Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Humpty dumpty goes back together


Notice the four shiny rebuilt injectors, the very shiny rebuilt fuel injection pump, the somewhat shiny starter with new solenoid and those two sexy red power cables.

We had two mysteries going on at once.  Somehow, something nasty was getting into the bilge and somehow diesel fuel was getting into the crankcase.   When we had an oil analysis done they said there was a high level of diesel fuel contamination in the crankcase.  Starting with the injectors and working back to the fuel pumps we found the source.  And by "we" I mean Bradley.

When he took off the fuel injector pump the bottom stud was loose. This was allowing diesel to escape and drip into the bilge.  This loose fitting also allowed diesel to get into the crankcase. While we had the fuel injection pump off we went ahead and had it rebuilt.  And a heli coil fixed the stripped bottom stud.  

     

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

New exhaust system

During the survey, Bob pointed out the rusting stainless steel exhaust in the starboard cockpit locker. It had been weeping for some time and the steel was starting to go.  He said:   "Stainless steel exhaust pipe elbow and riser (as seen from starboard lazarette) is badly rusted and requires close inspection and repair or replacement as required."



After consulting with a few people we decided to pull it out of the boat and see how much it would cost to fabricate a replacement. Earl from Destache Yacht Service disconnected the long stainless steel exhaust system and through a heroic effort was able to get it out of the boat.  Bradley then took it to Chingon CMF in San Diego for a quote.  Their price is $1940.58, a sizable chunk of the boat kitty... but it is stainless steel!

I had been trying to figure out how the exhaust system worked.  On Platypus the hot gas and coolant mixes in a big mixing elbow on the side of the engine. From there it goes to a big round bucket of a muffler then out through the transom.   On Traveler the exhaust and coolant are not combined near the engine.  The exhaust goes into the center of a jacketed stainless steel pipe and the coolant travels through the jacket.  This jacketed pipe runs all the way aft to the bottom of the starboard cockpit locker then does a 90 degree turn vertical topping out just short of the cockpit seat.  There the gas and liquid are mixed and dumped overboard via a sturdy rubber hose, thru hull, and valve.  Here is my crude drawing. Click on it for a larger view.....

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Fix up the house, play a little music




We joined Chris, Bill, Amy, and Maya for the fourth of July at Kingston.

Then we went to work painting in between rain showers.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Meanwhile, back at home


Meanwhile, back at home here in Seattle we continue getting the house ready to sell. The yard landscaping is completely done and looks fantastic. I've pressure washed every inch of concrete and the outside walls of the house. And we've almost finished the exterior painting on the siding. Next I'll do the trim. The house has a new roof and gutters from last fall. So from the outside we are looking good. Inside is another matter. We need to paint but more importantly we need to get rid of all that stuff in all those rooms and cabinets and closets.

Moving from land to sea will be quite the challenge, but I think the purge will prove to be a wonderfully cathartic experience.

The garage sale prep has begun! We've got sticker and have begun tagging items with their prices. Our hope is to fill a couple of rooms with nothing but pre-priced garage sale items. Once we have everything identified we will schedule a Saturday and advertise on Craig's list. What was I thinking accumulating so much crap?

No this is not my stuff but sometimes if feels like this is what my yard looks like.

Engine work

Engine work is proceeding with me in Seattle.  The four injectors have been removed and taken to the shop to be rebuilt.  One of them was way out of adjustment.  The exhaust manifold is off as is the starter assembly.  The starter is being rebuilt also.  Brad's assistant Earl is upside down in the cockpit locker trying to snake the exhaust system out of the boat so we can take it to the fabricator to see how much it will cost to build a new stainless steel one.

This is a diesel injector...

Got a call from the Coast Guard.  It seems that my bilge accumulated some water from the packing gland on the prop shaft dripping and it finally got high enough so that the automatic bilge pump activated.  There must have been some spilled oil in the bilge because it put out a rainbow plume on the water that the Coasties were able to trace back to Traveler.  Coast Guard officer Ashley was very nice but firm in our conversations as we talked about what my next steps should be to prevent more rainbows in the water.  The bilge is now dry and we've got absorbent pads in place to see where the oil might be dripping from.
Here is a picture of the Coast Guard rushing to my boat slip at Driscoll Mission Bay.