214 replies to this topic

[PeterP]

What do people use for tread compound on throughhull to seacock joints? Will regular plumber dope work? PeterP

[Hirilonde]

What do people use for tread compound on throughhull to seacock joints? Will regular plumber dope work? PeterP

Yes, or Gasoila or teflon tape.

[PeterP]

Thanks David, never heard of Gasoila but I have tons of dope and tape.PeterP

[Hirilonde]

Gasoila is used for threads in fuel systems as it does not dissolve from petrol products. At the last marina I worked at we used it for all but potable water systems (used teflon tape there) as it meant not having to stock another type of dope.

[PeterP]

Thanks, I am relieved that I won't have to use anything "marine". For my potable water (which is non-pressurized to discourage excessive use) I used regular 1/2in PEX - crimp on since the "marine" 3/8in is hard to find and substantially more expensive. I'll look for your Gasoila ( sounds a bit like a gated community Dick Cheney would gravitate to) PeterP

[Scott Dunsworth]

Peter it has been over three months since we had an up date. I don't want to bug you, but I think about your build at least weekly. Would love to see some updates!!

 

Scott

[Tom Lathrop]

I dropped in to see Peter and the boat last week and it is coming along nicely.  Of course, it is a big project and there is much left to do before it hits the water. 

[PeterP]

Scott -you right- where does the time go?! Well, I got a few things done. What I am most proud of is the diesel. Aligning the shaft with the engine is supposed to be the bugbear. I spent a lot of time procrastinating but in the end it all just came together and so well I almost felt -too easy- like the shop gremlins are setting me up for something. Beta engineering was a big help. The shaft coupling and the engine flange are machined to fit together - lip on the coupling & groove on the flange. If they fit together you're centered. And I was -first try. Then it's a question of left/right up/down. Turns out I just needed a couple of turns on the rear engine mounts and she was done to 0.01in recommended tolerance. Unbelievable! Of course we'll never know until she floats - they say that sometime the boat settles in the water funny and throws the alignment out of whack. So the diesel is all in: raw water intake, exhaust line with muffler and a water-lift. PSS dripless all in. All 3/8" bolts torqued up to 35 ftlbs. All I need now is to run the fuel line and return and 12V wiring, main panel hook up and a throttle line. Second picture shows the underside of the cockpit sole with the drain plumbing and my home made discharge tube. The last picture shows the hatch. Looks a bit dull as I have just sanded it - there is a cold front headed this way so I'll move inside and varnish a bit. You can also see the cockpit sole is down and down for good. Not a minute too soon as I was getting sick and tired of climbing in and out of that hole.

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[Scott Dunsworth]

Thanks Peter, I needed that.

[PeterP]

Glad to help. I can guess how you feel. Can't work on your dream 'cause you're up to your butt in cold and nasty weather for next eon and a half, taxes going up, lottery not coming through -seems like the only bright spot in life is Dolly & Kenny singing Islands in the Stream. If you have a full set of plans( which I doubt somehow) you could work on do-ahead-stuff like rudder, tabernacles, you could make some molding(s) which you're going to need a bunch of. Rip up some laminations for your cabin beams. How about knocking out some rails&stiles for your doors. Laminate your engine beds - oversize,of course- so they can be trimmed and put in the boat when ready. Pour the lead keel maybe? That'll keep you busy for a while. If I sound too clever by half don't take it wrong -I'm way behind schedule myself. We'll get it Scott - one of these days. Cheers PeterP

[Scott Dunsworth]

Yes your right there are plenty of things I could be doing. But time is my problem at the moment. I have be building a house for a customer ( friend ) for three months now and have about six weeks left. Slow process without a crew to help, I subbed out the electrical, plumbing and this week the drywall. So that should help get me back to the boat barn sooner. Thankfully the owner wants to do most of the inside.

[PeterP]

Well, at least you making money - that's always good. I'm going to start dipping into my cruising stash soon. Scary thought.

[Scott Dunsworth]

Peter if you still have your shaft log drilling jig and bit, I would like to borrow it when my time comes.

Going to start my little Beta next weekend and let her run for an hour, its now been 7 months since I started her. I just feel better running her a few times a year. She wasn't new like yours, she had 160 hours on her. I hook her up to my tractor fuel system which has a filter and water separator.

 

Scott

[PeterP]

Scott, that stuff got recycled. The guiding block was made out of couple 2x4s screwed together - dadoed in the centre to guide the bar. Bottom trimmed off to the angle of the shaft inclination. The bar is a piece of 3/4" black pipe with two 1/4" holes tapped in the end- opposite each other- to take two 1/4" bolts - with heads cut off and sharpened to give good shearing action. Screwing those in and out fine tunes the bore diameter. In all honesty I spent way too much time on that. Saved a buck on epoxy and wasted hours on labour. If I were to do it again I would rough out the bore the quick and dirty way -slide the stern tube in and get it lined up real good then back fill the gap with epoxy. Nobody will ever know how slick your bore turned out. Glad you mention cranking up your diesel. I was going to drop you a line -guy on ebay has a listing for a two stick engine control ( 10 -WAY below regular price). I am going to order mine today and I wondered if your engine package came with that stuff or not. Also- I don't know if you want to let that engine just idle for an hour without any load on it. Bad for diesels.PetrP

[Scott Dunsworth]

I don't think I need anything for my 20, everything came with her all the way down to the prop. An hour is an exaggeration, it usually is about 30 minutes of various rpms with about half that time at just above idle. It always amazes me how easy the system bleeds and she starts up, then how smooth she runs even at idle.

The first time I ran it I noticed she ran just a whee bit on the warm side, so took the heat exchanger apart and 1/3 of the copper tubes were plugged up. I cleaned those up and that brought her back in line on temp. Very simple system to clean and maintain. So once shes in service Ill keep that as part of routine maintenance. I think I'll install two fresh water strainers on separate sea-cocks, where I can switch from one to the other on the fly in case one sucks up a plastic chunk, seaweed or something. I know thats another hole in the bottom but worth the risk.