Progressing slowly towards launch day

It always seems to take a lot longer to get things done than you think it will..

It's still pretty cold outside but Cork is well on her way to ready for launch day on May 10th. I've been down working on her for the last few Sundays...those were the only days it wasn't raining! Sooooo let me see...where to start... I've been installing solar panels that I got on sale at Canadian Tire. They are 40 watt panels and were regularly $250 but they where on sale for $100 a few months back so I picked up a couple. I have a 400 amp/hr battery bank and with 80 watts of solar I doubt I'll have to rely on a marina for power. I should be self sufficient and able to anchor out while cruising with no problems. I don't have a lot of electronics... I have navigation lights and interior lights but I use lanterns for light inside... I like the  glow of a lantern much better that a light bulb :)

I mounted the panels on the stern rails and attached them by using rail clamps. I'd read an article on the internet at www.pbase.com ( highly recommend this website) and this is how they had installed a single solar panel and it is quick and easy to do.

Below is a close up of the hinged rail clamp and the fitting I used for the panel itself.

I used 1/4 -20 X 1" SS philips head screws and nylock nuts to attach the hardware to the panels.

My next project was to install a tiller pilot and to begin I needed to install the power connection for the pilot. I chose to mount it at the engine panel instead of drilling another hole in the boat. Again it was pretty straight forward ..drill hole , mount electrical connector that came with the pilot and also drill a hole to insert the "pin" that holds the pilot in place when you attach it to the tiller for use.

The electrical connector is the small square between the two knobs. It has a " cap" that screws over the connector to protect it from moisture when it's not being used. I ran the wiring for it through the cockpit lockers and into the engine compartment and from there into the battery area which is in a locker behind the quarter berth.

My next project was to get rid of my holding tank and toilet and switch to a composting toilet. I removed the old "head " and the holding tank as well as all of the hoses associated with it and pitched the entire works into the garbage....good riddance!! I will not miss it!! This also gives me a lot of extra storage space under the forward v- berth so that is an improvement immediately.

I placed a 24" X 20" sheet of 3/4" plywood between the bulkheads and cut out the " privy" hole and mounted a toilet seat purchased at Rona. Under the hole is a bucket....also from Rona. The bucket gets a layer of Peat Moss and then every time it gets  "used" you cover your "deposit" shall we call it...with a layer of peat moss. There is no odour ... and no need for a pump out ( saving some money too). When the bucket gets full you put the cover on it and place it outside beside your compost pile to "compost for a few months" and then you dump it on your garden...just like the farmers do with cow manure. Obviously you need two buckets for this process..one to compost and one to use while the other is composting. At $5 per bucket...it isn't a problem!!

This is not finished but I've got the plywood in and framing to support the weight of a large person. I'll make a jig to keep the bucket from getting tossed around and I'll close up the bottom so it " looks proper.....but that's for another day.... right now I'm beat and join to hit the snooze button... that was enough work ....till next weekend :)

See you on the water

Tom
S/V Cork

Finally it's time....

Well we finally got a little bit of warmth up here and it was a balmy 4 degrees with the sun shining so I headed to the boat to try to get some of my projects completed.

There was still a layer of frost on the boat when I arrived at 9:00am but it melted away by about 11:am and the outside of the boat dryer up so I could sit outside and do some work in the cockpit.

I had a problem with the throttle and shift control on Cork at the very end of the sailing season and had to remedy that first. The throttle / shift lever was loose and made it difficult to shift the transmission into and out of gear. I had family and friends out for a sail ...  and of course when you have an audience and the wind is blowing hard and your docking...the sailing gods pick just that moment to throw a wrench into your well oiled plans. Sooooooo  the shift lever ended up malfunctioning just when I returned to the dock. I was almost to the dock and I had a bit of way on because of the wind and tried to put the boat into reverse to take some way off and low and behold the control lever just spun around, when I tried to shift.

Luckily I had my dock neighbour Paul and his wife's brother to throw lines to and they reacted quickly and got the lines around a cleat before I ran into the end of my slip. I remember hearing Paul saying "ummmm  you might want to put it in reverse , you're coming in really fast". He didn't know that my shifter had failed just as I was trying to put it in reverse...I did mention it after I got the boat tied up, but he probably thought I was trying to cover up my poor docking skills and likely still thinks I'm an idiot..but he still talks to me, so that's a good thing... because I like Paul.

  The throttle/ transmission control body is inside the starboard locker and is held in place by a metal ring nut outside. There is a threaded flange that protrudes off of the body through to the outside of the locker wall into the cockpit and this in turn is also where the shift lever attaches. The lever is held in place with an allen screw on the very bottom of the lever.

I removed the lever and greased all of the cables and moving parts and reassembled the throttle / transmission cables to the body and tightened it all up. Tested it after and it works great... hopefully no more problems with it this sailing season!!

My next project was removing the head and holding tank! I've never liked the heads on boats... I don't like pump outs , the smell that comes from the tank vent and the hoses, the occasional blockage and the resulting work that goes along with that particular problem... I don't like any of it!!

I removed the toilet and all the hoses and that was easy. The holding tank actually came out pretty easy as well. It fit through the opening in the v-berth after I removed the 90 degree elbow at the very bottom of the tank. There was probably 2 gallons of leftover waste that never got pumped out from the fall...another reason I don't like holding tanks is that they are never truly empty... they always have a few gallons left after the pump out. I took the tank over to the pumping station and cleaned it out before throwing the whole thing into the garbage.

My solution to the heads problem now is to use a composting toilet. I'm not purchasing an "Airhead" or a "Natures Head" because of the cost. One thousand dollars is a lot of money to spend on a toilet so I'll try making one first. I've seen some home made units in RV's and they have been getting good reviews from women ... and if a bunch of women don't have a problem with it...then I don't think I'll have a problem with it!!

I'll try to document my composting toilet install and post some pictures when I start it. I'll let you know how it works and if it will be the answer I've been looking for to the heads issue on Cork.

Until next time......

See you on the water

Tom
S/V Cork