February 14, 2012

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.