Grinding onward.
It’s been a few days since my last post. What’s been happening?
The motor install has been put off until tomorrow (Thursday) at the earliest.
David’s been busy readying the new motor. In addition to the alternator and starter motor, there’s been a lot of swapping bits off the old one.
It now sits in his al fresco workshop ready to be transplanted but for four small but important things. Engine mounts. The old ones were absolutely buggered, the new ones too big. We’re all waiting on a courier to deliver a set that fits, and then we’re away.
Yes, it was super-disappointing to arrive here and find nothing had been done to install the motor. But David’s unwillingness to do the job in my absence makes a lot more sense now I see him in action. Everything’s consultative.
Should we use the old alternator & starter motor and avoid needing to use an auto electrician? OK.
Am I happy with the fact the old adapter plate for the hydraulic gearbox is missing two bolt holes on the new motor? I guess so.
Can we use the (dirty, skanky) old coolant expansion reservoir so we don’t need to make mounts for the new one? No, I’ll take care of the mounts.
Is it OK to replace the noisy old rubber exhaust with a second hand Vetus water lock? Hell yeah!
David’s tweaks are making the new motor better than when I bought it. The only thing I worry about now is the final bill. Gulp.
These intervening days have been productive. I scrubbed & sluiced the engine bay so assiduously it was clean enough to paint. So I did, and it looks s-w-e-e-t!
Also built a starter battery platform from randomtimber that was lying around. Until now the battery has lurked deep and inaccessible in the bilges.
No idea why.
There must have originally been a platform or container of some sort, but it was long gone by the time I bought Ruru.
The new platform sits high in comparison, and makes it easy to reach the isolator. That’s quite useful.
I also discovered — and hopefully repaired — a couple of nasty leaks that were letting water into the engine bay during heavy rain. This only came to light because we had a deluge this morning and I when opened the engine bay there was quite a bit of lying water.
It was still drizzling so I was able to track the sources: a couple of cracks in the tubes that are funnel water overboard from the gutters around the bay hatches.
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A good cleaning with acetone, some quality silicone adhesive and hopefully it won’t happen again.
Inside, the bathroom renovations are at the point where I’m waiting for Ruru to go back in the water.
The floor is painted and presentable. The toilet is plumbed in and partially tested (so far, so good).
Once back in the water I’ll be able to check the toilet water intake for leaks under pressure, fit the lining behind the toilet and fix it to the floor.
The rest of the lining will have to wait until Ruru passes a big box hardware store that sells bales of fibreglass insulation.
Another little project has been rewiring the house batteries with more robust cables and surge protection.
I did a lot reading back in NZ to understand the role of fuses in high current wiring, and how they’re really about preventing the wiring from burning out and setting fire to the boat.
Ruru had no battery fuses. Now it has a 250 amp fuse between the batteries and another on the inverter.
And nice big cables between the batteries, and better colour coding.
Everything feels a lot safer, and looks more professional.
Ruru has four fuse boxes: one main board for 220v AC circuits (a small version of house fusebox) and three 12v boxes in different parts of the boat.
With so many circuits running various appliances and instruments, it can all get a bit confusing.
I brought over a $50 labeller to…well…label stuff.
OK, that’s pretty anal but it actually makes everything clear and reabable. And everything looks smart too.
So there you go. More progress on the seemingly un-endable list of jobs on board.
No huge dramas. An ever-growing desire to be back in the water and on the move. They say patience is a virtue, eh?
PS next column I think I might go off-beam and rave onabout French food, and supermarkets and bakeries and stuff…yeah I think I will!
