May 18, 2010

I spent the weekend of May 8th in LA visiting Carol, so I didn't get anything accomplished on Circadian. Had a good time though!

During the week last week, I did some more work on the new engine cover/cockpit sole. I got two coats of white LP on it. The first coat was a bit of a learning experience as I sorted out how much thinner to add. Because the paint wasn't thin enough on that first coat I had some brush marks along the lip which I wet-sanded out before putting on the second coat. I increased the amount of thinner and the second coat came out much better, with the exception of one barely noticeable run along the edge where it is unlikely to be seen.
On Saturday I picked up the 275 feet (a half barrel) of 5/16 inch galvanized high test ACCO anchor chain I had ordered from Broadus Chain and Rigging in Sacramento. It seemed a ridiculous amount of money for a bunch of chain, but everything hangs on your ground tackle, so it's no place to scrimp. At least I saved a couple of hundred bucks from the Worst Marine price and they loaded the 300lb-barrel in my truck with a forklift and tied it down securely for the ride to Napa.

I was up at the crack of dawn Sunday, with a long day ahead. I'd be finishing up the anchoring system and tackling a few other items on the punch list in my pocket. Once I arrived in Napa, the first order of business was pulling the chain out of the barrel and laying it out on the gravel to measure and mark it with the three colors of spray paint I had brought with me just for that purpose. I marked both ends and the 75-foot, 150-foot and 225-foot points with white, yellow and red paint respectively.

While the first coat of paint dried, I moved to the next priority: mixing up a batch of epoxy to bond in place the plywood squares with holes in the middle that I would use to hold the new smaller round chain pipe in place. I also had to use the epoxy to repair the v-berth plywood damaged from removal of the old square hardwood chainpipe. Because of the minimal clearance between the new windlass motor and the chain's path beside it, I thought I could use some black PVC pipe that would have a large enough i.d. to allow the chain to fall freely, but small enough o.d. to clear the windlass motor. Naturally Murphy (or is it Sod on a British vessel?) had other ideas. Although the pipe's i.d. was just large enough to match the i.d. of the hole through the windlass base and the deck, and the wall was only 1/8 inch thick, the pipe was still too large to fit without some impromptu surgery. The other problem was the day's relatively cool temperatures made the epoxy cure frustratingly slow. For most of the day I had to repeatedly realign the pieces as they sagged out of alignment. It also made things messier.

While the epoxy slowly cured, I went to work installing the chain-stopper and mount for it that I had made earlier at home. It turned out that the best alignment called for using both of the teak risers I had fabricated. Having learned my lesson about the difficulty of getting bolts through tight-fitting holes that extend through four inches of deck and reinforcing plates, I drilled 3/8 inch holes for the 5/16 inch bolts. There was only one small issue: the bolts required were too long to get through the holes from inside the square stainless steel tubing used as the mount. I'd have to push them up from below the deck and put the nuts on top, inside the tube. I dry-fit everything and it all went together without a hitch. Before final permanent assembly, I filled the bolt holes with plenty of Lifecaulk sealant and squeezed a ring of Lifecaulk around the holes to ensure no water would find it's way below. Final assembly was of course a bit messy and required the usual uncomfortable contortions, but it all happened without major setbacks. I cleaned things up and went back to marking the chain. With the first coat of paint adequately dry, I twisted the chain to expose the unpainted side of the links and repeated the marking scheme. I still had a lot to do, but it was time for a short lunch break.

After a quick sandwich and soda from the chandlery, I was back at it. Both the paint on the chain and the epoxy for the chain pipe installation were still curing, so I moved to the less critical items on the punch list. I wanted to mount the helm chair I had salvaged from the mess in the aft cabin on the new engine cover/cockpit sole (still at home) so I could steer in comfort. While the seat cushion had an unfortunate ring stain front and center, the mount and pedestal were obviously heavy duty and high quality, so it was still worth doing. I hauled out the whole seat assembly and set it in place in front of the steering wheel, repositioning it until it was aligned and where I wanted it. The rest was marking, measuring and recording so I could mount the base at home. I loaded the base and the cushion into the truck, hoping I could either remove or paint over the stain on the cushion. I continued my measuring tasks in the aft cabin to see how the diesel cabin heater would work there.

By the time I was done, the epoxy had set enough that I could put the chain pipe in place. Although stiff, the epoxy was still flexible enough to allow me to twist the base plate enough to slip the pipe through, then realign it and get the top end inserted. With both ends inserted, the notch I had had to cut in the pipe fit just right around the protruding base on the windlass motor and held the pipe in place. Things were looking up! The paint on the chain was dry enough that it was time to connect the new Rocna anchor to the chain and haul everything aboard using the new set-up. The big questions: Would everything align okay? Would the chain fit in the relatively small chain locker under the v-berth? If it fit, would the chain pile up in the locker and require someone below to knock the piles down as the chain came aboard? Would that big Rocna anchor come aboard and fit in the bow roller without hitting the hull? Would the batteries have enough capacity to pull up 275 feet of chain plus anchor without being seriously depleted?

Below decks, I tied a short length of line to the ring in the chain locker so I could secure the bitter end of the chain. That line would prevent losing everything overboard by accident, yet still make it possible to cut everything free when you need to escape quickly in an emergency. Back on deck, I dropped a length of line down to the chain on the ground, tied it to the chain, hauled the chain over the bow roller, threaded it through the chain-stopper, over the windlass gypsy and down the chainpipe. Back down below at the chain locker, I tied the end of the securing line to the bitter end of the chain. The big moment was at hand. I pressed the new foot switch with my big toe and the chain came clattering aboard. In a few minutes I had the answers to my questions: Yes to all, both for good and ill. Overall, it was a happy result. The new windlass was smooth and relatively quiet, and the anchor wedged into the bow roller snugly, without clawing into the hull on its way. A check of the batteries showed they were still near full charge. However, the chain repeatedy piled up in "castles" in the small chain locker, which means Carol will have a job to do when a lot of chain is coming in! I still need to tidy up the wiring a bit more and do a proper rope-to-chain splice to connect the securing line to the chain so that it can come up through the chain pipe. I also need to secure the shackle and swivel pins with stainless wire before actually using it all at anchor. Nonetheless, I felt I'd achieved a major milestone.

It was time to wrap things up and call it a day. I put things away, cleaned up, and gathered my tools together to bring onto the Fisher for her trip to the yard for a pre-purchase survey next week.