Plastics. That’s the
word not only for The Graduate, but my week’s projects. I bought several types of plastic and had a
couple cut to size for me by the only plastics dealer in the area. I replaced some cracked and rotting plywood
panels in the side of the cockpit with 3/8 inch StarBoard, made a stove
cover/countertop out of the same material, made privacy screens for the
portlights in the forepeak out of 1/8” clear frosted acrylic, and replaced the
glass in a framed print with 1/16 inch clear acrylic. I had to buy a half sheet of the StarBoard,
so I have some extra pieces that I can use for future projects (some of which I
already have in mind).
I also started on the installation of a bronze opening port
for the head. It needs the light and
ventilation badly, and Carol asked about it, which of course makes it a
priority! I got as far as grinding away
the old caulk, making the bevel in the cabin side fiberglass, and filling in
the old recess with many layers of fiberglass and filler as in previous port
installations. Then some light rain and
heavy wind (gale force) put a stop to outside work, so I went inside to tackle
the recurring seepage from the head and finish sealing the joint around the
galley counter.
Most of the head seepage was from the pump handle shaft, so
I removed the handle and old packing.
The factory service kit provided only a cork ring for the seal, which
had proved totally ineffectual. Standard
shaft packing that is wide enough is too thick to allow the gland nut to thread
in and be tightened, so I tried splitting and “butterflying” some packing to
get something that would fit. After
installing it and trying it out, it seems to have worked. There still seemed to be a bit of seepage
from the base joint, though. Since the
mounting screws were still tight, I tried reinstalling and retightening the
seven screws again anyway, adding a little LifeCaulk to both seal the screws and
prevent them loosening from vibration in the future. I also added some LifeCaulk around the
outside of the joint itself. If the leak
is just a slow seep and not under pump pressure, it might work. If it doesn’t, I’ll have to remove the head
completely to invert it, remove the base plate and try forming a silicone
gasket instead of using the thin paper gasket provided in the service kit. Wish me luck!
Since I already had out the LifeCaulk and everything else associated
with messy caulking, I finished caulking the joint around the galley
counter. (Because it hadn’t been done
before, water spilling onto the counter from dishwashing and other normal galley
chores would find its way into the joint and seep under the formica, lifting it
and potentially leading to rot problems in the future.)
One of the other irritating little problems in the galley
was lack of hot water pressure. The cold was fine, but the hot water was a
slow, small stream. I removed the hot
water supply hose at the faucet connection, put the end of the hose in a bucket
and turned on the water pump. Plenty of
hot water flowed, so the problem must be in the faucet. Since there were other things I didn’t like
about the existing faucet, I ordered a new replacement. I see a galley sink remodel in my future….
I also see a head remodel ahead. I never got an answer to my inquiry from the British
supplier of the old leaking shower mixing valve in the head, so I looked for
and finally found and ordered a new replacement.
It’s a compact faucet mixer with a pull-out shower. It should fit in the limited counter space
around the sink and will eliminate the clutter of the shower hose and wall-mounted
shower head currently installed. There
will be old scars on the bulkhead once the old hardware is removed, so I’ll
have to deal with that somehow in addition to installing the new plumbing.
In the harbor, work has started on repairing the rip-rap on
the sea walls and jetties, and preparations are underway for dredging
operations. It’s a huge annual project
overseen by the Army Corps of Engineers and a fascinating array of huge and very specialized machinery is used to get the job done.
Carol is in France
this week, so I had to go to Happy Hour at Brophy’s by myself, and it’s a
lonesome Valentine’s Day for me.
