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Project Log:  Friday, April 11, 2014

Earlier in the week, during a slack half hour, I got back to work on the head door frame varnish, and the other side of the head door.  I'd continue this varnish work sporadically over the coming days.

I know the photos stink, but they're what I have.  The door frame is hard to get decent pictures of between angles and lighting issues.  I'm not looking for a Pulitzer, just documenting.

         

To complete, for now, the battery cables, I ran two lengths of negative cable from the distribution buss within the console to the port battery box.  For the short term, I had decided to stick with a single pair of 6V batteries for my house bank, so for the moment there was no need to run jumpers over to the starboard side, where eventually I planned another pair of batteries for the house bank.  But for immediate needs, this enhanced bank was not necessary.

         


Meanwhile, I finished up a couple things in the console, starting with mounting a new 60A circuit breaker (external) for the waste treatment system, the size specified in the instructions.  I couldn't locate a type A panel breaker in this amperage (they stopped at 50A), so I wired the power cable to the new breaker, then on to the main positive distribution buss next door.

    

In the 12AWG negative lead from the ACR unit, I installed a fuse holder with 10A fuse, then led the cable to a nearby negative distribution buss, completing that circuit and completing the battery system wiring.


Though I wouldn't immediately be filling it with batteries, I decided to install the starboard battery box so I could get used to working around it, and also so I could determine the path for the final lengths of diesel fuel line required to connect the engine with the supply and return manifolds.  There were no legs on this battery box to be in the wrong place, but I made sure to carefully mark the locations required for the bolt holes before drilling.  As with the port side, I secured the box to the transverse engine foundation supports with machine screws in tapped holes.

    

In the bilge aft of the engine, I prepared to mount an electric bilge pump, intended for removal of nuisance water.  I also planned a manual pump.  To mount the electric pump, one I'd never tried before--it incorporated automatic switching, external filter, and the pump in one slim unit--I started by screwing the mounting base to a scrap of 1/2" fiberglass sheet with machine screws.  Then, I sanded away the paint in the bonding area in the bilge, and epoxied the fiberglass in place--all this to avoid putting screws directly into the bottom of the bilge.  I left the epoxy to cure before moving on with the installation.

         

In my mind, all along I'd been imagining the final run for the fuel lines to the engine.  On this engine, both supply and return connections were located together, at the starboard aft corner of the engine.  The lines needed to cross the open space of the starboard engine room to connect to their respective ports at the fuel filter and the return manifold, and I'd held off installing them so they wouldn't be in the way or risk damage until they were needed.  I'd been vaguely expecting that I'd end up securing the lines to the battery box to keep them out of the way.

But once I had the battery box in place, I noticed a tempting narrow space between the box and the engine foundations.  If I could run the fuel lines through there, and beneath the center part of the box, it would keep them out of the way with or without the battery box in place, and provide a neater, cleaner installation.  As it happened, the space was the perfect width for the fuel lines and clamps required.

I removed the battery box, and led the fuel lines beneath and alongside it, securing them along the way and adding some chafe protection at the after end, where I curved them up to the engine.  With the box back in place, the fuel lines were well protected and free from chafe points, yet everything critical was accessible.

         

         

         


What had once seemed a luxurious, expansive space had inexorably filled up with the required installations, but of course that's what the space was for.  With nearly all installations within complete, it was still a workable space considering the size of the boat, and with the minor future inconvenience (should it be necessary) of removing the batteries and battery boxes, there'd be excellent access to every system.

 
 

Total Time Today:  5 hours

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