one end into the vice, and then bending the plate one way or the other. I was able to make a little bit of progress, but not a lot. I then clamped the plate to the vice, and did a little more welding of the navigation light mount to the plate. This got the plate heated up pretty well. I then removed half of the clamps on the plate and got out the Oxy-Propane torch. I heated up the plate very hot but not cherry red. At this point I clamped down the heated half to the vice. I waited about 15 minutes until the plate cooled to the touch and took the plate off of the vice. Not any real improvement.

By this time I had convinced my self I could make three new plates, cut the parts off of the old warped plates and be better off than trying to straighten out the old plates. When I bought the scrap piece to cut the plates from, it was plenty big. In fact I cut out the three new plates and still have a 36" piece left over that will go on the boat. You just never know.

I cut out the three new plates, and trimmed off two of the corners on each plate. I had my little tent erected over the work bench that I had outside the shop so I could do most of the work in the shade. I cleaned up and polished the three plates. I then drilled a 3/4" hole in two of the plates to allow antenna or electrical wires to pass through. I was not able to reuse the flag holder I welded to the original center plate. The good news was I had another chrome plated brass flag holder that could be bolted onto the plate. I drilled the three holes necessary to attach the flag holder to the plate. I also drilled a hole in the flag holder so when I put the flag pole into the holder I can drill a hole into the flag pole and bolt the pole to the holder. The flag pole will not be easy to get to, so I did not want to run the risk of losing the flag pole and flag.

Next I cut the antenna mounts off of the old plates, and I cut the navigation light mount off of the original center plate. I now had three new plates and all of the mounting hardware ready to go - again.

My next problem was how was I going to clamp the work down so I could still weld and not let loose the clamps until the work had cooled down. By luck I found a scrap piece of 3/8" aluminum plate left over from making the main mast spreader mounts. I took the aluminum plate and clamped the work and the plate to the vice. I also got some additional pieces of aluminum angle bar and clamped the work to the plate.

New Plate Clamped to Aluminum Plate And Vice After Welding Antenna Mount In Cool Down Period

When I got the work all clamped down, and was able to get to all sides of the work, I started welding. This time when I welded, I just welded about 1/2", then moved to the opposite side or area, and welded 1/2". I hoped this would also cut down on any of the metal showing signs of warp. I finally got all of the parts welded to the three plates. There was a lot of setup time involved as each piece of work had to be clamped down with at least six clamps, and I had to leave room to be able to weld all around the work. When I finished welding each piece, I did not unclamp the work until the work was cool to the touch. It was well worth the effort as none of the plates showed any signs of warpage.

Now it was time to weld the three plates to the main davit support pipe. Due to my new knowledge of metal movement with extreme heat, I was going to do a major clamp project on each plate. The first plate had to be mounted to the support pipe in such a way that after the support pipe was mounted to the davits, the plates were at a parallel with the water. Then I had to make sure the other two plates matched the first plate. I was able to get all three plates welded onto the support pipe in a straight line, and they looked very good. I would only find out how parallel the plates were after I got the support pipe mounted on the davits.

Plate Clamped And Welded To Support Pipe In Cool Down Period

Support Pipe Showing Three Plates All Straight, Last Plate Still Clamped To Pipe

Now I waited for the last cool down period, then cleaned up and polished the support pipe, with the plates welded to pipe. I was going to weld gussets between the support pipe and the plates, but after welding the plates to the support pipe, I did not see the need for the gussets. The plates were very strong, and they are not supporting very much weight.

Got the area cleaned up. Called Kitty to come get me in the truck. When Kitty arrived, loaded the support pipe, flag pole, tools and parts into the truck. Went back over to Dream Away.

Hauled all of the goodies out of the truck down to Dream Away. I got the new support pipe bolted onto the davits. It went right on with out a problem, and the plates were parallel to the water. The finished product really looked good. There were a few comments about overkill, but what could I do? I did celebrate with a bit of Zaya rum, but did not hurt myself too badly!!

I feel a great sense of accomplishment on this project. When Stacy first asked me if I could weld my own set of davits, I said yes, not a problem. When it came time to actually do the project, I had a lot of second, third, fourth, ....... thoughts. I finally worked through the fabrication and construction of the davits. I had a few set backs, but I got through them also. I feel really good about the davits. The real proof will be this coming week when I actually lift the dinghy out of the water, but I foresee no real issues. The old davits worked, and these new davits are a two- or three-fold improvement.

Can not rest on my laurels, as I still have more projects to get through, but at least I am experienced on all of the projects yet to go.

Davits With Hummer Grill and Main Support Pipe Installed

Captain Celebrating Complete Davit Installation With Zaya Rum, New Ships Flag In Background

August 14, Friday.

More update from last night. The ice maker was making so much ice, I decided to turn it off for a few days. I typically run the ice maker long enough to fill the ice bucket in the freezer, then when it is full, take the full ice maker bucket, pop it in the freezer, and wait for the ice to be used. When the ice in the ice bucket in the freezer get low, I will start the ice maker again.

Set the alarm and got off to an early start. Was at the shop at 0730 ready to get working on the davit support pieces. I decided to get the Hummer grill support piece done first . Getting this piece all welded up was very time consuming. I had decided to add a brace to the support piece so the support piece would not sag in the middle. The previous piece I had on the old davits holding the Hummer Grill, had sagged due to the weight of the Hummer Grille and the length of the support piece. I eventually got the support piece fabricated and welded together. I was able to get the support piece tubing drilled out to match the pieces the tubing goes into. This will enable me to swing the Hummer Grille out of the way when necessary.

All of the welding I did on the Hummer Grille support piece, ran the generator out of gas. I had to clean up and leave the shop, go get some gas in a jerry jug, then back to the shop.

Next on the list was to weld the three plates that are going to be attached to the main support brace between the two davits. The center plate has a holder for a flag pole, and a piece of stainless steel to which the stern navigation light is attached. I cut the hole in the plate for the flag pole holder. I next drilled holes in the two other plates for wires to go through. I wanted to get all of the prep work done, so I could do all of the welding at one time. With 20-20 hindsight, this was not the way to go.

I started the welding process by welding the holder to the center plate. I then turned the plate over and welded the piece for the navigation light to the plate. I had the plate clamped to the vice during the welding process. When I finished welding the center plate, I put the plate down on the cement floor to cool off. I then welded an antenna mount to each of the other plates. Again I had clamped the plate to the vice, did the welding, then put the plate on the cement floor to cool.

Now I was ready to weld the three plates to the main support pipe. Here is where the problem was. The three plates I had welded were all warped out of shape. I would now have to spend the time heating and straightening the three plates. I could tell by the time, 1630, I was not going to get the davits done today. Here are two pictures of the plates showing how bad they had warped out of shape due to the heat.

I cleaned up all of the mess, loaded the Hummer Grille support into the truck, and a bunch of tools. I then went to Dream Away.

The good news was I got the hummer support on the davits. To take a look, it looks a bit over kill, but I do not want to lose the Hummer Grille. And as I mentioned in another Maintenance Log update, I want to be able to remove the support if we ever have to Med Moor. I got the Hummer grille installed, and the Hummer worked great on its first test. We had grilled steaks for dinner!!

I was very disappointed about not finishing the main davit support pipe, but I have all day tomorrow to fix that problem.

August 13, Thursday.

Went over to the shop after a stop at Alan's for coffee and to help him with a couple of computer problems. Alan followed me to the shop, so I could help him drill some holes in his air conditioner plenum.

Proceeded to load the truck with tools, davit parts, chop saw, table and tent. Then drove over to Dream Away. Hauled all of the goodies down to the boat.

First on the list was to set up the table and tent. The tent could not be placed over the actual work area, but it was nice to have the table under the tent. I could take a break under the tent, and it was really nice to have all the tools remain in the shade. The tools were actually cool when you picked them up!!

First order of business was to measure and then cut the support for the Hummer Grille on the davits. This went with no problem. The support brackets fit perfectly, and the ends of the support will be perfect, once they are welded in place.

Next was to attach the main lateral support pipe to the davits. I was able to get the support pipe in place, and take the measurements. I then cut slots in each end of the support pipe using the chop saw. I was able to get the support pipe to fit over the tabs on the davits. I then used clamps to hold down the support pipe to the davits. I used short pieces of line attached to the support pipe, and all of the clamps in case something slipped and it all came crashing down. No problem there. I then drilled two 3/8" holes in each end of the support pipe that also went through the tabs. I put the bolts through the holes, and tightened them down. The davits with the support pipe on and in place do not move at all, a very worthy structure.

Next I measured on the support pipe for all of the plates to be welded on for the antennas, and navigation lights. When the measuring was finished, I took the support pipe off of the davits. Then I loaded all of the tools, parts, chop saw, tent and table back into the truck, and went back over to the shop, and unloaded everything.

I started on the support pipe, by cleaning up all of the cuts and holes. I then polished the ends of the pipe. I will be doing a lot of welding to the support pipe tomorrow. I also worked on the support for the Hummer grill. I drilled out the end fittings so I will be able to swivel the Hummer on its piece of tubing. I also got the pieces cut out I will be using as additional support pieces for the Hummer support pieces. It might seem there are a lot of support pieces, but it should be OK tomorrow when words will be supported by pictures.

August 12, Wednesday.

Went over to the shop after a stop at Alan's for coffee and to pick up the set of hole saws I will need for the remainder of the davits.

Started the generator and got the welder running. Welded on the two pieces of stainless steel for the cleat on the port side davit. Got the Oxy/Propane torch out and bent the stainless steel to the proper angle to be used for the cleat. While all of that was cooling, I worked on cleaning and polishing the parts I will use to attach the navigation lights and the antennas. When the cleat on the davit had cooled, I polished the area around the cleat and got it looking really good.

I then loaded the two davits into the truck. I also loaded the chop saw, and a bunch of tools into the truck, and went over to Dream Away. Then the reverse, I unloaded the two davits from the truck, and hauled them down to Dream Away.

Yesterday I put the new backing plates on the boat, and bolted the plates in place until the filler putter hardened. I removed the bolts, and drilled out the bolts holes to make sure the holes were clean. I then drilled a 1" inch hole in the backing plate to allow access for the wires. I got that all done, and the area cleaned up. I got all of the bolts and washers I needed on the back of the boat in preparation for the davit installation. Kitty had suggested using the original backing plates under the new backing plates as insurance. You know I jumped on that! So I had to drill holes in the original backing plates for the wiring access.

So now we were ready for the davit installation. I put the butyl rubber sealant on both base plates of the starboard davit. A good friend, who owns the other Hardin on the dock, just happened to walk down the dock and ask if he could help. I said yes. We picked up the davit and moved it onto the boat. That in itself is a job. The davit had been laying on the dock for two hours in the hot Houston sun, so the davit was very hot. We got it on the boat and after a bit of a struggle got it positioned and all 10 1/2" stainless steel bolts on. Rick then went down below to operate the wrenches below, while I operated the wrenches topside. He was in air conditioned comfort, while I was outside.

When the starboard davit was installed, we got on the port davit. The installation went very smooth, and we got it all installed and all of the fasteners tightened. With the new extremely large backing plates installed along with the original backing, there is no flexing in the deck.

So we have reached a milestone. The new custom made dinghy davits are installed. It will take the next two days to finish the total installation, with the cross bar support, the cross bar for the Hummer grille, and the blocks for the dinghy raising and lowering. By Friday evening the 14th of August, the dinghy davit installation should be complete.

August 11, Tuesday.

Went over to the shop first thing in the morning and started polishing and cleaning up the parts I will be using on the davit cross piece to support the antennas and the navigation light. Lots of little parts, so it will eat up time, but I will get past it. I also packaged up the Lighthouse windlass into it's shipping box. I then loaded the oxygen bottle and the argon bottle into the truck.

I also loaded the welder into the truck. We want to check the welder will go on the boat where I think it should go.

I cut down the new backing plates for the davits. There was not enough room to get the full 18" length, so I had to cut off two inches.

I left the shop, stopped by the UPS store to ship the windlass, and then went over to Dream Away.

I checked the placement of the welder in the life preserver locker. It fit into the locker, so we will have the welder along with us!!

Kitty had the aft cabin all prepared for the backing plate installation. Because of the increased thickness of the backing plate, we had to get larger bolts. While I got everything ready to install the backing plates, Kitty went to Kemah Hardware and purchased the new bolts. When she got back, I mixed up a large pot of the filler putty, added the cream hardener, and put in the port backing plate. This installation took a lot of the filler putty, because the underside of the deck on the port side was very irregular. The installation of the putty is to provide a flat surface for the backing plate. While I put the backing plate into position from under the deck, Kitty pushed the bolts through the deck from topside. I added nuts and washers, then we tightened the bolts and nuts against the backing plate. This squeezed the putty all under the backing plate, and in some cases out the sides. This was all good.

We did the same thing for the starboard backing plate. I did not need as much putty for this backing plate, as the underside of the deck on the starboard was much smoother. The installation of the two backing plates went very smooth.

When we finished with the backing plates, we had lunch, and left Dream Away. Kitty took me over to the shop and dropped me off. Kitty went on down to Texas City to get the Argon and Oxygen bottles filled, which she did.

I cut the new line we purchased to the correct lengths for docking lines. I am going to have Robert come over and do the six splices. He only charges $10.00 a splice, and he takes about 1/4 of the time it would take me, and I have plenty of other things to do.

August 10, Monday.

Went to the shop first thing, and started in on the davits. I welded the tabs onto the davits for the two cross pieces. I drilled the necessary holes into the tabs that will be used to support the Hummer grill. I also cut, fabricated and welded the round stock onto the davits that are going to be used as the cleats.

I also cut out the pieces out of flat stock I am going to weld on the support cross piece of the davits. These pieces of flat stock are going to support the antennas, the navigation lights, and the flog pole holder. Tomorrow I will clean and polish them.

I cut out the pieces of fiberglass I am going to use for the new backing plates of the davit supports under the aft deck.

August 9, Sunday.

No Dream Away work done today. Kitty and I went on an authorized field trip to Round Top, Texas, to visit some friends, with some friends. Great trip, Great time, Great friends.

August 8, Saturday.

No Dream Away work done today. Worked as Captain on the Buffalo Bayou Partnership pontoon boar (Rum money).

August 7, Friday.

Kitty and I removed the davits from the boat first thing. With any luck, this will be the last time the davits are removed on purpose! Got the davits loaded into the truck, and went over to the shop.

Fabricated the brackets for the Hummer brace. This meant cutting and bending pieces of the 2" flat bar I have. I was able to find some pieces of stainless steel to insert the 1" tubing into to rotate the Hummer grille. These pieces I will weld onto the brackets already fabricated. Once all of these pieces are put together they will work it the manner in which I have designed. I think I have all of the pieces on had to make the Hummer brace, Including the reinforcement.

Went back over to Dream Away for lunch. After lunch I started on the water maker. I was able to get oil into the reservoir that feeds the valve wicks. When that was finished I ran the water maker for 1 hour and 15 minutes with the product water going into the port water tank. When I was finished, I ran the water maker for two minutes using the product water. This will insure the system is as clean as possible before shutdown. If I leave salt water in the system, it must be run within seven days. If I use fresh water I have a 30 day window before I must use the system.

I heard from Jordan yesterday concerning the oil leaking out of the Lighthouse windlass. He said he is not sure what the problem is, but to send him the unit and he would check it out. Good thing I saved the shipping box he sent me in February. I removed the windlass from the front deck, and loaded it into the truck.

I also tested the new ICOM CommandMic I had ordered to replace the one that came up bad over the Fourth of July weekend. It checked out and worked, so that is something else off of the list.

Went back to the shop, and started to get the Lighthouse windlass into the shipping box. I am going to need several of the very long and big wire ties to hold the windlass into the shipping crate.

I received the valve assembly for the Bitzer refrigeration compressor. I took the compressor apart, and put in the new valve assembly. Looking at the old valve assembly, I can see where the leak problem was. I button up the compressor, and it is ready to go. I have put on the list to put the rebuilt compressor into the system, and see if it works. If that was the problem, I will order two more valve assemblies to take along as spares.

I also ordered new line for dock lines, spare fuel filters, a new EPIRB, with GPS functionality, and the WiFi amplifier. Now of course I have to get all of this installed.

I have set myself a goal of having the davits installed by happy hour next Friday.

August 6, Thursday.

Went over to the shop, and finished cleaning and polishing the port davit. Also made sure the first davit looked pretty good. Loaded both davits, cross pipes, chop saw and several other tools into the truck, and went to Dream Away.

Unloaded all of the tools, davits, pipes and such, and hauled it all down to Dream away. With Kitty's help we got both davits installed on the aft deck. The port davit, went right on, and really had no problem with it. The starboard davit is still a bit of a pain to get on, but it finally did. They really looked pretty good.

One problem that was noted by Kitty, was the deck seemed to flex after the davit was installed, and you put a lot of pressure on the end of the davit. I had not noticed it before, but when I looked at the deck while Kitty pulled on the end of the davit, there was some definite deck flexing. To fix this problem, I will have to put in a bigger backing plate. I am going to use a 12" X 18" X 3/4" piece of fiberglass plate glassed to the underside of the deck. This will be fun, but before I can start that fun, I have to chop out space under the deck to get the backing plate up there. This will be even more fun. Monday will be a fun day!!

We measured the first cross piece that will be pipe. We also chose where the tabs to hold the cross pieces are going to go. We also chose where the cleats are going to hold the dinghy lifting lines.

I got the tabs cut using the chop saw, and got the correct angle using my new angle finder. Got all of the pieces cut out, and go the pipe cut at the proper angle.

We decided how we are going to attach the cross piece that will hold the Hummer grille. Instead of using pipe and a very complicated method of moving pieces, we are going to use 1" tubing. I will be able to reinforce the tubing. With the tabs welded on the davits, I will be able to do a few modifications to get the tubing to rotate, so the Hummer can rotate out of the way.

The Hummer grill has to be able to rotate out of the way when we use the aft gate and ladder (To be Installed), and also when we are under way so the mizzen boom will not hit the grille. This plan will work.

Kitty and I also came up with another reason to have the davit cross pieces on tabs that are removable. If we ever have to Med moor, we will have to go off the back of the boat. This will be very difficult if the davit cross pieces are in place. This will make everything much more functional.

I loaded up the chop saw, and all of the tools and went back to the shop. I cleaned and polished the tabs, and went looking for tubing to use for the Hummer grille cross piece.

Got a call from Texas Nautical Repair concerning the Telltale compass. It will be about $140.00 to repair, and take a week to 10 days.

August 5, Wednesday.

Drilled holes in the deck using a 1" hole saw under the pipe base on each davit for wires to come up through the davit. I know I will be running wires for the stern light, the WiFi antenna, and the DSC antenna on the SSB (Single Side Band).

The DSC, (Digital Selective Calling) is a method to output location information in the event of a problem on the boat via the VHF radio. The radio will out out your GPS location, if you connected the GPS output to the radio, and your MMSI (Maritime Mobile Service Identity) number. The MMSI number is unique, and enables the Coast Guard to look up your number and get information about you. Anyway, for the DSC function to work on the SSB, you have to install a separate VHF antenna.

I also drilled the 1/2" holes in the new fiberglass I put on the deck for the starboard davit.

I spent some time washing and cleaning the parts I got from a friend for our LaVac vacuum toilet.

I taped up the 1" holes I drilled into the deck from the bottom. I also taped up the holes in the transom I drilled for the bolt holes to hold the second base for the davit. I mixed up a batch of Smith's epoxy, and applied it to the holes. I had to do this because all of these holes were drilled through cored area, so it is a necessity to prevent rot, in case of a leak.

I then attempted to run the water maker. I had a problem because I had to add oil for the valve wicks. I did not have the oil on board Dream Away. The oil was in the shop. This project was put off until I could get the proper oil.

Kitty returned from shopping, so I went over to the shop. I got the gusset welded onto the base of the port davit. that finished the port davit. I spent the remainder of the day cleaning and polishing the port davit.

I checked the size of the pipe I am using, and the 2" plate I have, and the tab Idea will work great. It is now a matter of installing the davits and doing the measuring.

August 4, Tuesday.

Headed over to the shop at 0700. Picked up the welder, all of the accessories, and the Argon gas bottle. Went back to Dream Away. Unloaded the welder, et all and set it up on the dock at the back of the boat. I tack welded the the two pipes together for the port davit, and tack welded the support piece of stainless steel tubing between the two pipes. Took the welder, et all and loaded it in the truck. Back to Dream Away, and Kitty helped me unbolt the davit from the after deck and transom. Loaded the davit in the truck, then back to the shop. Unloaded the welder, all of the accessories, the gas bottle, the davit, all of the tools, and water. Kitty left me at the shop. She took the truck to our mechanic to get the air conditioner repaired.

Because of the problem I had with the first davit, I spent a fair amount of time making steel and aluminum parts to put between the two pipes of the davit so it would not move when I started welding. I also clamped the pipes together to try and insure there was no movement during the welding process.

I then started the welding. I welded the first support piece between the two pipes. I then welded the two pipes where they join together at the after end of the davit. I also welded the base on to the second pipe. This all takes a a lot of time. All of the weld on the pipe and tubing are 360 degree welds, so the work has to be turned over all of the time. Also after you do one weld the work is very hot, so being careful is a must.

When I got all of this finished, Kitty called and said the truck was finished, and did I want to go to lunch for the fried shrimp special at Joe Lee's. Of course I said yes. I had to find a dry shirt, and I was soaked in sweat. As I mentioned before, when I am welding, I have to shut down the fans, and I can not be outside, so no breeze what so ever. I lose a lot of weight during the day, and then eat to much for dinner, and put it back on again.

Got back from lunch at the shop and started in fabricating two other short support pieces that go between the two pipes of the davit. Go look at the pictures for July 25th, and you will see the small pieces of tubing between the two pipes of the davit. When I got the two pieces fabricated and fitting just right, I welded them onto the davit.

I then fabricated and fitted a gusset to use on the base of pipe number one. I finally got it positioned just right, I got the gusset tack welded on the base. I then quit for the day. I basically had been standing on the concrete floor of the shop all day, and I was tired. Tomorrow I will finish the davit, then we will see if it fits.

I have decided how I am going to attach the cross pieces of pipe on the davits. I had planned on welding the cross pieces to the davit, but I am afraid that once I get all of that done, I will not be able to get the davits back onto the boat. I have decided to weld tabs onto the davit pipes. The pipes that are going to be the cross pieces, I will cut out a slot at either end, that will fit over the tabs. I will drill through the pipe, and the tab, and bolt them together. This will be a bit easier on the over all construction, and will make replacement of any one part easier if there is some kind of a problem. Once I get the two davits on the boat, and start measuring the cross pieces, and welding the tabs onto the davits, I will put some pictures in the maintenance update.

August 3, Monday.

Another fun day working on a boat built in Taiwan by two families. Family one built the starboard, and family two built the port side, and they never, ever spoke to one another!!

Went over to the shop first thing. Friend Alan showed up, and I helped him with some cutting and drilling he needed done on some big pieces of aluminum.

I got to work on the second dinghy davit. I basically copied the first davit, and tack welded the base and the ends of the second davit. It was a very good match, and I was very happy. See pictures of setting up for the welding.

Went back to Dream Away and sanded down the finishing putty I had put in the deck area where the second davit will go. I then put the second davit on Dream Away. The base for the first pipe went on just great, but the base for the second pipe was about an inch too high! Please refer to the first sentence in this entry. I could not believe the difference. So I had to break the tack welds where the second pipe joined the first pipe. I then was able to bolt down the second pipe base. I was able to get the second pipe adjusted properly. Tomorrow morning, very early, I will bring the welder over to the boat and tack weld the second pipe to the first pipe. There will be no wind in the morning, so it will not be a problem.

I put some finishing putty around the area when the base of the port davit will go. I also put some finishing putty, right on the transom, where I had damaged some of the fiberglass.

I then sanded the area on the deck where the new hatch base will go. I got it all sanded, and cleaned up. I then tried to fit the fiberglass hatch base piece, and it was about 1/4" too big on the port side of the base, and about 1/2" to big on the back of the base.

I measured one of the pieces of stainless steel I will be welding between the first pipe and the second pipe. It was about 1/2" too long.

I left Dream Away, and went over to the shop. I worked on the stainless steel piece, and got the shape very close. I then cut the fiberglass hatch base to the proper dimensions. Loaded up the parts, and the bench grinder, and went back to Dream Away.

The hatch base fit perfectly, so now all I have to do is some preparation, and then I will glass the base to the deck.

I sanded down the putty I had put around the starboard davit base, and the transom. That looks good, and will be a much better surface for the davit base.

I checked the fitting of the stainless steel piece to the two pipes on the second davit, and it was not perfect. I brought the bench grinder to Dream Away, so I was able to get the piece to fit perfectly. Tomorrow, when I do the tack welding, I will tack this piece between the two pipes.

August 2, Sunday.

Most of the day was spent doing computer work, catching up on emails, paying bills and the such.

Went over to friend Alan's and did some tech support on his computer. He had lost some files, so I was able to retrieve them.

At 0700 this morning, I was able to check out the Pactor modem. After getting by a couple of setup issues, I was able to download some weather faxes. This was really good news. Having the weather available is a wonderful thing. I will start doing more of that in the near future, just to get back into the flow!!

August 1, Saturday.

Went over to the shop, and got the torch out to bend the base piece for the second pipe on the port davit. Before I started the bend. I decided to build a new angle finder using aluminum pieces of angle stock. The problem I had getting the angle correct was the angle finder I have. It is a great unit, but one side of the tool is plastic, so I can not really use it on the metal when it is hot, so I had been guessing at the correct angle. After I fabricated the new angle finder, I heated up the base piece, and bent it to the correct angle using the new aluminum finder.

Went back to Dream Away and got to work there. I finished running the ground wire from the DynaPlate to the SSB Ground. I wanted to get this done before I attempted the test of the Pactor modem that came back from the repair facility. I attempted the Pactor modem test, but my timing was not good. Because of a social commitment, I will have to wait to 0700 tomorrow.

I then went out on deck and sanded the area on which I will put the base plates for the davits. I had put some fiberglass on the areas on Thursday, so today I smoothed them out. I then drilled the four holes for the port davit baseplate. When the holes were drilled, I then put the base plate with the first pipe on it in place. It looked real good and the angle was great.

I then checked the angle of the fit for the base plate for the second pipe. The angle was right on, so my new angle finder works! I measured the placement of the second base plate relative to the first base plate, and drilled the necessary holes for the second base plate. This all went off very well. I will take the second base plate over to the shop and tack weld the second pipe onto the base plate. I will be using the first davit as a pattern, so hopefully I will not have to do a lot of back and forth to get the fit correct between the first and second pipe on the port davit.

When all of the fitting was complete, I removed the first and second base plates from Dream Away. I mixed up some finishing putty and spread it around the area to finish off the flat spot for the base plates.

July 31, Friday.

Went over to the shop and got out the torch, and bent the base piece for the second pipe on the port davit. I also got out the welder and weld the inside seam of the second base piece. All went well, and put the piece off to the side to cool.

Had the first pipe and base piece tack welded, so completed the weld all away around the pipe and base piece. Put it off to cool. It is now ready to take to the boat and fit in place.

Sanded down the new fiberglass hatch base. Getting the hatch base ready to be glassed to the boat.

Went to Kemah Hardware to purchase some more 1/2" bolts and some nuts. I read an article about the galling of stainless steel, and it recommends using bronze nuts on stainless steel bolts. This goes against everything I believe about dissimilar metals, but I am getting very tired of attempting to twist off galled 1/2" stainless steel bolts. I purchased the bronze nuts. I feel I am pretty safe, because the area where the nuts will be should not have any salt water on them.

Properties

High oxidation-resistance in air at ambient temperature are normally achieved with additions of a minimum of 13% (by weight) chromium, and up to 26% is used for harsh environments.^[8] The chromium forms a passivation layer of chromium(III) oxide (Cr₂O₃) when exposed to oxygen. The layer is too thin to be visible, and the metal remains lustrous. It is impervious to water and air, protecting the metal beneath. Also, this layer quickly reforms when the surface is scratched. This phenomenon is called passivation and is seen in other metals, such as aluminium and titanium. Corrosion resistance can however be adversely affected if the component is used in a non-oxygenated environment, a typical example being underwater keel-bolts buried in timber.

When stainless steel parts such as nuts and bolts are forced together, the oxide layer can be scraped off causing the parts to weld together. When disassembled, the welded material may be torn and pitted, an effect that is known as galling. This destructive galling can be best avoided by the use of dissimilar materials, e.g. bronze to stainless steel, or even different types of stainless steels (martensitic against austenitic, etc.), when metal-to-metal wear is a concern. In addition, Nitronic alloys (trademark of Armco, Inc.) reduce the tendency to gall through selective alloying with manganese and nitrogen.

On the way to Kemah hardware stopped by a friends storeroom to visit a few minutes. He had a LaVac toilet he did not like and was throwing it away. It was not very heavily used, so I took it, and will strip it for spare parts.

Went to Dream Away, and rushed around taking down awnings, and putting loose items below. A really bad storm was heading our way, and it looked like it had a lot of wind in it. As it turns out the wind was not to bad, but it did rain a bunch. Before it started to rain, I checked the measurement on the base piece for the second pipe on the port davit. It was still not correct, so will have to apply heat again, and bend it again.

With all of the rain, I could not do outside projects, so I did a couple of inside projects. I had three big jars of fasteners on the garage work bench that needed to be put away in their proper place, so I did it. It was nice to free up the space and get it done.

I also started to run the #8 AWG wire from the DynaPlate to the to the SSB grounding system.

July 30, Thursday.

Better day today. Went over to the shop first thing, and built an angle finder out of metal. I then cranked up the propane torch and bent the base piece for the second pipe to the proper angle.

Worked on cleaning up the first davit. With all of the additional heating, welding and carrying the davit all over the place, it was in need of more cleaning.

Came back over to Dream Away, and unloaded all of the stuff I would need for the day of working on Dream Away. The first thing I did was make sure the base piece for the second pipe on the port davit fit on the hull. It did, and I am happy about that.

I now spent the time to install the re-stitched dodger. It was a bit tight on the port side, so did not get it completely installed. I also installed the re-stitched after awning.

I then mixed up some filler putty to put on the inside of the transom where two bolts help hold down the second base piece for the starboard davit. There two bolts were very difficult to get a nut and washer on. By putting the putty in the area, it acts as a backing plate and provides a flat surface to put the nuts and washers on the bolt. More strength.

I then trimmed up the area cut out for the first base plate backing plates on the underside of the deck. I then had to cut out the area for the port davit on the underside of the deck to make access for the backing plate for the second base plate. I know it sounds confusing, but it is lots of fun. Finally got all of the cutting done, and all of the clean up done. I then mixed up some filler putty to put on the inside of the transom where two bolts help hold down the second base piece for the port davit. There two bolts were very difficult to get a nut and washer on. By putting the putty in the area, it acts as a backing plate and provides a flat surface to put the nuts and washers on the bolt. More strength.

Next was out on the after deck where the first base piece bolts down to the deck. The area was not exactly flat, and especially for the port davit. When I removed the old davit bases, the port side was really sealed. When I picked up the base piece, I actually ripped off some of the first layer of fiberglass. I did a quick fix, but today I did the final fix, and was able to get a flat surface to bolt the first base piece down to the deck on the port and starboard side.

I had noticed a bad place on the starboard side of the aft deck box. There was a bunch of rot. I drilled down into the rot to make some holes. I then mixed up some Smith's penetrating epoxy, and poured about 4 ounces of the epoxy into the rotten place. I will check it tomorrow, but once the epoxy sets up, I will have the old strength back into the wood. I will also check to see if I can add some more epoxy.

For the remainder of the day I worked on the most forward hatch replacement. I had to clean up all of the butyl rubber I had used to seal the Boman hatch. I got all of the rubber cleaned out, and the area looking good. Now I will have to sand the area.

July 29, Wednesday.

Checked the base of the first davit I straightened with heat yesterday. It looked pretty good, and will be very nice on the deck, once I get a really flat spot on the deck to sit it on. Heated up and bent the base piece for the second pipe on the port davit.

Stripped some more parts off of the old gen set I have in the shop. Took off the raw water pump and housing. When I get these parts all cleaned up and vacuumed bagged, I will have quite a bunch of spares for the gen set.

Went back to Dream Away with the complete davit, and after a few issues got it installed on the boat. I wanted to make sure it would fit after all of the changes within the last two days. Had to drill out some holes to make them larger. I had a VERY frustrating time getting the davit off of the boat. Two bolts had galled for no apparent reason. These two bolts had to be broken off. Breaking off 1/2' stainless steel bolts is no easy matter. Finally got that done, then I had one bolt in the base that would not come out. It took over an hour to get that bolt out. By the time I was done I had spent three hours putting the davit on and taking it off. The bad news is I will probably have to go through this exercise at least two more time before the davits are installed permanently.

Checked the fit on the base piece for the second pipe on the port davit, and it was not quite right. Will have to heat it up again and get the angle correct. I am going to make an angle finder out of metal so I can put the angle finder up against the hot metal to check the angle. The angle finder I have now, has a plastic piece, so I cannot put it up against hot metal.

I then taped the plastic covering on the underside of the most forward hatch. Went topside and removed the Boman hatch. I scrapped off all of the sealant. Tomorrow I will start in on putting down the fiberglass piece that will be the base for the new Lewmar hatch.

July 28, Tuesday.

Went over to the shop first thing. I welded up a part for the first davit, and got that part strengthened. I then applied heat on the second half of the base plate, and clamped it all down. When it all cools off it should be fairly level, and good to get back onto the deck.

I did not want to leave the shop with the base plate very hot, so I spent the next two hours cleaning some parts. I am stripping the old gen set I purchased of good parts that I can use as spares. I am spending the time getting them cleaned up so I can wipe them down with oil and put them in vacuum bags for later use. It is also helping to get stuff out of the shop. When ever I leave the shop, I am bringing out trash or stuff I can get rid of to help get the shop ready to give up.

I then went back to Dream Away to get the boat and myself cleaned up. Kitty was coming back today, so I had to go pick he up at IAH.

On the way back from the airport I stopped by AllStart and picked up the newly rebuilt motor for the refrigeration system. I also stopped by Harbor Freight and got some replacement consumables. The remainder of the day was spent on the computer and with Kitty.

July 27, Monday.

Wow was this day a bunch of highs and lows. Since I finished the first davit on Saturday, I was anxious to get started on the second davit. I had the second davit base and pipe that I had tack welded on Saturday in the truck.

Alan come over to help fit the second dinghy davit. It looked like a good fit, but I wanted to put the first davit on to check the measurements. It was also obvious I needed to make a very level area for the base on the second davit. So I will be putting some fiberglass and resin down so I really have a good flat surface for the davit base. Sine I will be going to the trouble for the second davit base, I will also do the same for the first davit base.

Alan got a call from a friend about picking up some teak and mahogany, so we went off to get the wood. We went to a store room where someone was clearing out all of their stuff and I was invited to look around and see if there was anything I could use (need), and I was very lucky. I got some really thin aluminum sheet I can use to make a cover for the SCUBA compressor out on deck. I also found a fluke type anchor I had to buy, but I had been looking for one for a very long time. I have a Danforth fluke anchor as a stern anchor, but it is only 35 lbs, and I have wanted something bigger. The new anchor I purchased is a 50 lb anchor, so will be perfect for the stern anchor. I also got a horseshoe ring that was in great condition. The horseshoe ring I have on the boat for the man overboard pole is in really bad shape, and needed replacement. So I got a practically new one. It is a $90.00 item in the West Marine catalog. The really great news is I found two special pad eyes to attach the boarding ladder to. I have been looking for these pad eyes for several years and have not been able to find them. I have the pad eyes on the port side of the boat to hang the boarding ladder from, but there are times when I want to put the ladder on the starboard side of the boat. Now I will be able to do it.

When we finished hauling all of Alan's stuff to his store room, we went to my shop, dropped off my goodies, and picked up the finished davit. We brought the davit back to Dream Away to put on the boat. Oh Boy, what a surprise. The davit would not fit on the boat. When I had done all of the finishing welding, the metal had sucked up, and now would not fit. Back to the shop to get a bottle jack, and some wood pieces. We took these over to Dream Away, and with a lot of jacking around we were able to get the first davit on. We check the measurements against the second davit, and all looked good.

I took the finished davit, and the second davit back to the shop. I got out my oxy-propane torch, the bottle jack, and was able to get the davit stretched apart. I also had to do some heating of the base plate on the first davit to get it straightened out. Due to the amount of clamps I had I was only able to do one half of the base plate.

July 26, Sunday.

No work on Dream Away today. Spent the whole day on the computer working on the latest Dream Away web page update. Finally got the update email out around 2330. Also caught up on emails and general family financial issues.

July 25, Saturday.

Went over to the shop and welded on the two support pieces between the two pipes of the davit. The welding came out pretty good. I fabricated two pieces of stainless steel to weld to the end of the davit to hang the blocks that will be used to raise and lower the dinghy once the davits are installed. Fabricating included cutting, shaping, polishing, and drilling.

I cut out a piece of wood to be used as my Gucci hatch while I am working on installation of the new Lewmar Ocean hatches to replace the Bomon hatches.

Went back to Dream Away for lunch and to fit the port base plate to start the second davit. I drilled the holes in the deck for the base plate. I did this because it is so much easier to get the holes drilled with out the pipe attached.

While on Dream Away I also constructed the Gucci Hatch. What a Gucci hatch is this. I take a piece of wood cut to the proper size, cover the piece of wood in plastic, and tape the plastic to the wood using only high quality duct tape, and there you have it. Now when I remove the original Bomon Hatch, and before the Lewmar hatch is installed, I will use the Gucci hatch to cover the hole. The installation of the Gucci hatch is not complete without the decorative cement block to anchor the Gucci hatch in place.

I also finished making the mango Ice Cream. The mangoes that I used were a gift from Tina, so I will really enjoy the ice cream. The ice cream will be hardened to perfection, so I will have some for dessert tomorrow evening.

Went back over to the shop, and welded on the plate to the starboard davit to hang the blocks from. I cleaned up all of the welds on this davit, and pronounced one davit complete. This is a milestone!! I will have more welding to this davit, after I get the second davit completed. When I can get both davits on the boat, I will be able to tack weld the two cross pipes to join the two davit together. Should be very sturdy (Overkill), when they are completed.

Since I had one complete davit, I used it to to measure the angle of the base plate and pipe for the second davit. I got it all set up, and then tack welded the base onto the first pipe. I loaded this into the truck to go to Dream Away for the first fitting. Since I used the first davit as a pattern, I only hope both sides of the stern are the same. This would not be unusual. I have said it before, I am convinced two families built my boat, one family on the starboard side and one on the port side, and they never, ever communicated with each other.

Last project for the day, I sanded down the fiberglass piece I am going to use as a base for the first Lewmar hatch installation.

Headed back to Dream Away looking forward to having a drink and reading in the cockpit to celebrate the completion of the first davit. This was not to be. The air conditioner was not working, because no cooling water was moving. That meant manifold and strainer cleaning. As I am doing this update, I checked my log, and the last cleaning was June 22nd. A month in the summer at Watergate is an amazing long time.

I removed the main raw water input strainer, it had a crab in it, and the manifold. I took them both out onto the dock, and cleaned them out. There were lots of jellies in the main raw water strainer basket. There was also a lot of mud in the strainer and the manifold. I brought them back on board, and installed them into the boat. I then connected the fresh water hose from the dock to each of the hoses for the aft air conditioner, forward air conditioner, ice maker and refrigerator one at a time. After cleaning each in-line strainer, I would then turn on the fresh water hose and blow out each line. When I finished all of this, I connected everything back up, and we are now able to run the air conditioner and refrigeration. I decided to not run the ice maker as we did not need ice. This fun finally ended at 2130, so I fixed a drink, and then went to get a shower. Came back, had dinner, washed the dishes, and went to bed.

Even though I did not get the celebration in, I feel good about the one davit being finished.

July 24, Friday.

This day ended up as a nothing day. When I went down below make my second cup of coffee, I left Puss-N-Boots (PNB) on deck as I normally do, he decided on an unauthorized field trip. He went under the dock, and I saw him go there. I will not go into a lot of explanation, but it was 1530 before I was able to get him out from under the dock. He really enjoyed the bath he got.

July 23, Thursday.

Went grocery shopping first thing. Came back to the boat, did the laundry and cleaned up the boat. Also started making Mango ice cream.

Before leaving the boat, I checked out the two pumps that had failed when we were anchored out over the 4th of July weekend. based on a "fix" I had for the starter on the Suburban, I smacked the motor of each pump with a leather hammer. Good news, they both started working! For whatever reason, I assume the brushes had corroded to the armature, and the gentle smack broke them loose. I will have to install each one and see if they check out.

July 22, Wednesday.

Went to the glass shop first thing to have the rear view mirror glued back on. The last time I took it there the service man said it would last forever. As it turns out forever is about 8 months.

Left the glass shop and went to my shop. Worked on cleaning up all of the welds I had done on the davit before I left on the Atlanta trip. A wire wheel on my drill, really cleans up the welds on stainless steel. The clean up will not be perfect, but it will look pretty good. Spent some time working on the Yamaha outboard. I want to make sure all of the parts are lubricated, or greased and working properly.

Went back to Dream Away for lunch with one of the hatch bases. I wanted to fit the base on the hatch hole before I start on that project.

Left Dream Away, and went by the Watergate office to pick up a package, then on to Banks Sails to get the fittings and wire they swedged for me. These will go on the aft gate in the life rails.

Went over to the shop and met Alan there. He came over to help me bend the pipes for the second dinghy davit. He is leaving town tomorrow for five days, so I wanted to get the pipes bent and cut, so I would be able to do some fitting and welding on the second davit this weekend. The bending and cutting went very well, and only took about three hours. It really made it easy having the first davit there laying on the bench. Now that all of the cuts and bends are made on the second davit, I will be able to finish off all of the welding on the first davit and get it on the boat and matched to the second davit.

Went back to Dream Away, and raised the main sail. The cover was not on the sail, and it had rained, so I wanted to make sure the sail was dry before I put on the cover. I had the sail up for about an hour. I dropped the sail, flaked it on the boom, dropped the Dutchman, and got all of that squared away on the boom. Last but not least, I put on the repaired main sail cover to protect the sail. looked really great.

I put they new swaged fittings on the aft gate, and that is looking good also. Now all I have to do is get a ladder so we can use the aft gate properly.

July 21, Tuesday.

Arrived in Houston from Atlanta, and spent most of the day running catch errands.

Went to our family doctor's to get all of our medical records. They are not able to give us our medical records in electronic form, so the office take our electronic medical records, prints them out on paper and give the records to us. I then get to scan all of the records in so I have an electronic copy. What a great world we live in. It is good to have the government looking out for me!!

I then went to Fry's to get a new USB hub and an SD card for my camera. The SD card in my camera just up and died!!

When I got to the boat to have a bit of lunch and to make sure Puss-N-Boots is OK, I noticed Robert had made no progress on the nets since we left to go to Atlanta. I will have to call and find out what the issue is.

Then I went to Dockside Canvas to pick up our repaired and re-stitched canvas. It was the main sail cover, the three awnings and the dodger. The dodger was in bad shape. All of the zippers had to be replaced. When I left Dockside Canvas, I went to Texas City to get the bottle of Argon filled. I hope to be doing a lot of welding this next week.

When I got back from that trip, I went over to friend Alan's and helped him move a lot of stuff from his boat over to his shop.

July 14, Tuesday through July 21, Tuesday

During this period of time Kitty and I drove from Houston to Atlanta, Georgia, in our Nissan Altima. We are giving this vehicle to our daughter Judy since we pretty much will have no need for the vehicle in a couple of weeks.

July 13, Monday.

Went over to the shop and loaded up the welder and the small bottle of Argon gas. Went back to Dream Away and got the welder all set up. I then tack welded the upper and lower pipes together, and the short piece of 1 1/4" tubing between the upper and lower pipes of the davit. I then packed up the welder and took it back to the truck. With Kitty's help, we were able to get all of the bolts out of the two bases of the davit, and get the davit off of the boat. I loaded the davit into the Suburban.

Went back to the shop and unloaded the welder and the small gas bottle. Got everything ready to do some serious welding. I put the davit onto the work bench but sitting on some angled pieces of aluminum. This will keep the heat from being transferred from the stainless steel to the wooden work bench. I was low on Argon in the big bottle, so I decided to weld the two pipes together until the Argon ran out. I got quite a bit done, but did not get all of the welding finished.

The new refrigeration compressor arrived last Friday, but did not have time to get it installed. Left the shop and went back to Dream Away. Started in on the old compressor removal. I took a bunch of reading before I did the removal.

The removal and installation of the new compressor did not go as easy as I had hoped. The last time I did work on the reefer deck, I thought I had made it very easy to do the compressor removal. Not! The truth of the matter is the compressor came out fairly easy once the drive pulley was removed. The compressor would not come out with the pulley attached. I eventually got the pulley off the old compressor and the old compressor out.

I installed the new compressor, then the pulley. This took much more work than I had hoped. I ended up taking the DC motor out so I could tap the pulley onto the shaft with a hammer. I finally got the compressor and the motor back in and connected up. Because of the type of valves I am using, I lost no refrigerant except what was actually in the compressor. Once everything was connected and ready to go I connected the gauges, and started the system. it was obvious after about five minutes running, the new compressor had fixed the problem.

My big concern is the reliability of the Bitzer compressors. The compressor that just failed, was new in May of 2008. My Blissfield compressors ran for five years of really hard service.

Following are the numbers recorded before the old compressor was removed, and after 15 minutes of operating with the new compressor. The numbers are all temperature, except where noted. Also noted, the hour meter read 5306 at the replacement.

Old: Compressor hi side: 211, lo side 159, measured at the valve. Return (suction) valve 85. DC motor aft end 173. Holding plate reefer 29 degrees, Holding plate freezer 1 12. Holding plate freezer 2 19. Compressor pressure hi 120; lo 20.

New: Compressor hi side: 147, lo side 94, measured at the valve. Return (suction) valve 50. DC motor aft end 111. Holding plate reefer 26 degrees, Holding plate freezer 1 13. Holding plate freezer 2 19. Compressor pressure hi 140; lo 8.

July 12, Sunday.

Worked on emails and computer work until Kitty got up, then went to good friends boat for a Sunday Morning Brunch.

After the brunch, I wen to the shop to work on some pieces needed for the starboard dinghy davit. I found a piece of 1 1/4" stainless steel tubing I had purchased to test the pipe bender, but never used. It would be perfect to cut off pieces that I needed as supports between the upper and lower pipes on the davit. I also was sorting out some pieces to use to be able to mount the Hummer Grill on the davits, but also be able to lower the Grille when sailing.

Was able to work on the Suburban starter. I still could not get the second bolt to start. I took off the starter and just tried to get the bolt through the casting, and it would not go. The starter casting was not made correctly!! I did not have my drill motor or bits, with me, so I had kitty come over to the shop with them. I disconnected the starter, drilled out the hole, and then installed the starter as designed.

I am just overwhelmed of the quality of parts I am getting these days. I feel like I (Customer) am being used as the quality control service for any part manufactured.

Went back to Dream Away, and some friends of Kitty's showed up. I was able to get the husband, Patrick, to help me bolt down all of the davit bases to the bolts. The support piece I cut and fabricated fit perfectly between the lower and upper davit pipes. Everything is all set up to be able to tack weld the two pipes together in the morning.

July 11, Saturday.

No work done on Dream Away today. I was captaining the Buffalo Bayou Partnership pontoon boat down town in Buffalo Bayou.

July 10, Friday.

Went over to the shop first thing. I turned over the two wooden pieces used to mount the storm anchor, and put a second coat of Krylon green paint on them.

I was able to tack up the lower pipe of the davit to the base. This went pretty well. I also drilled out the last fitting needed for the aft gate.

I loaded the davit piece, the wooden pieces for the storm anchor, and the tools into the truck, and went back to Dream Away.

Once back at Dream Away, I put all of the pieces on the boat. Then I installed the two wooden pieces for the mounting of the storm anchor. They both look pretty good, but I did not install the anchor. I will not do that until Robert has finished the installation of the netting around the lifelines. Robert is continuing with the netting installation. Robert is having to squeeze the netting project in between his other jobs.

I installed the 90 degree piece on the aft life rail, and the stanchion for the aft gate. I then drilled and tapped into the life rail and stanchions on both side of the gate. I then used 1/4" X 20 X 1/2" pan head bolts to secure the installation. All of the stainless steel fittings that are used for the stanchion and life rails come with small set screws to secure the fitting to the stainless steel tubing. I feel this is not secure enough for the situation, so I normally drill and tap the fittings, and use the pan head bolts to secure the pieces. As part of my "get ready to make a passage" routine, I go up and down the life rails and make sure all of the bolts are tight.

Next was the installation of the lower pipe of the davit on the starboard side. The upper pipe and its base is securely bolted to the after deck. I put on the lower pipe and the base and two of the six bolts. The alignment of the two pipes was right on, so the tacking I did was good. the remaining issue was the distance between the upper and lower pipes from front to rear. This was not right on. I had brought my high speed grinder with me, so I spent the next hour or more, taking off the lower davit pipe, grinding off the end of the pipe, and then doing fittings. I finally got to where I am satisfied with the fit. It is off about 1/4" inch from front to rear, but I am afraid if I grind any more off, I will have other problems.

Now I have to tack the upper and lower pieces together so I can weld them up. I will have to do the tacking in the morning because of the winds that blow in the afternoon. Since I am TIG ( Tungsten Inert Gas ) welding, I need an inert gas in the welding process. When I am outside, I either need to rig a shield or have no wind blowing.

On Sunday or Monday morning, I will bring the welder and the gas over to the boat and do the tacking. I still have to bolt the lower davit piece and the base securely to the boat so the fit is precise.

July 9, Thursday.

Started off the day by driving to Deer Park to get a drug screening done for my Captains position with the Buffalo Bayou Partnership.

Returning from the drug screening, I stopped at Kemah Hardware to get the bolts, washers, and nuts that I need for the installation of the davit lower base pieces. I also went by West Marine to get the NicroPress parts, shackles for the life lines and a shackle for the mizzen mast Dutchman fitting. When I left the West Marine store, or attempted to, the Suburban would not start. Oh joy. The West Marine manager had one of his employees take me home, so I left the truck at the West Marine store.

When I got back to Dream Away, I started putting the NicroPress fittings onto the lifelines. Before I could finish the first one, some good friends stopped by and we had a great visit and then went out to lunch.

After we returned from lunch, Kitty dropped me off at the shop, and she went to the auto parts store to purchase a new starter for the Suburban.

I worked on the wooden piece for the storm anchor bracket. I made some modifications so it would fit the new bracket. I got out another piece that holds the storm anchor to the stanchion, and sanded off both parts. I painted both of the storm anchor parts with the Krylon green paint I used to paint the masts. Tomorrow, I will paint the second side of both parts.

I then tacked up the lower pipe of the davit to the base. It is a lot of fun getting all of these pieces fitted and set up to weld not having all of the brackets and stands it would be nice to have. I eventually got the two pieces tacked together.

Kitty came back from the auto parts store, stopped by the shop and picked up me and the davit parts. We then went back to Dream Away.

When I got back to Dream Away, I started on the NicroPress parts. I got them done and the life lines connected to the aft stanchions. I measured and cut the wire for the gate. Now all that remains is to get the actual gate parts with the pelican hooks made up.

Next was the lower davit part. I fitted the base onto the transom with the two bolts I drilled out yesterday. Today I drilled the remaining four holes in the transom, and installed all of the bolts and nuts to actually install the base. Where I had tacked the lower davit pipe onto the base was not exactly where it should be, and the tack welds were a bit larger than necessary. I had to break the welds, but I was able to make a really good measurement. I will tack it up again tomorrow, and hopefully I will be very close.

We then drove over to West Marine, and I changed the starter on the Suburban. There is a lot to be said for having a big truck. I did not need a jack, so no jack stands. Just crawl under the truck and do the deed. I got the old starter off and the new one on in about an hour. It was the problem, so the truck is back in operation. The only outstanding issue is with the two mounting bolts for the starter. I could only get one in. I decided to leave it that way, and would finish getting in the second bolt at the shop when I had more light.

July 8, Wednesday.

Went over to the shop and started into getting some parts welded up. The first part was the bracket to mount the storm anchor on. I had the stainless steel plate from the stanchion base, and the two parts that would form the storm anchor bracket. I welded the two bracket parts to the stainless steel plate from the stanchion base. When I finished the welding, I cleaned up the welds then cleaned and polished up the part.

I had to weld two stainless steel rings to the part that hold the life lines at the new aft gate. I got those two pieces welded up, and then cleaned and polished them. I also had to drill a hole in each one of the parts to attach them to the aft stanchion.

There is a 90 degree piece, elbow, that forms one part of the gate for the new aft gate. This piece had to be modified for the actual life line gate to fit. I cut out a part of the elbow, and then welded a ring I cut off from the old CQR anchor part to the elbow. When I was finished I had to drill two holes into the elbow so I could attach the elbow to the stanchion. When I finished all of the welding and drilling I cleaned and polished the elbow.

I drilled a hole into the bolt I will be using to secure the CQR anchor to the anchor roller.

I cut a two inch piece of pipe off of the lower davit piece, and cleaned and sanded the end of the pipe

I loaded up all of these parts into the Suburban, and headed back to Dream Away. I took all of the new and modified parts down to Dream Away and started to install them.

The storm anchor mount/stanchion base piece fit perfectly, so it was installed and bolted down. The piece of wood that sits on the new stainless steel bracket that the storm anchor actually sits on, did not fit just right, so it went to the truck to take to the shop and modify.

I installed the new pin to hold the CQR anchor to the anchor roller. This pin is a 7/16" stainless steel rod, so it should not have a problem. I feel much better about the CQR anchor not coming loose with the new pin in place.

I installed the newly modified pieces for the lifelines at the aft gate. These are going to work great. I have to purchase a few parts so I can NicroPress the life line, and then attach them to the stanchions.

Next was the fitting of the lower piece of the dinghy davit to the base piece and check the clearance to the upper piece of the dinghy davits. This went well and I seem to have the measurements about right. I will have to tack up the lower davit pipe to the base piece, and then check the fitting again.

July 7, Tuesday.

Went over to the shop first thing and finished up working on the parts needed for the davit fitting. I also straightened up the shop because I had left it in a bit of a mess when we left for the weekend.

I cut the parts I would need to put the 100 LB. storm anchor back on the aft life lines.

Went back to Dream Away to fit the dinghy davit parts. I had drilled the mounting holes in the deck, and filled them with epoxy last week. I got the upper davit piece and base in place, and drilled the mounting holes through the epoxy. With Kitty's help I got the upper piece of the davit mounted to the deck. I then took the base for the lower davit pipe and drilled two of the six holes into the transom. With the lower davit pipe base in place, I was able to fit the pipe to the base. I still have to cut about two more inches off of the pipe and try again.

We had the aft cabin pretty much in disarray at this time, so I took more a part, and got to the rudder angle indicator. With Kitty's help I was able to adjust the unit so it read properly on the auto pilot control head.

The pieces I had cut off for the storm anchor looked like they would fit. I had to remove the stainless steel plate on top of the stanchion base. This was necessary so I could weld the storm anchor pieces to the stanchion base plate.

I cut the wire for the aft life line so I could remove parts and to make the gate required in the aft life lines. After I cut the wire, I was able to remove the stainless steel plate to weld for the storm anchor base. I also removed several other parts that needed welding for the gate in the aft life lines. I used a cable clamp to put the wire on the aft life lines back where it was and to be safe until I got the gate made.

Brian from Dockside Designs came over and said he could repair and restitch most of our canvas work. We removed the tree awnings, the Sunbrella dodger and the main sail cover. We carried all of this canvas work to his truck. Hopefully he will have them repaired and back to Dream Away before we leave on out Atlanta trip.

I also removed a pin that hold the CQR anchor in the anchor roller. The one I have now was very thin and was bent, and might cause a problem if it remained. I found a part that would make a replacement, so I loaded it into the truck for work tomorrow.

July 6, Monday.

We got up and cleared the boat, raised the anchor and got under way. The bad news was we had to go straight into the wind for the trip home, so we motored all of the way back. We got to Watergate, and the wind was good enough I was going to try backing Dream Away into the slip. It worked out, I got it first shot with no problems, and no scrapes.

I spent the next several hours getting us back together. I got the boat all tied into the slip. I got two of the three awnings up. The wind had picked up quite a bit, and I could not get the big awning up under those conditions. I washed down the boat, emptied three bags of trash, and moved the Hummer grille from down below to out to the aft life rail.

Over all it was a great weekend and boat test. I am really afraid it will turn out to be an expensive weekend.

The Good News: The main engine ran well. Today I ran the engine at 1800 RPM for 15 minutes, and the temperature stayed right at 180 degrees, and the alternator charged the batteries as hoped.

The generator ran well, and was no problem. I will do more testing this coming week, with different loads on it.

The anchor windlass operated well, and the wash down system works well. I have to investigate why the windlass is leaking oil.

The rigging did well and I got it all adjusted. I still have to take the mizzen mast down to fix an electrical problem. When it goes back up I will have to attend to the adjust of shrouds on the mizzen, but I am pleased with it at this time. There is no vibration on the mizzen mast with the wind generators running in 25 knots of wind.

Not sure why, but the compass instrument is now working. I tested the circuits, and cleaned all of the connections, and it started working.

The CAPN navigation software worked just fine and does not seem to have a problem running on the XP virtual machine on the MAC.

The watermaker worked great. I was able to fill one water tank on Dream Away, and all of the drinking water bottles.

The Bad News: I was not able to determine the cause of the knot meter not working. I will have to do some research on the compatibility of the transducer with the ST50 instrument.

The remote CommandMic does not work with the ICOM IC-M502. I plugged the microphone directly into the back of the radio, and the CommandMic still does not work, elimination the wiring between the radio and the remote CommandMic.

Have to work on a system to move the staysail stay back to the main mast when the stay is not needed.

Have to order a clevis pin for the topping lift on the mizzen boom.

Have to repair two fresh water pumps.

Have to adjust rudder angle indicator.

Replace the mono filament lines for the Dutchman on the mizzen and the main. The two line on the mizzen broke, so have to get new ones installed, and replace the ones on the main to be prepared.

We used the inflatable, and it has a bad leak in one of the valves, so will have to take the inflatable to shop to get it repaired.

The horseshoe ring for the man overboard system is degrading, and can not be fixed. It will have to be replaced.

Have to install cotter rings and cotter rings in all of the rigging.

The outboard shop called and said there is another bad part in the Mercury. The man said he would replace the part for no labor charge, but it is still going to drive the price up of repairing the two outboards. I am afraid the cost is going to be over $600.00.

July 5, Sunday.

Spent most of the day at anchor working on email and the Internet while at anchor. Both Kitty and I were trying to get caught up, but the Internet connection was very intermittent, so we did not make a lot of progress.

Just as I was finishing up the dishes the freshwater pump failed. I removed the bad pump, and put in a tested spare, but it did not work either. I then put the second spare into the fresh water system and it worked. I will not go into a long explanation, but I could spin a very long yarn concerning ShurFlo pumps. The pump that is in the system and working, is the original pump I purchased in 1994, and it has been my old faithful. Now I will have to figure out what is wrong with the other two pumps, repair them and be sure I have spare parts handy.

July 4, Saturday.

Started generator and ran watermaker. Watermaker working great. Filled our gallon bottles, and also filled the starboard water tank. While the water maker was running the temp was around 160 degrees. I turned on the battery charger. It drew about 28 amps, along with the watermakers 12 amp put a pretty good load on the generator. During this time the temperature went up to 180 degrees, which should be normal operating temperature. Since I did not want a problem out here at anchor, I switched off the battery charger. When I filled the starboard water tank with the watermaker water, I switched the input to the watermaker from the starboard tank and ran the system for two minutes. I then switched off the water maker, switched input water back to raw water and switched output from the watermaker to the raw water washdown.

When I stopped the watermaker, I started the battery charger, which was no problem. When the battery charger went to float, I turned on the aft air conditioner. The generator is running with no problems.

Attempted to connect the Dynaplate to the Single Side Band (SSB) radio, but did not have the proper connectors. Will order the connectors this coming week.

Checked out our three backup GPS units. One unit worked. The second GPS45 has a broken battery box, so it is not worth fixing. The third unit, a GPSII will not even power on. So instead of five GPS units on Dream Away, we are down to three.

Kitty worked on getting us connected with the SPOT. Hopefully we are up and running with it, and will check it out tomorrow.

July 3, Friday.

Sailed boat out of Watergate Yachting Center with no problems. Got through the Clear Creek Channel and into the bay. We checked out autopilot computer, and calibrated same. This meant we had to do two 360 degree circles under 2 knots speed. The ST50 electronic compass did not work did not seem to work after we calibrated the autopilot computer. This was very disappointing, but will look into the problem tomorrow.

We made the trip with jib and mizzen. Did not raise main sail. We did several tacks as we made our way to the Lone Oak Bayou anchorage. I did this so I could check all of the rigging on both tacks. There was not to much to adjust. I will check it all again when we go back to Watergate on Monday. If that all seems good then I can feel good about spending the time to put the cotter keys and rings in place on the turnbuckles.

Experimented with relocation of the stay sail stay while under way. Very difficult to tack jib with stay sail stay rigged. Kitty came up with a plan that I think will work. Will be checking it out over the weekend.

Anchor windlass worked great. The only problem I see is there is oil leaking out of the windlass, and Jordan from Lighthouse manufacturing said there should be no oil or grease leaks. I will be calling him on Tuesday, as I just had the unit rebuilt early this year, and have not really used the unit.

The wind generators are working great, and a good workout they are getting. The wind is blowing from the south or south-south west at 15 to 20 knots, so we are getting the amps. The real surprise is the wind we are getting. This is very unusual for Texas in the summer months.

Engine ran great all day. Had no problems there.

ST50 knot meter did not work. This is crazy, because when I took the boat out on 6-19-09 I was able to get the unit working. I pulled out the transducer, and it was spinning with no problem. It is a new transducer, so I will have to check compatibility of the transducer with the old ST50 instrument.

Both GPS 128/126 worked fine.

July 2, Thursday.

Alan came over to the shop to help with the outboard, and its problems. We finally got all of the issues settled, and got the engine started. The problem then was the engine was not pumping cooling water. We messed around with it, but could not get it working, and Alan did not have a spare impeller. Alan had another outboard, so we went over to his shop to get that engine. Alan had taken the carburetor off of the engine to rebuilt it, but could not find the parts. We searched all over, but no parts.

Kitty called friend Jimmy, San Leon Sailing Club cruising director, and explained we could not do the planned trip. I did not want to go if we did not have a functioning dinghy with outboard in case any problems came up. I always like a backup – overkill!! Jimmy said he had a second outboard, 2 HP, but it would push my dinghy, and we could use it to run out a kedge anchor, so we were good to go.

Back to Dream Away to get a shower, as we had another doctor visit for a test. Got the test handled, I went back to the boat to get ready for the trip, and Kitty went to HEB to get groceries.

I put the safety devices on board. I installed the Lifesling Overboard Rescue system, and the Rescuesling Inflatable Overboard Rescue system on the aft life rails. Took down the life rail netting drying off on one of the spinnaker halyards. Folded the netting up and stored the netting and line in the truck. Took the “Hummer” grille of of the aft life lines and stored in the forward cabin.

Removed all three awnings. Folded and stored the awnings in the top shelf of the store room. Took off the mizzen and main sail covers.

We received my rivet gun back from the repair shop. Went up the main mast and installed the last mast step. I had forgotten to install this last step when we put the main mast back together for raising. I noticed the step was missing on Saturday June 20, the day of the party. I had to climb the main mast twice to retrieve code flags, and the distance from the top mast step to the spreaders was very large. I then looked and discovered I had forgotten to install a mast step. Now when you climb the mast, not so much work.

The real reason I wanted to get the mast step installed was because I needed to go to the top of the mast and retrieve the last code flag and the topping lift. I needed the main topping lift to rig the Dutchman on the main mast. I went to the top of the main mast, got the code flag and got the topping lift run down to the deck. I came down the mast, and we were able to rig the Dutchman on the main and the mizzen for the sail tomorrow.

July 1, Wednesday.

Went over to the shop in the morning, and sanded and polished the parts on which I welded yesterday. As I said before it is better to do the polishing before the welding. If the parts are polished before welding, than after the welding all you have to do is sand and polish the area in and around the welds.

Went back over to Dream Away. I wanted to test the generator, and look into the refrigeration. I did a complete check of the cooling system of the generator. I checked the input strainer and it was clean. I took the raw water pump apart, and checked the impeller, and it checked out good. I looked at one of the hoses from the raw water water pump to the siphon break, and wondered why I had a hose adapter in the line. I went over to the shop to get a piece of 3/4" hose. When I got back to Dream Away, I had planned to replace the hose on the generator with two pieces of hose from the raw water pump to the siphon break with one piece of hose and eliminate the hose adapter. When I took the hose off of the raw water pump, and attempted to put the new hose on, I realized what the problem was and why I have the jury rig of hose. The clever engineers at Lugger, which is the company that marinized the Kubota diesel for Northern Lights, put the raw water pump to close to the casting at the front of the engine. You can not put a piece of thick wall hose on the raw water pump of the generator. So I had a small piece of thin wall hose to put on the raw water pump, then used the hose fitting so I could make the remainder of the run with thick wall hose. I will have to look for a long piece of thin wall hose, to make a single hose run.

Once I checked all of the water hoses and runs for the raw water, I topped off the generator cooling system. I started the generator and ran it for 15 minutes with no load. I stopped the generator, and checked the coolant level, which I topped off. I started the generator again and ran it for 30 minutes with no load. The generator got up to temperature, so I put a load on it and ran it for another 30 minutes. We had no problem, so I guess the coolant level for the system is very critical.

I am very tired tonight, it is 2300, so I will finish this update tomorrow!!!!!!!

I then went into the store room to work on the refrigeration system. Got the gauges connected to the system, and all seemed OK. I measured some temperatures on various places before I added more refrigerant.

0936: compressor hi side: 204, lo side 147, measured at the valve. Return (suction) valve 84. DC motor aft end 210. Holding plate reefer 43 degrees, Holding plate freezer 1 33. Holding plate freezer 2 27. Compressor pressure hi 100; lo 20.

1057: compressor hi side: 188, lo side 127, measured at the valve. Return (suction) valve 70. DC motor aft end 186. Holding plate reefer 45 degrees, Holding plate freezer 1 27. Holding plate freezer 2 30. Compressor pressure hi 115; lo 13.

I monitored the system until 1400, but everything pretty much remained the same. I am afraid the compressor is not working to it's full capacity. I was planning to get another compressor to use as a spare, but now it seems I will get a new compressor to put in the system, and then get the old one rebuilt. i will also look into getting some replacement valves for the compressor, and attempt to repair the old one my self.