From a Bare Hull: Building A Westsail 42, Hull #60

E-Board is In!

2012-01-28T03:00:00.000-08:00

Last week I finished cladding the engine room with E-Board. The pictures show how the engine room now looks, plus the first bits of wiring using E-board and zip ties. Running and attaching the wiring went quick and easy. One handy feature of this stuff is that the surface is flat and smooth, making it very easy to label wire runs with a label maker.

This is how the engine room looks.

Wire run example

Galley Cabinets Are In!

2012-01-25T03:00:00.000-08:00

Well, the carcases at least. This is one of those projects that has been "sitting in the corner and ignored" for a while now. The modular frames for the drawers and behind counter storage are now installed permanently. All plumbing runs behind the frames have been installed. There should be no reason to get behind there for the rest of the build.

White painted carcases fitted and secured in place

Some features of this assembly:

accessible storage behind counters, under side decks, lower, against hull (nearly dead space)
accessible storage underneath bottom drawers, against hull (nearly dead space)
space and plumbing service for future (?) dishwasher and washer/dryer. Plumbing and fittings fully accessible
plenty of internal air vent holes to promote air circulation
accessible upper space, under the side decks, for electrical wiring runs

The drawers seen in the pictures are sample drawers. I have been testing cutting and assembly techniques for the drawer boxes. Generally the tests have gone well and I have learned a lot about which small details affect the final assembly.

Sample drawers fitted

This is also an experiment with different face frame styles. The left and right cabinets are slightly different. I think the one on the right is best.

Left and right drawers have different face frame styles

As you can see the drawers are already taken over by tools and parts used during the build. Its very handy to store fasteners, plumbing fittings, hose clamps, etc on board without going back and forth to the shop. Consider it an ongoing storage experiment!

Final drawers and face frames are next once we have decided on an interior design (wood species, colors, etc).

Cold

2012-01-21T03:00:00.000-08:00

It has been sub-freezing weather most of the past week. Mid 20s (F) for a few days. Despite space heaters in the shop and the boat, it is still chilly. I have exhausted most of the shop projects (don't talk to me about shop cleanup please). According to the forecast, warmer temperatures (mid 40s) and rain should wash away the snow soon. Can't wait.

There is a street there somewhere.

One of the boat's cockpit drains.

Various Bits

2012-01-18T07:13:00.000-08:00

Its freezing outside and there is snow on the ground, thus it is too cold to spray paint the settee bits. With that on hold I am advancing smaller projects that can be done inshop/inboat (in proximity to the space heaters!). Many of these are in-work, but are oh-so-close to being done.

Domestic Water Tubing Runs
The tubing has been routed along the sides of the boat to the forward head (both port and starboard sides) and the starboard galley cabinets for (future?) dishwasher and washer/dryer service. Also installed along the port side are the heater water hoses for the hydronic heating system.

red/white/blue water hose runs

Galley Cabinet Carcases
Up till now these have just been dry fitted. Next is making the permanent attachment. All plumbing service has been installed behind the cabinets and there should be no more reasons to get behind there. So, permanent install can commence. As they are held in mechanically with numerous bolts, they can still be removed if needed, but as far as I can see, they can stay for the remainder of the build.

One of the cabinet carcases. Note the red/blue hot/cold water hose.

Ducting for Air Conditioning
I almost forgot this one. We are designing space for future AC units. The forward salon will be cooled by a 4 inch duct running behind the settee backrests, so I need to get 4 inch holes cut to accommodate.

Four inch vent ducting.

E-Board in the Engine Room
This one has yet to be started. All engine room projects are blocked until this is done. Holding this up is finding an adhesive method compatible with the plastic. While the e-board will be held to the walls with screws, I also want to spot some adhesive behind it as well. I do not believe epoxy will work on this plastic. Some possibilities I can think of include: methacrylate (Plexus) adhesive, 3M Super-77 (or Hi-strength 90) spray adhesive, or plain double sided tape(?). I need to run some compatibility tests with the various the glues.

E-Board

Plumbing and PEX

2012-01-14T03:00:00.000-08:00

Before the forward salon settees are permanently installed, I need to give thought to the hose runs for the domestic plumbing system. For ease and flexibility of installation we have chosen PEX tubing for the hose runs. This stuff is commonly used in RVs and household radiant floor systems. The tubing is a tough polyethylene material that fits a variety of "friction" fittings for valves, elbows, couplings, reducers, etc. No barbs or hose clamps. There are many manufacturers of these fittings made from materials like polymer plastics and brass. Name brands include Watts, SharkBite, SeaTech.

250 feet of pex tubing

The galley and both heads will have hot, cold and raw water (seawater) service. There will be pressurized raw water service to the bow and stern for deck mounted washdown fittings (perhaps cold fresh water too).

Plan view of plumbing runs.

Details to come.

Instant Paint Booth and HVLP Spraying

2012-01-11T03:00:00.000-08:00

I want to paint the forward salon settee bits (masking any glue joints) before they are permanently installed. I realized that painting these bits by brush would take quite a large amount of time for both primer and color. So, I decided to take the plunge with HVLP spraying. HVLP stands for "high volume low pressure" and is a more efficient means of spraying than conventional pressure spraying. With HVLP, less paint is atomized into the air and more paint is directed to the target. We already had the HVLP equipment new stored away in a box for a couple years intended for another project that we never started.

Of course I need some sort of paint booth to contain the overspray. I sectioned off an 8 x 16 corner of the fence outside the shop with 2 x 4s and plastic sheeting. It is semi-permanent (until the next big wind storm rolls through).

Settee locker lid about to be shot.

I started shooting primer on the settee bits, experimenting with different adjustments on the gun. Lets just say I have no clue as to what I am doing (but you already knew that). I am not that concerned with how perfect the finish turns out, since the settee bits will be concealed, or covered by cushions/upholstery. This makes the bits a perfect target for practice.

The pieces are primed with Interlux Pre-Kote White primer (their general purpose primer for single part paints). They will be topcoated with Interlux bilgekote, tinted off-white.

Forward Salon Settee Dryfit

2012-01-07T03:00:00.000-08:00

Everything is all cut and dry-fitted. I stopped when I noticed I was agonizing over a couple millimeters. Not perfect, but the imperfect bits will be covered by cushions and upholstery, and thats ok, right?

Port side settee

Starboard side settee

Next comes paint, glue and screws.

E-Board

2012-01-04T03:00:00.000-08:00

Special ordered over three months ago, and just in time for the new year, my two sheets of King E-Board came in. This is from the same company that makes King Starboard (a handy, plastic material that can be cut and assembled like plywood).

E-board is designed to simplify wiring and plumbing installations. It is a 4x8 sheet of 3/16" polymer plastic that has little raised "loops" molded into it that can be threaded with a zip tie. My idea is to clad the engine room with this stuff, then run the wiring and plumbing over it using zip ties. The motive behind this is that, over time, I fully expect "redo" wire runs and plumbing as equipment is added and removed. Having this stuff on the engine room walls will make the job easy. Just snip the old zip ties, remove or re-run the wire and hoses, with new zip ties. No more chewing up the walls with tapping screws for cushion clamps or other sorts of attachment doo-dads.

More on this later.

Forward Salon Final Frame-in Has Begun

2011-12-30T07:15:00.000-08:00

I caught my second wind a little early this year (as I usually do after the holidays). This I week started the final finish frame-in of the forward salon settees. What I mean by "finish frame-in" is all the big bits that go in before any final paint, hardwood trim or veneer. This marks the first task of this type so far on the project and I have been a little apprehensive about cutting anything while thinking and re-thinking, measuring and re-measuring before proceeding.

Forward Salon Area

Parts of the settees, with storage locker door access.

So far it has been going ok, with only a few mistakes (nothing that could not be recovered). Look for a progress report with pictures next week.

Galley Counter 'Hidden' Storage

2011-12-05T07:20:00.001-08:00

The depth of the drawers in the galley is limited by the distance opposite to the galley sink cabinet. This leaves a lot of dead space behind the drawers. Of course I never want to leave space go to waste. So, the design of the "behind counter" storage includes a false floor to access this unused space underneath.

Storage "liner boxes"

Example:Large olive oil container.

Lots of room for it and other items.

False floors in place.

The split false floors mean you don't have to remove EVERYTHING from the upper storage to get at the lower storage.

The Garbage Chute

2011-11-30T03:00:00.000-08:00

On the Westsail 42, the way the center cockpit is laid out, there exists a "notch" space inside where one leg of the cockpit settee wraps around to the front on the starboard side, to the right of the companionway. This notch is normally walled off with something non-structural, and most Westsail 42s cover this up with a removable panel that holds the electrical DC distribution switches. In front of this panel is the cabinet that has counter space holds the galley sink.

Looking into the "notch" created by the cockpit settee.

Rather than wall off the notch (we are putting the DC electrical control elsewhere) we have decided to extend the galley sink countertop into this space providing more counter space area and (hopefully) "opening up" the otherwise cramped space as you move toward the tunnel. Doing this leaves somewhat wasted space in the engine room, beneath this counter extension.

Looking down into the "garbage chute". Bottom trap door for quick/easy access to seacock.

The partitioning wall in the engine room. Cockpit and sink drain plumbing in the foreground

The space could be used for some small shelf storage, but instead we are designating this the waste bin. By installing non-structural partion walls, it is big enough to hold your standard tall kitchen garbage bag.

Retaining ring for the trash bag.

Trash bag lining the retaining ring.

Ring, with bag, is slid into the rails.

Side view. Finish cabinetry will see an access door here.

Using some extruded aluminum rails and a cut-to-fit plywood, the garbage bag is held securely in place. The finish counter top over the bin will have a removable cutout to drop through the galley waste.

Household vs Marine Paint

2011-11-28T10:37:00.001-08:00

Ok, this is sort of a rant...

I had read, and been told personally, a few times, that for interior paint, don't bother with 'marine' enamels. Instead, save the money and get a good oil based household paint from a local hardware or paint store.

Well, I did just that. The base cabinets (shown here early this year) were painted with household oil paint. While the paint has stood up well to some abuse, there is one area where marine paints have an advantage: drying time.

One coat of household oil based primer or topcoat, even in 70 degree (F) temperatures, can take more than 24 hours to completely dry. Marine paints, like the Interlux enamels, can be dry in less than 12 hours.

I am not always in a hurry, but waiting on paint to dry can be really frustrating.

OPBs

2011-11-23T03:00:00.000-08:00

Other Peoples Boats
Many heartfelt thanks to our friends Larry, Diane and Ron, who invited the Admiral and I for ten days aboard Capt. Ron's sailboat in the BVI. We got a taste of the 'dark side' on Ron's spacious Robertson & Caine Leopard 4500 Catamaran.

And easy 8-9 knots in a moderate breeze. And thats without tryin'

Now you might say, what does this have to do with a building a boat? Well, you could say we 'helped' Ron give a shakedown of the newly installed Yanmar engines.

Seabbatical, a Robertson & Caine Leopard 4500

But to be honest, our contribution pretty much involved standing around with some sort of beverage in hand between snorkel, dive, restaurant and bar excursions.

The trip was essentially a circumnavigation of Tortola with most of the time spent on the outer islands. Highlights were The Baths, Bitter End and Norman Island, but the best bits were Anegada and Jost Van Dyke.

Soggy Dollar Bar, Jost Van Dyke

Our Track

Its always inspirational be aboard OPBs. A chance to gain new ideas and see how they did X, Y, and Z. Here are some immediate takeaways if you plan on sailing your boat down in these latitudes:

Ventilation! Ventilation Ventilation!

Opening deck hatches and dorades: With the warm humid air, even a little air moving through the boat makes things pleasant.
Cockpit Awnings and Shades- You definitely need some sort of sun protection over the cockpit. The sun eats through even the best Sunbrella canvas after a few years. So something that can be easily deployed would be good. If you can have the awning deployed even while sailing, all the better.
Fans- small DC fans strategically placed around the boat can make a big difference. Especially in the staterooms.
General dampness control - Any way you can control the dampness in cabins, lockers, etc. Do it! Everything, at some point, will get damp.

Other Things

Side Access refrigerator (separate from Icebox)- I had gone back and forth on this, but I am now convinced , the galley cook that I am, the convenience of a side door access refrigerator is a must. This would be in addition a separate top reach in ice box/freezer.
Lots of galley counter space- however you can gain it.

And now for the plug...

If you are considering a bareboat charter in the BVI, we highly recommend Seabbatical. The boats are in great condition and well equipped.

Design: Dinette Table Support

2011-11-16T03:00:00.000-08:00

Made some progress on the dinette table support bracket design. This needs to be something that will support a potentially heavy table top that will be sturdy, yet easily deployed:

up to gain access to the electronics cabinet
down to convert the dinette to a sleeping space

It is probably hard to tell by the 2D drawing below, but I will try and describe it.

There will be a flat plate that will span the width of the table and out about 12 inches. The table itself will be bolted to this plate. The plate will be supported by three cantilevered brackets that ride on rollers against extruded aluminum columns. The center bracket over-extends outward towards the edge of the hull, the centerline, and downward to provide maximum leveraged support for the table.

Construction materials will be flat plate and flat bar aluminum of 1/4 and 3/8 thickness, some aluminum angle stock and extrusions.

If it turns out sturdy enough I have an idea for motorizing the up/down movement.

I will be cutting my teeth on welding aluminum here. This may turn out to be a complete disaster (very likely).

I Have Been Vindicated!

2011-11-12T03:00:00.000-08:00

A long time ago, we re-powered the small boat. Back then, we took the opportunity to sound insulate the engine room with this SoundTec special mylar/foam/vinyl stuff that lines the walls. We had an extra sheet left over that I insisted on saving through all of the residential moves and garage cleanings.

Twelve years later, it finally gets used (and this stuff ain't cheap).

Fitting Pocket Doors

2011-11-09T03:00:00.000-08:00

I have been performing the final test fit of the pocket doors. There will be a total of four pocket doors in the boat:

fwd head/v-berth
fwd salon/fwd head
main salon/aft cabin (tunnel)
aft cabin/engine room

Pocket door closed

Pocket door open

The door mechanism is fairly simple. The pocket doors will glide on upper and lower slide bearing strips of UHMW plastic riding on slotted aluminum extrusions attached to the bulkheads. The lower UHMW bearing has a 'T' cross-section which slides within the lower aluminum slot. The upper bearing is sort of trapezoidal shape which slides captive in the upper aluminum slot. The upper slides are designed to be removed for servicing, along with the pocket door, without the need to cut or destroy anything (except possibly some trim).

Lower slide bearing

Care and patience must be taken to set the upper and lower extrusions parallel and within one eighth of an inch of the height of the door. Too short an opening and the bearings will compress giving resistance and a door difficult to slide. Too tall an opening and the lower bearing risks jumping the track and rattling loose in the pocket.

Upper slide bearing

These are temporary doors, made of 3/4 inch MDF, in order to get everything set. Final door material will likely be determined by choice of interior decor. Having these doors in will help give an accurate feel for the final interior space of the boat.

Electronics Cabinet Dryfit

2011-11-05T03:00:00.000-07:00

On our small boat, I am always getting into the electronics space to re-configure, add, replace, or try something new. It is very cramped and difficult to gain access and doing so results in cursing and swearing. I am determined that not be the case on the Westsail.

As mentioned here, a removable cabinet will house the main CPUs of whatever various electronic doo-dads we have. The cabinet will be underneath the dinette table, out of the way, against the hull.

I have test mounted the cabinet carcase on telescoping, over-extension, removable drawer slides as illustrated by the pictures.

Cabinet in 'closed' position.

Cabinet in 'open' position. Over-extension slides gives a little bit of access to the back.

Cabinet detached from drawer slides.

What needs to be done next is the engineering of the dinette table supports. Of course, I need to make the table detachable to gain full access to the cabinet below. But we also have the idea of the ability to raise and lower the table to turn the dinette into sleeping space. This function must be performed easily and quickly and it CANNOT compromise the sturdiness of the table. Whatever idea I come up with may have an affect on the dinette settees' design and construction, so I need to give this some serious thought. More on this later.

Check... Re-check... Re-re-check... Grrr.

2011-11-02T03:00:00.000-07:00

I have been chasing down air leaks in the fuel transfer system. Suspecting the fittings at the tanks, I re-tightened and re-sealed barb and pipe fittings and double clamped hoses at the tanks all to no avail. I even found a loose hose clamp that I swore I had tightened, but that was not the cause.

The mislabeled fuel valves

So, then, why is the pump sucking air? Open the tank inspection port... its empty! But the fuel gauge says full! Re-check hose and tank sender routing to discover: mislabeled ball valve and a mislabeled tank sender lead. Turns out I was pulling fuel from a wrong tank that the fuel gauge said was full that was in fact empty (hence sucking air). Dohb!

The check valve installed at the transfer pump output.

Everything all fine now. Turns out the addition of a one-way spring loaded check valve on the transfer pump output helps prevent air from being sucked back through the pump as the suction vacuum is created. This makes for smoother pump operation, but fuel transfer still takes a bit of time. I am chalking that up to the low throughput capacity of the pump.

It's Getting Dark

2011-10-30T03:00:00.000-07:00

No, I don't meant the onset of winter, nor the state of the global economy (if you pay attention to that). I am referring to the interior of the boat. With the (black) insulation going up where ever there is exposed hull, it gets a bit difficult to see. Even with the shop lights on.

Overhead of the forward salon (port)

Insulation has been cut and installed in the forward and main salon, including the overhead, under-deck. At the same time, the cleats for the attachment of the final interior cladding (whatever we decide it to be) has been glued and set.

Overhead of forward salon (port) after cleat/insulation install.

The cleats are made from the low density grade Coosa, 1 inch thick, that curves nicely with the deck. Glued with epoxy and set with a couple tapping screws. The cleats have 10-24 tee nuts embedded every six inches. This should be enough to hold up whatever overhead we decide, with some sort of hardwood strip.

Main salon overhead (before insulation)

Main salon overhead (after insulation)

We are going with machine screws instead of tapping screws because we know what happens after you uninstall/install the overhead with tapping screws a number of times (the material gets stripped leaving no bite for the screw).

Engine Room Boxed In

2011-10-26T09:17:00.000-07:00

The engine room is now looking more like a "room". The framing surrounding the area is complete and the wall panels have been test-fitted. I have been somewhat apprehensive about this moment, as, in the early days I 'eyeballed' the placement of the floor supports relative to the cockpit in order to maximize the living space surrounding the engine room (especially the tunnel from the main salon to the aft cabin). This was way back when the deck had not yet been aligned and fastened to the hull, and I was not sure what the pocket door mechanisms would be. In the end, things have lined up pretty good. I may have to shim out the lower pocket door rails with a spacing washer or two to make things plumb, but all in all, it is looking pretty good.

Engine Room, looking to starboard aft.

Engine Room, looking to starboard fwd. An engine will appear here someday.

The design of the paneling is such that they can later be removed, without cutting things up, to maximize openings to the cabin. This is to accommodate large items/equipment that cannot fit through the companionway and, instead, must be passed through the cockpit floor, into the engine room, and out one of the sides into the tunnel or the aft cabin. The panels are held in by machine screws and can be unfastened and removed with one-person/one-tool. Ultimately, one may have to destroy some trim to get to the fasteners in the end. But otherwise, removal should be easy.

Paneling between aft cabin and engine room. Pocket doors are behind this.

The aft panel has a one inch gap for the pocket doors between the aft cabin/engine room and aft cabin/tunnel. I am waiting on some final hardware for the pocket doors and hope to have them test fitted and adjusted soon.

Looking forward through the tunnel. Trying to maximize elbow room here.

This is by no means "final". The panels were cut an inch or two wider than necessary to get a feel for things and will probably be narrowed in the end. The interior decor has yet to be decided. But when ready, the panels can easily come out for final finishing.

'Go Faster' Bits are In

2011-10-22T03:00:00.000-07:00

First mentioned back in this post, weather provided the opportunity to glue the shims in to take up the gap between the rudder and skeg (about 1.5 inches). The shims were machined from Coosa, coated with epoxy and attached to the skeg with thickened epoxy. Final shaping fairing will be done during bottom preparation for paint. I expect to gain a full knot from this modification!! (lol, well, who knows. every bit counts)

Lower Shim

Upper Shim

Shaft Log is In!

2011-10-19T03:00:00.000-07:00

Since I broke open a tube of 3M 5200 sealant for the aft deck cleats, I thought I would try and use the rest of the tube for something else before it went bad (in a couple months). With weather cooperating this week, I chose to install the shaft log. I had, some time ago, shimmed and aligned the shaft/aquadrive/shaft log, but I did not permanently set the shaft log.

As always seems to be the case for me, I used WAY too much 5200. There were lots of sticky rags lying around after the job. Oh well, better to use too much than too little on an underwater application.

The important thing here is to keep the shaft centered as much as possible while securing the log and waiting for the goop to set up (couple days). Here the best indicator is how free the shaft will spin. The "sweet spot" has the shaft/thrust bearing spinning a couple rotations under its own momentum with a snap of your hand. If you start to get resistance as you tighten the shaft log's thrubolts, you must back off till it spins freely again.

Make sure there are no gaps between the stern tube flange and the shim. Small gaps, say less than 1/16th of an inch, is ok as long as it is filled with 5200. Let the goop setup for a couple days. Before it is fully cured (not tacky but still flexible), gently tighten the thru-bolts making sure the shaft can still "freely spin" within the bearing.

Previously shimmed and prepared stern tube.

Aquadrive with 'temporary' shaft and coupler.

Notice the centered shaft, standing on its own, not touching the sides of the tube.

Test fitting the shaft log with cutless bearing.

Gooping of shaft log footprint with 3M 5200

Gooping of inside flange of shaft log to ensure a good gasket seal.

Inside the hull. Sealing of shaft log and bronze thru-bolts.

Outside of shaft log with a generous fillet of 5200 around the edges.

Aft Deck Cleats Are In!

2011-10-16T08:49:00.000-07:00

Installed similarly as the forward deck cleats: secured to a threaded aluminum backing plate gooped to the underside of the deck. The bulwarks here are not as high, so the cleats must go flat on deck. Still, they are not ankle-biters and minimal toe stubbers when folded down. And keeping with the theme of other deck hardware, they are removable by one person with one tool.

Port side cleat.

Both cleats

Cutting the backing plates.

Backing Plates

Backing plate under deck glued in place.

Aft Bilge Pumps are In!

2011-10-10T03:00:00.000-07:00

Previously, in this last post, I had the pump assembly test fitted. This weekend I did the final wiring and plumbing. Again, there are two pumps here. One high capacity 'crash' pump and a smaller 'dry' pump. The high capacity pump is a Jabsco heavy duty diaphragm style pump that can more easily suck up debris without damaging the pump. The pump is not submersible sits up higher in the boat located underneath the aft cabin berth for easy access and servicing. All wiring complete and tested. I still need to do a "wet" test.

Pickup assembly in the bilge. The green thing is the Aquadrive thrust bearing and shaft coupler.

Pump on the left. Eventually will be covered by berth cabinetry.

Pump 'in' and 'out' plumbing left, discharge seacock right.

It occurred to me, that despite the "easy" servicing nature of the pickup assembly, in practice, the prop shaft will need to be decoupled from the Aquadrive and slid aft in order to fully service the assembly. Things are just too cramped and deep in the bilge. Oh well. At least the Aquadrive make things easier, a traditional long straight prop shaft would be harder to deal with.

Tank Management and Pump Control

2011-10-02T21:02:00.000-07:00

This last weekend I started working on the first control panel for the engine room. This panel will have the bilge pump controls and tank monitoring functions.

Cutting the panel from plywood

Rather than have a gauge for each and every tank, I am using a couple of these units (from WEMA) that can monitor up to seven tanks with one gauge. There are seven selector buttons that can be programmed to indicate fuel, water or waste levels. An optional feature is the unit can activate an alarm when a fuel tank nears empty or a waste tank nears full. I have more than seven tanks, and there are two more waste tanks yet to be installed, so there are two of these units for monitoring up to fourteen tanks total. There will be a couple monitoring circuits left over.

Two multiple tank monitors

Also on the panel are the controls for the bilge pumps. In the picture, the top left and top right are pairs of switches for the aft and forward bilge pumps. One switch for the crash pump, one for the dry pump, fore and aft.

Bilge pump switches above the tank monitors.

I still have to place some more switches on the panel, hence the wide spaces between the devices. The panel has hinges so can be unbolted from the top and hinged down to easily get at the wiring.

Opened to get at wiring. Still need some bits to help manage wires.

This is a "test" panel, made from quarter inch plywood, to determine if I have the right electrical bits to do a nice and tidy installation. It is also a test to determine the best layout for all the switches and stuff. I since discovered that I am out of some primary wire and butt connectors. The final panel will be cut from plastic laminated half inch plywood.

Ultimately, I will be monitoring tanks electronically via the (future) NMEA 2000 network. The analog gauges will provide a backup. It is behind this panel where the NMEA interfaces will be placed to connect to the tank sending units.