Countin' Our Pennies

We've hit an interesting snag in our plans for retirement.  Due to unforeseen circumstances our boat projects will have to be put on hold until after next January.  That is, IF we want to retire this year.  We could always opt to work another year or two.....NOT!  At this point in the game we'd much rather tighten our belts for a while and ditch this dog and pony show as fast as we can.  We have a short list of fairly expensive items that we need to get before taking off that include a single side band radio, life raft and security system (lights, bells, grenade launcher).  We're about half way into the water maker project and won't be able to proceed any further with that until we get the rest of the parts.  These things will have to wait until we get back on our feet next winter.

The good news is that we can carry on with what we already have.  There's two 140 watt solar panels in the shed waiting to be mounted.  Those could go up and replace the two 85's until we can get a frame built to mount all four.  I also still need to make permanent mounts for the dinghy cradle.  That's strictly labor and involves cutting holes in the cabin roof.  I've been putting that one off mostly due to fear.

Another project that can still move ahead is the Monitor Wind Vane.  The cost of a simple rebuild is still within our tightened budget.  I contacted the factory, Scanmar, about what I might need to get this thing mounted to my boat.  To my amazement they still had all the purchase info on the original owner, the guy I bought it from.  It's actually 28 years old but you'd never know just to look at it.  I mean, it's in really very good condition.  I think by the time I was 28 years old I was a physical disaster with multiple injuries and poor general health.  The factory dude said that the only installations they had done on Island Packet 420s had swing away mounts to retain access to the swim ladder.  Nice option but that costs about $2400.  Not an option for us.  They said for $100 they could design a mount for us.  Now we're talkin'.  They sent me an e-mail with all kinds of information but at the end they focused on the age of the wind vane.  They felt that at 28 it was beyond it's useful life and there was concern about crevice corrosion in critical areas.  They offered me a trade-in for $1000 off the price of a new one.  Uhm, thanks but that just puts me even deeper in the hole.

Armed with new information I decided to do a total restoration of the wind vane.  This involves a complete dismantling, cleanup, inspection and replacement of any damaged parts.  I'm already well into it.  I've found that all the rust and corrosion cleans up nicely using Flitz polish and plenty of elbow grease.  As I've taken things apart I have found some evidence of crevice corrosion in critical areas but I'll be able to replace those parts if necessary.  One of these areas is in the pendulum yoke.  The two bearing cups that
hold the bearings are cracked all the way through(see top photo at left).  This looks more like stress than crevice corrosion to me but nevertheless they still need to be replaced.  These are held in place with two small welds that can be ground out for removal.  The yoke (pendulum strut) itself, where it's welded to the post does have some crevice corrosion (bottom photo at left).  I can get replacement bearing cups for $16 and have them welded in locally.  The yoke is probably OK but I could also replace that for $430.  Have to really give that one some thought but at this point I don't think it's necessary since the corrosion appears to be just at the surface.  I'll weigh that against the expense of having the rings welded on before I make my final decision.  Mostly what I'm finding is original plastic shims and bushings that have disintegrated.  Small parts like snap rings have also broken through.  Restoring this thing is a lot of work but I'll know it through and through by the time I'm done.

 What's really sweet is that every single part is available from Scanmar and at decent prices.  I can do a rebuild at $432.88 which would replace all the necessary parts that are in bad shape.  I could add a strut guard to the frame for extra protection for an additional $165.  I could also do the deluxe rebuild which takes it even further with a replacement yoke, all new blocks and all new lines for an additional $792.50.  I can do a complete rebuild and basically have a brand new monitor for $1390.88 plus the $1500 I paid originally = $2890.38, so I'd still be ahead by $1600 and change.  But perhaps I'm getting a little carried away here.  Better opt for the basic rebuild for right now.  I think we can just barely swing that.  Even if we don't have a buncha dough I do have plenty of time so this one is worth taking on.

I've learned quite a bit about crevice corrosion since taking on this project.  It mostly occurs between two metals when moisture is introduced and becomes trapped and oxygen starved.  The areas around the yoke were beneath a washer so that accounts for the corrosion.  This can happen in welds too.  An example that I read about in an even worse place is the stuffing box for a propeller shaft.  The packing is supposed to be tightened around the shaft so that a slow drip occurs.  The water is intended as a coolant for the shaft and if you tighten it down too much you can feel the heat build up while the shaft is turning.  It is possible to tighten the packing just enough so it doesn't get hot but the drip rate is too slow to allow enough oxygen into the area and corrosion of the shaft can occur.  It's important to adjust the packing nut to allow one to three drips per minute.


We have even more to smile about.  We have a dry bilge!  How cool is that?  We've had this boat for 5 years now and it's always had at least 2" of water sloshing around in the bilge.  It would go stagnant and stink within a week.  We'd pump it out and then go through the same cycle over and over again.  Five years.  We recently wised up and installed Mermaid Condensators in the return lines for our AC units so they no longer dump condensation water into the bilge (click here).  I was amazed to find that this was 99% of the water we got down there.  We still get a few drops from rain running down the mast but I can live with that.  This past weekend we ran a fan in the bilge and completely dried it out.  We then applied two coats of bilge paint.  What a difference!  That was well worth the effort.

Back at the beginning I mentioned we were planning to install a security system.  I've done some studying and have learned a lot.  Originally I was thinking of a panic button mounted somewhere down below that you could hit if you heard some bad guys sneaking aboard.  This would turn on bright spreader lights and start blasting the fog horn, both of which we don't yet have.  This would probably be enough to make most bad guys abandon their efforts and jump ship.  For those with more fortitude we'd have to get out the grenade launcher.

In my studies though I found that marine security systems have advanced quite a bit recently.  They now have deck pressure sensors that can tell when someone is walking across the deck.  It takes more than 30 pounds to set it off so a bird or Bella wouldn't be giving false alarms.  The new systems will send GPS coordinates if your boat gets stolen and can also call or text you (as well as the police) when the alarm is triggered.  Instead of using spreader lights and fog horns they now have audio alarms (watch the video) that are so loud (125db with unbearable frequency patterns) they can immobilize people.  They have sensors for if someone tries to steal your dinghy or engine (or both).  There's even a system that can fog a room (click here) so densely you can't see a thing and it continues to fog it for something like two minutes, way beyond the time most bad guys are willing to stand around.  You can set up a perimeter around the boat using GPS so if it moves outside that perimeter it'll set off the alarm.  Cameras that you can watch on your phone.  Total control of the system by phone or iPad.  We're talkin' high tech for the boat world.  We're mostly concerned about bad guys sneaking on board while we're asleep.  The deck pressure sensors with lights and sound would take care of that.  It would also be nice to know if someone was sneaking aboard while you're sitting in a bar on the beach somewhere.  A system that can text you would be pretty sweet.  Of course I think we still need that grenade launcher.  We do plan to put in a security system of some kind.  I guess now we have some time to figure out just what we want to do.