We got back to the dock on our Sat/Sunday shakedown cruise to find the bilge running more than usual.
We start checking and the freshwater pump won’t keep pressure and there is water in the bilge. So we start the diagnosis by emptying the cockpit lazarette. It’s big and holds a lot of stuff.
We finally found the issue after about 30 minutes of looking for the break. One of the nylon/vinyl hose junctions popped loose and was spraying water all over the water heater compartment.
Now that’s fixed and we can head to the next issue. Making chocolate chip cookies.
After all the abuse/love we have been heaping on the boat we thought we needed a shakedown system run on the boat. Today is a great opportunity for a pre-voyage test. All is good so far.
The view from our back porch tonightLooking at Bluffton LandingThe Admiral with snacks
Brian from Halifax Marine Canvas is installing a new bimini today.It’s much larger than the previous one.
We have added a second 170W solar panel to bring us to a total of 510watts at peak.
We are adding a see-through bridge piece and curtains.
The finished work is due on Monday.
We have officially moved to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.We are able to keep the boat about five miles from our condo.
It’s in a very protected marina. This is a great place to sail from as we can enter and exit ocean from at least three points plus we have the Intracoastal Waterway a few feet from the boat where we can hop on to Key West or the Chesapeake Bay.
When we purchased the boat we knew the Radar (Furuno) and chart plotter (Raymarine A70) were tired.
Additionally, they were located in the nav station where they were of less benefit than at the helm.
This project is to add a chart plotter at the helm with radar overlay for use while at the helm.
So we’ve started down that road. The Furuno radar and the Raymarine chart plotter is gone. We’re prepared to install a B&G 4G radar and Zeus3 chart plotter. As with all mods we have a lot of prep before the installation begins.
A lot of water has run under our virtual keel since our last post. We have now officially retired from the 9-5 world, completed a circumnavigation, and come back to live on Muse 10.
We’ve spent the summer on our boat here at Green Turtle Bay and we are preparing Muse 10 to move south for the winter.
We installed a new CruiseAir 16K unit before we left the boat for two years. On our return, we did not understand was our AC electric load over during peak summer heat. Attempting to use the aircon, water heater, microwave, battery charger and outlets all at the same time draws more than our 30A/120V service can handle. We have a second service port for TV/Telephone which we have repurposed for the 2nd 30Amp service.
Karen and I spent the past Saturday “all day” completing the bulk of Spring Maintenance. From an engine perspective we are Summerized and ready to begin.
I still need to re-check the zincs – they seem unfazed by the fresh water. Friends are suggesting we move to Magnesium for fresh water. I’ll have to study up on that.
We need to put some coolant in the overflow. We used all we had to fill the engine based radiator system.
We need to wash out the bilge and put down new absorbent mats. Upon completing those tasks we’ll be 100%. It was interesting that the engine turned over immediately on the starter press.
Before we put any experimental (Fortune Hill developed) hardware or software on Muse 10 we need to reset the baseline on the electronic infrastructure.
Over the 2014/2015 winter we developed a plan to refresh the network, add an AIS transceiver, add WI-FI to the boat, and add a NMEA 2000 backbone to bring the boat to the 21st century. This post will describe in brief this little journey.
I’ve diagrammed out the current state of affairs. One thing I’ve found on this boat is an abundance of wire that goes nowhere. I’m either marking it or pulling it out when possible.
In preparation for Spring comissioning I started examining the coolant hoses for leaks.
The four main hoses appear to be original (1997). After a close examination of them, I decided they had lived a full life and decided to replace them.
I checked the parts in the Westerbeke parts catalog and the damage came to about $320 to replace all.
My colleagues on the Sabre forum suggested I take them to the local auto parts store and see if they might have some that would be cheaper than the Westerbeke hoses.
They were right. I was able to replace 3 out of 4 hoses with Carquest hoses saving me about $ 125. That’s enough to pay for the globe impeller, the barnacle buster, and some other key maintenance parts.
I did purchase the Westerbeke 039821 hose which has an internal reinforcing coil and was a little hard to source. Thank you Hanson Marine for stocking it even though it was pricey!
With a little luck, we’ll have Spring cleaning done soon and the boat for sea trials.
Change oil and filter (done
Change zincs (engine, freezer) (inspected)
Impeller (done)
Check / clean air filters
New coolant hoses (done)
Bleed and replace fuel filters (done)
Top off coolant (done)
Flush fresh water system with Barnacle Buster (done)
Install new anti-siphon hose (done)
X fingers and fire the baby up!
The expensive hose
Prevents hose from colapsing under water pump suction- between water pump and heat exchanger
