Other parts

After the diesel started running good I tackled some of the woodwork on the boat.  The boat had been sitting for 7 years with absolutely no maintenance.  All the topside wood was weather beaten with delaminaion of the venier on all the hatches.  I made temporary covers for the hatches and then took them to my workshop.  I started with the Fwd and Aft hatch.  the fwd hatch has a Plexiglas insert that lets light into the fwd cabin.  All that one needed was cleaning, sanding and re-varnishing.  The aft hatch had the top insert delaminate from the substructure.  I removed that chunk of teak and replaced it with a 3mil sheet of ocume I had leftover from one of the Moth boats.  I made the insert and then fiberglassed the entire top.   It turned out great.  The sliding hatch for the companion way was was a little different.   The teak veneer was delaminating but only the top layer.  I carefully removed that layer and exposed the second teak layer. With some careful sanding I refinished the existing wood.

  

The muffler

Diesels on there own make a racket.  This one was no exception.  Between the motor hammering and the exhaust noise it was a real noisemaker.  I looked in the  bilge where the muffler was and saw that water was pouring out of it.  That also meant holes in the muffler for noise to come out.  This is a raw water cooled motor so the water that runs through the motor goes out the back of the boat via the muffler.   Getting to the muffler is this story.    There is an access plate in the cockpit floor.   I thought that's where I was going to have to work from...  I tried getting a hand in and down to the muffler but no go.  I looked inside one of the seat lockers and saw an access panel.  Down into the seat locker I went and that allowed me access to the muffler.  I took it out and it wa peppered with holes.  The entire unit was Stainless Steel. I thought it could be fixed.     I found a welder who did SS welding and he plugged the holes but charged me an arm and a leg.  Probably should have just replaced the muffler.  I reinstalled the muffler and now we have a leak free cooling system.

The Deisel

The boat has a Yanmar diesel.  It's a 2QM15.  That means its two cylinders and 15 HP.    The marina guy said the motor ran but it needed a water pump.   Sure enough I got the motor started and within a few minutes it started over heating.   You know that because bells go off on the control panel.   I started trouble shooting the motor.  At that point I knew nothing about diesel motors.  I now have a PHD in diesel.

The first thing I did was take the water pump off and check the impeller.  It was fine but I replaced it anyway.  Started it up and still the same problem.  I got the diagram of the motor online along with the entire shop manual.  Great help by the way...

The next thing to check was the zincs.  Zincs are things that protect the motor from electrolysis and damage from that.  They get eaten away first so the motor don't get sacrificed to the electric gods.  I pulled both zincs out and what was left of them disingrated in my hands.  From that I also knew that there were particles left inside the motor from the zincs.  I cleaned out as much as I could and replaced with new zincs.  Looking to a good running motor.  No such luck. Still overheated.   The next line was to take the exhaust manifold off and check for blockage there.   I started removing the part, starting at the back end where the water exits.  On that part was what was called a bypass tube.  I pulled that off and it was completely blocked with crud and scale.  I cleaned that tube and reinstalled everything.  The motor ran like a top.

I changed all the filters and the oil so we were good to go.  (except for the muffler!)   

Made the deal

I talked to the marina spokesperson and we cut a deal.  It wasen't what they wanted but they acepted my offer!

The boat as found has a 15 HP Yanmar Diesel, a full inventory of sails both racing and crusing plus a spinaker.  The boat has all the electronics that you would expect to see on a boat this size.  Wind speed and direction. Knot meter and depth sounder.  The boat also came with a sailcomp105c which is an electronic compass.  Another interesting electronic gear was an original Lorain navigation system.  Loran was the system in place before GPS!.  Loran was turned off several years ago.

The boat and all this equipment was sitting in the marina for seven years with absolutely no maintance.  the boat was filthy.  So dirty that it played a part in the price negotiations.  

Some pix of the inside

Found the boat

Last year my son mentioned that it would be a good thing to buy a big boat.  We hashed that idea around last Thanksgiving weekend with me committing to look for a boat that we could afford.    Some how I found a site that was home to donated boats.  It is a charity foundation dedicated to running schools for underprivileged kids in the inner city.  This school happened to be on the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. 

On a cold December day I took a ride to Baltimore to see what it was all about.  Turns out they have a beautiful marina a stones throw away from the Inner Harbor.  In that marina they have about 50 boats that were donations.  Some needed to go to the bone yard while others were very nice.    Two boats caught my eye, both next to each other.  They were Alberg 30's.  The A30 is a beautiful boat.  fine lines, well built and a boat that has passed the test of time.

I looked at both boats.  One was a basket case and the other one needed a lot of work but what I saw was mostly cosmetic.  This is one of the first pix of the boat.