San Diego - May trip

The next trip down my brother Bernie met me at the airport after flying in from Nashville.  We rented a car and made our home on the boat for a week.

We ordered and installed a new water pump and Bernie rebuilt the old one for a spare.  We had the alternator rebuilt and tested our spare alternator too. The tachometer was not reporting so we feared that we had no battery charging off the alternator. The list of repairs was growing. I had Paul from Fleming marine come out and he found two leaks in the refrigeration system and got our freezer and frige working for us.  Cold beer on the way! 

We had an appointment with a diesel fuel tank cleaning guy down in Shelter Island so we took the boat out from Mission Bay in the early morning into very dense fog and headed south down the coast looking for the entrance to San Diego Bay.  I had my first scary navigation as I used radar, a handheld GPS, a paper chart, and the depth sounder to feel my way down the coast.  The wrapped some kelp around the prop shaft in about 50 foot of water so I stopped the boat and reversed the engine to clear it.  Then we tried to stay about a mile off the coast in 100 foot of water to avoid more kelp beds.  Entering the bay just next to Point Loma, still in a dense fog, dodging large ships we saw on the radar, I hoped we were in the right place.  Then the fog cleared and I saw Point Loma looming up on our port and buoys Green 7 and Red 8 just ahead…spot on! 

We met with the fuel guy there at Harbor Island and he inspected and cleaned the two 65 gallon fuel tanks. We did not find the fuel crossover hose. He also cleaned the bilge for us. Then we filled up with 100 gallons of diesel at $5.00 per gallon.  On the way back up the coast we noticed the bilge filling up so we ran the bilge pump a couple of times.  Then later, at the dock, popping open a beer I checked the bilge again and it was way high and looked oily.  So I started ripping up floor boards and as I got further and further back toward the stern I saw a river of red liquid running forward.  Back at the stern I could hear a hissing sound. Finally I pushed a bunch of wires out of the way and did see the fuel crossover hose at the bottom front of the two fuel tanks and it was pissing a strong stream of diesel into the bilge.  That was the missing hose we couldn’t find and it was pouring my 500 dollars of diesel into a bilge that could not possibly hold all of it.

It was 5:00 PM and the yard was closing.  My brother came whistling down the dock thinking he’d done his day and was headed for the Crown Royal.  When he saw me jumping around frantically he came aboard, went to the stern, got down on all fours and found that leak.  Then he shoved his hand down, found the leak and stuck his finger in the dike just like a good dutch boy.  He said, “I’ll hold it til you figure out what we’re going to do about it.”

I got through to the receptionist at the Driscoll yard office and she got the last guy in the yard to agree to bring the travel lift around and haul us out. Otherwise we stood the chance of spilling diesel fuel into the water and risking a huge fine.  I took her to the lift and we hauled her out just as the diesel was almost reaching the engine pan.  We used bungs to hold a pressure pad on the hose and that slowed down the stream somewhat.  Now at least if we had to pump overboard, the fuel would go into the yard containment system instead of the bay.

We got the fuel tank cleaning guy (who we were not too pleased with for not finding the crossover hose in the first place) on the phone and he showed up at 8:30 PM with a truck and a pump and two 55 gallon drums. We emptied all the fuel into the two barrels. The boat stunk so I got a hotel room and collapsed. Bernie crawled into the vee, shut the door and opened the windows and crashed.  What a day!

With the boat out of the water we went ahead and got the fuel crossover line replaced and started on the bottom work.  I popped some blisters on the bottom (big mistake because I kinda got carried away) then contracted with the yard to fill them with fiberglass.  When Ovidio (our fiberglass repair man) drilled into the bottom of the the rudder and skeg, water started dripping out.  Quite a bit of saturation there.

After cutting into the soft part of the rudder and giving it lots of thought we agreed that Ovidio would 
take the rudder down to glass, do some patching, then wrap it with more glass. We also had the skeg reinforced.   Damn!  That was an expensive fix.  We had the bottom painted and put on new zincs of course. 

Brad Destache came by to look at the electrical charging system and we enjoyed tearing into the various boat electrical systems and talking to him about upgrading them into the current decade. Traveler had two battery banks of four (six volt) batteries each. The batteries were off-gassing madly.  Brad left to go prepare a quotation for me to look at later.  I then got on a plane and returned to Seattle leaving Bernie to finish up in the yard and see the boat put back into the water.

The next week when they splashed the boat Bernie had the yard mechanic Joe aboard.  Once in the water they cranked up the engine but no water was coming out of the exhaust.  So Bernie looked down in the engine compartment and found the water intake thru hull valve closed.  He opened it and sure enough we had coolant.  Someone dockside hollared out that they could see water being pumped out now from the bilge pump exit so Bernie went down again and this time found that the water pump hose had popped off the pump because someone had forgotten the hose clamp.  Simple enough to fix.  However, the bilge pump kept pumping.  This time the water was found coming in around the new packing gland that I had installed the week before.  I had not tightened it down enough so it was steadily pouring a stream into the bilge. Joe and Bernie tightened that and slowed it to a drip.

Somehow they got the vessel to the slip there at the marina and we arranged for Joe to keep an eye on the boat after Bernie left so we wouldn't have to worry so much about it sinking at the dock.  So there she sat, with a new fresh hull, rudder, skeg.  New water pump, new thru hull valves, rebuilt alternator and a cabinet full of red wine just waiting for my next trip. 

San Diego - April Trip

Now that we own the old tub it is time to start fixing her up.  Connie and I flew down to San Diego from Seattle for a week of scrubbing and sorting. We got in late, rented a car and immediately bought a bottle of rum. San Diego has plenty of all night liquor stores, especially on Sports Arena Boulevard on the way to Mission Bay.  Tom had brought the boat from Harbor Island up to Mission Bay the week before. What a nice guy!  He left early and so had fog all the way.  So now the boat was waiting for us at Driscoll Mission Bay, a place I’d never seen before. 

Rum in hand, we dialed up the address into the iPhone and navigated at 1:00 in the morning to Mission Bay.  We found the side door to the yard and tried the key that they’d mailed to me and Voila! We were in.  Anticipation:  walking a strange dock in the dark looking for a boat we last saw a month ago.  Looking for our new home.

We found the slip, and the boat, all locked up tight.  I’d brought a flashlight so we could see while we set about dialing in the combination…. And it didn’t work.  Did I write down the wrong lock combination?  When all else failed we sat on the back deck and opened the rum.  I fired up my laptop and started going through various documents stored on my jump drive until I found the correct combination.  Then we were in.

Into our new home for a week, we broke out the clean sheets we’d brought and the sleeping bags and cleared the aft berth.  All snug in our new home we slept till the early morning jets leaving Lindbergh Field woke us at 6:30 AM.

With gusto we attacked various portions of the boat.  We started with the galley and the aft cabin, thinking that’s where we’d be using the most.  All the bedding and curtains came out.  Some went to the laundry, some to the dumpster.  We emptied the galley storage and washed or dumpstered what we found there.  Then we scrubbed every surface, all drawers, ceiling, walls, floors, everything. Whew!

We ended the trip with a visit to the Bali Hai where we sampled their famous Mai Tai and got a little tipsy.  San Diego, what a great place.

Then throughout the week we worked our way from stem to stern poking our way into every cubbie and finding an amazing amount of stuff.  We found replacement parts galore, tools, wire, cable, line, and every kind of nautical gizmo you could think of.  All seeming to be about 20 years old.

We went sailing a couple of times and really enjoyed that.  The ocean seemed so big!  But the boat was solid and we were very happy.  The alternator didn’t seem to be charging and there was oil in the bilge but we called the previous owner and he gave us some clues.

Survey recommendations

There is oil and water in the bilge. The bilge must be cleaned of any oil before operating the bilge pump, and the pump tested before the vessel is placed in operation.

110V receptacles must be upgraded to GFCI

Propane tanks must be stowed in a dedicated locker, with the tank rigidly secured against movement, and/or where any vapors escaping the tank will drain overboard and not into any enclosed spaces on the vessel.

Safety signs must be installed at gas appliance and/or at propane tank.

The stern and anchor light (clear) lenses are faded and frosted. Replace.

The following through-hull valves are frozen (immobile) and must be repaired: (3) cockpit drain/bilge discharges in port lazarette and (1) in aft lazarette.

Some identified switches should be labeled at the electrical panel and throughout vessel.

Replace wire nuts with marine grade butt connectors.

Batteries must be secured and/or contained in a liquid-tight, acid-proof container. Batteries and battery installation is in poor condition and system needs to be inspected, repaired &/or renewed by a certified marine electrician. Batteries appear to be overcharging and venting out excessive amounts of battery acid. Bus bars have excessive wires & cables connected to terminal posts and most all of the connections are corroded.

The liferaft was last serviced in 6 / 04. 3-year service is required.

A yellow 12V wire behind the navigation equipment electrical panel is connected to bus bar, but loose on other end. Remove wire.

110V wiring of this vessel consists of yellow, white and green wires. Extreme caution must be exercised to ensure yellow “hot” wire of 110V system is not confused with the yellow 12V “negative” wires. Where possible, it is strongly recommended to replace original 110V wiring with approved marine grade wiring with proper color schedule as per ABYC E-11 specifications.

The back of the AC panel is not covered. Install plastic cover to protect against possible electrocution as per ABYC E-11.14.6 recommendations.

Lanyard attaching the water light to the horseshoe buoy is wasted and requires replacement.

Vinyl tubing used on fuel tank vent system is not to code. Replace existing hose with USCG approved type A-1 fuel hose.

Engine blower ducting is crushed and severed under port quarter berth. Repair.

Handle for engine seacock valve is missing securing nut and handle tends to fall off into bilge. Replace securing nut.

High-level bilge pump discharge hose is badly kinked and restricts water flow.
Intake hose for manual bilge pump lies unsecured in bilge and lack’s the required strainer or screen. Repair.

Man overboard pole is resin deficient. Coating of resin is needed to strengthen fiberglass pole and protect against skin irritation if/when touched.

Boat survey notes

Inspection Notes: 

Sails were opened during survey. 

Vessel's rigging was not examined aloft.  This report does not include a rigging survey. From examination on deck, the rigging appears to be in satisfactory condition.

The engine was operated during survey, and from external examination it appears to be in good condition. This report is not an engine survey.  

Tanks are not fully accessible for inspection and surveyor cannot speak as to their condition, but they do not appear to leak at this time.

Bottom inspection:  Shaft, strut, rudder, prop, thru hull fittings, keel and underbody wetted surfaces inspected and found in apparent satisfactory condition.

The bottom paint is in fair condition.    

The hull bottom is noted to have scattered medium to large blisters, but are not structural in nature.  Monitor.

 When percussion sounded, the rudder sounded mushy and 2-3 areas of delamination were heard.  Rudder should be repaired at next haulout.

Fuel filter is very dirty.  Fuel tanks and fuel system should be cleaned of any dirt, debris and sediment, which most likely is present.

The starboard headsail sheet is worn in one area and should be replaced. 

The upper 3-way valve in head is frozen.  Recommend replacing the rusted through-hull valve under the head sink, and valve under the forward bilge area (aft of the sump pump) at first haulout, as both are moderate to heavily corroded.

The shower sump tank has no cover and the pump is not working. 

Alternator belt is loose and requires tightening.

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.

Slight exhaust leak of engine was seen during sea trial.  Exhaust manifold gasket is possibly source of leak.  Investigate and repair as required.

Slight water leak seen coming from inlet hose connection to water pump.  Repair.

Shaft log leaks excessively while running and drips when idle.  Adjust nut.

Teak plugs are needed where teak decks have been re-screwed.  Repair.

Not working at time of survey:  refrigeration system, spreader lights, (1) lite in fwd. stateroom, and water maker.

With recommendations complied with, this vessel is a suitable insurance risk for its’ intended purpose of local coastal pleasure.

Tearing into Traveler

The next day Bob Smith (the surveyor) and Connie and I tore that boat apart from stem to stern.  Bob did an exhaustive survey with me in tow.  I followed him throughout, sometimes going ahead of him and clearing out lockers so he could see.  As Bob found problems he explained solutions to me.  Overall we were satisfied with what we found.

The boat is fairly spacious with beautiful woodwork down below.  The cockpit is of moderate size with dinghy davits and a radar post on the stern. The bimini is tall enough so that I do not have to stoop.  I can stand at the wheel and see out over the dodger.  Just aft of the gallows boom and above the dodger is a stainless steel mounting platform for the solar panels.

The side decks are fairly wide leading to a good sized bow with an anchor windlass.  The coach roof is fairly square with multiple opening hatches, a life raft, and mast pulpit bars with actual belaying pins.  The sail plan is a standard sloop/cutter rig with a furling headsail and hank on staysail.

Below deck is a master stateroom to port and a quarter berth to starboard.  There is plenty of locker and drawer space down below. The Nav station with a comfortable seat and chart size table is just forward of a hanging locker forward of the quarter berth.  The U shaped galley with double centerline sinks and gimbaled three burner propane stove has lots of storage and ventilation. As both Connie and I love to cook this galley really made a good impression on us.  We experimented with how we could both cook at once and found that it was a tight fit.  But hey! Whatever brings us closer is good.

Centered down below is the dinette across from two leather swivel chairs. Forward of the port side dinette is the head with a separate shower stall. Across from the head are two good sized hanging lockers. Forward is the Vee berth set off to one side in pullman fashion. The anchor locker is forward of the Vee with a nice sized access door down below.

The boat had lots of gear, too much gear.  Some of it was old, some unused, some ready for re-use and some ready for the dumpster.  All this stuff was crammed into the one thousand lockers and drawers and removable panels throughout the boat.

At the end of the day Connie and I flew back to Seattle to think about the purchase.  All in all it it was a pretty overwhelming day.

Rudder delamination

The surveyor tapped all around the hull and rudder and found a soft spot on the top of the port side of the rudder.  He marked it with chalk.

Offshore purchase

Here I am on Traveler with my broker Tom O'Neill.

We felt that the owner had dropped his price quite a bit to make the sale and he dropped it even further to account for the rotten rudder. But then again, we knew that there would be quite a few repairs to do on such an old boat with tired systems.

"They" say to be prepared to spend half again what you paid for a boat on outfitting it for sea duty. I hope it does not cost that much. I know the engine and exhaust will need a little work. The rudder and bottom will need some repair as will the through hull valves.

I scraped up all the cash I could find in my home equity account and sent the check off to San Diego. My broker Tom arranged for the owner and a pilot to meet him at the dock and they cast off for an offshore delivery. They took the boat out 3.5 miles beyond Point Loma and did the transaction there, completing the bill of sale and handing over the check. They recorded the GPS reading and took a picture of Point Loma in the background with a copy of the daily newspaper to prove the time and date. Thus I avoided paying California sales or us tax. Now I just have to be out of California waters in six months.

Thus begins the retrofit.  Oh man, what have I got myself in for?

Haul out

So we hauled her out of the water.. all 35,000 pounds of her. (According to the Travelift scale)  We saw her blisters, we saw her thru hulls, we tapped the hull and rudder.  There was some softness on the top portion of the rudder but otherwise the bottom seemed OK.  There were blisters, sure, but that's to be expected on a boat this age.

The offer

Our broker Tom had given me a list of comparable boats and what their asking prices were. Passport 42's had asking prices from 110k to 149k and this one was near the bottom of the asking price list. So we stewed on it for a while and let the broker stew for a while then we came in with a low ball bid.

The owner countered, coming down quite a nice bit. We countered back and got an acceptance. With a 10% deposit in place we made our plans to go show Connie the boat, do a survey, and complete a test sail.

Sea Trial

"Let's go now!" says Connie. We let the broker know we would be putting together an offer and arranged flights to San Diego from Seattle.  When Connie saw the boat she loved it so we took it on a shakedown cruise.  We brought along a surveyor, the owner, the owner's broker, and my broker.  A whole passel of people and a sunny day. We found wind just off of Point Loma and the boat picked up her heels and sailed beautifully.  Solid on deck, she seemed like she just wanted to keep on going.

We had a quick conference on the foredeck and decided to haul her out that very afternoon to do a hull survey.  Dennis, the owner, piloted her to the ways and we got the travelift in place.  He was great in that he loved that boat and was a fountain of information.  I tried to take it all in while maintaining some objectivity.