Summer in Baltimore

July 30 thru Aug 2

—Blogpost written by Bob

Tuesday, July 30

I woke up about 8 AM and got right into the normal routine of feeding the cats, eating my cereal with blueberries on top, and then allowing the cats outside for a few minutes.  Then I started right in sanding the water maker mount to make all the edges smooth and to get a good fit up to the curvature of the inside of the hull.  When I had it satisfactorily shaped to fit, I used 5-minute epoxy to glue it in place.  After the 5-minute epoxy cured (actually about 15 minutes), I applied fillets of thickened epoxy where the support met the inside of the hull. 

Thickened epoxy was applied around the edges
of the new support where it met
the inside of the hull.

The water maker support is perfectly level fore-to-aft but not athwartship.  I don't think that it's important that is be perfectly level--it's just my innate craftsmanship that I can't seem to shake.  (Its too bad I couldn't make the epoxy fillets look better!)


While I was waiting for the thickened epoxy to cure (about 3 hours), I cleaned up the boat.  Things were getting a little "ratty" (you know I AM in Baltimore!) and it got to the point where I couldn't stand the mess.  I washed the dishes, cleaned the cat's litter box, put most of my tools away, and got a much needed shower (it's been 4 days since I showered!).  (It's a good thing that Maggie is away at the beach this week!)

Lola found a place to sleep in
the messy quarter berth
as I updated my
blogpost.

I applied fiberglass reinforcement and coated the new water maker support with epoxy right before lunch.  During the heat of the afternoon I designed a mount and control panel for the two 3-way valves, one for the water maker input and the other for the water maker output.  I also redesigned the support for the raw water strainer and the pre-filter so that they take up less space.

Late in the afternoon, I drilled out the mounting holes and primed the entire support and the immediate surroundings with gray primer.   (I also coated the lid with primer in preparation for painting.)  A lot of the remaining work depends on the water maker being in position--so, I'm focused on completely finishing the water maker support and getting the water maker mounted as quickly as possible (maybe tomorrow afternoon).

Today is exactly half way into the week that I allowed for the water maker installation--I better get cracking!

Wednesday, July 31

After having a bagel for breakfast and having already fed the resident felines, I started work painting the water maker support and the top side of the compartment lid with (white) marine paint (Brightside enamel).  

The water maker support in place with
a coat of white marine paint.

Eventually the entire compartment will be painted white but since I am mounting one piece of equipment at a time, I'm painting the inside of the compartment as I go.  I'm not sure how well this is going to work but I don't have much of a choice.  I'm concerned about how slow this project is going.

Of course, another trip to Annapolis was needed to get just a couple more small hose fittings and some other odds and ends, as well as a small piece of plastic sheet for the water maker's control panel.  I left at about 10 AM and returned to the boat at about 2 PM. 

---------- 

Our water maker came with four different size hoses: 1/8”, 3/16”, 1/4”, and 3/8” connecting various pieces of equipment and valves. I thought this was completely ridiculous and settled on just two sizes: 3/8” for seawater and 1/4” for everything else. In addition, there were two different types of hose connections—I reduced it to one and used clamped connections on hose barbs throughout. This meant that I had to buy several more fittings but I have to keep a lot less spares.

While I was in Annapolis I purchased a piece of plastic and ordered labels for a control panel I’m making where both 3-way valves will be mounted and labeled.

The previous owner made a labeled panel for
one 3-way valve--the other one was
simply loose and unlabeled.

When I returned to the boat I removed the starboard settee platform to coat the hard-to-reach areas with primer.  Then I bolted the water maker to its support using the 3/8-inch thick rubber shock-absorbing pad that came with the water maker.  However, the 1-1/2" long bolts were too short to include the 3/8-inch thick rubber washers on the backside--so I left them off for now--I will buy longer bolts as soon as I can and replace the short ones one at a time.

The water maker is finally mounted
in its compartment!

I worked further on the panel that will hold both 3-way valves and I worked out a way to mount the pre-filter without making another plywood support.  So, while I don't have a lot to show for the remainder of the afternoon, I worked out a number of problems.  

Thursday, August 1

The first thing I did after breakfast was to apply the final coat of white paint on the compartment lid (out in the cockpit) and a coat on the remainder of the water maker compartment.  Since the weather was relatively cool in the morning, I cut the pieces of plywood needed to make the support for the raw water strainer and assembled it using 5-minute epoxy.  From there I applied generous fillets of thickened epoxy to the inside corners except where it interfaces the strainer.

The strainer support was under construction.
Here the generous fillets of thickened
epoxy were just applied.

I was fast-tracking the strainer support construction today, going on to the next step as soon as the previous step cured.  As soon as the thickened epoxy fillets were semi-rigid, I applied some reinforcing fiberglass cloth.  As soon as the fiberglass cloth cured, I drilled the holes needed for mounting and sanded the exterior edges in preparation for epoxy coating.  (Constructing this support from 1/2-inch thick marine plywood was an overkill but it is was all I had at the time.)

At mid-day I drove to Annapolis and had lunch as well as picking up more supplies at Fawcetts, including the longer bolts needed to properly mount the water maker.

Between tasks on the strainer support, I cut the pieces needed for the control panel support.  Later in the afternoon, I mounted the vertical leg of the control panel support to the hull with epoxy (using 5-minute epoxy first and then following up with thickened epoxy).   At the same time I coated the strainer support with epoxy (in a separate area).  Affixing the control panel support was very tricky--I had to use duct tape to hold it in place until the epoxy cured.

I had to use duct tape to hole the vertical
leg of the panel support in place
while the epoxy cured.

I'm really getting tired of this project and having the boat in a state of complete chaos.  At my present rate of progress, I should be able to assemble everything tomorrow and get the electrical wiring done on Saturday morning.  

Friday, August 2

I just had to take a break from the water maker installation this morning, if only for 45 minutes or so. (I even slept with a pencil in my berth last night!) At this point, the remaining work is just assembly but lots of it including running hoses and electrical wiring—the support building is over. I noticed this morning that one of the plastic bags of fasteners I purchased yesterday in one short—I may have to visit the local West Marine today to buy just one 5/16” stainless steel carriage bolt.

----------

The sky was overcast and it was relatively cool outside (mid 70’s with a chance of rain late in the day). There was a light breeze out of the east. The cats lounged around on the foredeck under the forepeak tent (one of their favorite spots) as I sat in the cockpit drinking a cup of coffee and starting my blogpost for the day. They haven’t been outside much this week.  It was 9 AM when I took a much needed shower and then got back to work on the water maker installation.

----------

I mounted the fresh water transfer pump, the raw water strainer, and the pre-filter.  I worked until well past 4 PM but at the end of the day I was beat and I'm tired of this long project.

The water maker compartment is now about
full, as several pieces of equipment
were mounted today. (The white
square in the upper left is
the control panel
less labels.)

Making the raw water strainer
mount took a lot of time.

All that remains of this project is to make the tie ins with hoses and do the electrical wiring.

I really doubt that I could finish the project tomorrow because I need one more 1/4" hose fitting on the discharge of the water maker.

Stay tuned for the completion of this project and the start of the next project...


Thanks for following our blog!