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Post by pilgrim17 on Jan 4, 2018 15:46:59 GMT 1
I visited the boat again this morning, I was concerned about the strength of the wind howling down past the "aerofoil wing" that they call architecture, all it does is increase the wind in the top of the marina! Belle was moving around a bit but not enough to give any concern, & what I really wanted to do was put some air into the A4 buoy I have as a bow fender, unfortunately I didn't have the right fitting so I will have to get one to fit. I wanted to make a template of the side sliding window in the wheelhouse, I only cobbled it together when I fitted it knowing I was going to renew the wheelhouse in the near future. I have cut a rough template from cardboard, which I will transfer onto thin plywood, then cut it accurately & transfer it onto the planks that will form that side of the wheelhouse. I ran the engine while I was playing around with the template, it started easily & ran no problem with good oil pressure, & a good reading of 13.6V on the voltmeter, so she is ready to go when the weather improves. I should have my scooter back on the road over the weekend it feels unusual to have the luxury of a car, you don't really know when its cold or raining in a car Keep watching the booking diary because as soon as we get a suitable day Belle will be straining at the leash!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Jan 5, 2018 18:07:56 GMT 1
Had a bit of a mixed day today, I went to put petrol in the car & the normally deserted forecourt was rammed with cars filling up (are we expecting snow or something?) eventually filled up & made my way to JT Motorcycles to pick up my new tyre, & the sales desk was 2 deep like Wetherspoons on Black Friday, got served & dashed to Wickes to buy a light switch, rushed from there to the doctors for a 11.28 apt & just made it only to come out & find a "Jobsworth" about to stick a parking ticket on my car. It appears that some private company has taken over the doctors car park & you have to get a ticket from reception to say you are attending or you get booked, I tried to explain to this Neanderthal that I was late for an appt & never had time to do the ticket thing, but he wasn't listening or understanding until my doctor came out to get in his car, & confirmed that I had just been in his surgery Anyway I made my way to the workshop in Cilonnen only to realise that in my rush I had left the light switch at the till in Wickes , I made the plywood template from the cardboard template & I will take that down to the boat & make any alterations until it fits properly, I also sorted out the best planks for the long straight ones, & graded the "seconds" that will be used under the windows etc when cut they will be much easier to get parallel. Trevor is coming down again on Monday to test the "split charge diode" to see if it is working (don't ask me I don't know what it does ) All I know is that everything I need is working, & if I don't know what it does, it doesn't matter if it works or not!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Jan 8, 2018 16:11:24 GMT 1
Trevor came down to Belle again this morning to clarify some wiring problem that was troubling him, so I went the full Monty & dismantled my kitchen so he could see ALL the electrics in the engine bay to ease his troubled mind He determined that what he thought was the "split charge diode" ?? was in fact the "starter relay" ?? & that what I thought was part of the isolator switches was in fact the " split charge diode" ?? which either wasn't working, or had been by-passed for some reason (probably because it wasn't working ). Anyway what he explained was that the split charge diode charges both batteries, but when you stop it automatically switched to take power from the "secondary" battery for electronics, VHF etc, leaving the "main" battery for starting only. Currently the alternator is charging both batteries as it should when I am running but when at anchor it just takes power from wherever it wants to without priority. Given that I only leave the chart plotter on for a few minutes after anchoring to check we are not drifting, there is no battery drain apart from the VHF once the ignition is switched off, because he solved the problem of drain through the alternator last time down. So we have a clean bill of health for out trip on Thursday, & I will check how much a new split charge diode will cost & if its sensible I will put it to the boat committee that we replace it. Work has commenced on the new wheelhouse & I am very pleased with the timber I am using, it should be a really sturdy durable structure when it is finished. PS As expected "The Oracle" requires that I dismantle my kitchen again to reveal the split charge diode, take details of everything written on it, take as many photos as would a photographer at a Royal Wedding, methinks I don't need a split anything
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Post by pilgrim17 on Jan 13, 2018 1:00:20 GMT 1
Well we got out on Thursday with 4 of us on board, & we sailed into a nice calm sea with a few swells & made our way out to the Green Grounds to an area that has served us well so far this year. Unfortunately with a small tide there wasn't much tide run, & I find that fish feed better a couple of hours either side of HW & LW on bigger tides, but yesterday the tide run was lethargic & the fish were in no mood to "snatch & grab" as they have been. We had "keeper" whiting, & dabs but no "dinner plate" dabs, & even the dogs were in short supply? . The boat behaved well after Trevor's efforts on the electrics, & its nice to see everything working when you switch it on, & I don't have to "jury rig" spare batteries etc which is a relief. The only annoying part of the day was a dickhead in an Arvor or Merry Fisher who came steaming past us at top speed about 20 metres off our beam just as I was making coffee, & it resulted in it going all over me! He waved a greeting & I hurled abuse at him, why he felt he needed to come so close I don't know, maybe he thought he was being friendly, but I would have quite happily punched his face if I knew who he was! The mystery of the day is why Peter Mansell's big toe is sticking out of his orthopaedic boot? I don't know if it essential in a torn tendon, or whether its just the doctor's idea of a joke? Anyway Pete reckoned that he had frostbite in it during the morning, but seemed to forget it when he started to catch all the fish when we moved in Mumbles Moorings. All in all a good day as far as boat & weather were concerned but the fishing could have been much better, maybe next week?
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Post by pilgrim17 on Jan 14, 2018 15:54:00 GMT 1
I wondered why we were taking spray over the bow on Thursday, when we headed from Green Grounds to Mumbles? Ok it was blowing a bit & we had wind over tide, but Belle normally takes a "punch on the nose" no problem, so I thought I would investigate this morning (amongst other things lol). First thing I noticed was that the davit lift access space was full of water (about 5 galls) & the anchor warp locker was full of water (another 5 galls) given that a gallon of water weighs 10lb that was about 100lb excess in the bow Furthermore the "spare anchor, chain, & warp" were stored in the bow, so were the "spare spare anchor, chain, & warp" along with the "spare spare spare chain & warp" that I keep "Just in case" along with a grappling iron Anyway moving that lot to the stern resulted in the bow coming up 5"-6" & the prop going back under the water, I wondered why the boat didn't respond very well especially in reverse, All should be well now for next Sunday, after a week if easterlies the wind is swinging around to W on Sunday, & with a good sized tide I don't mind running straight to Mumbles Moorings it fishes well on the ebb of a spring tide, even if its too bad to get out there are always good fish to be caught just off the pier & I'm not too shy to take the boat in close provided there are fish to be caught
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Post by pilgrim17 on Jan 15, 2018 14:12:55 GMT 1
Committee meeting tonight, & the only thing I find positive about a committee meeting is the fact that I get to have a few pints! As far as Belle is concerned Trevor & I (well Trevor) will continue to address the electrical problems we have until everything is as it should be. The problems appeared to start initially when the starter motor packed in & we went to an auto electrician to get the job "done properly", this resulted in him fitting a new starter motor of a different type because the original version was no longer available. This had different "lugs & spades" to the original so he had to make some wiring alterations, now these people are like computer nerds & assume that everybody has at least 5 years experience in "auto electrickery" & their explanation goes right over my head & my brain goes numb. Apparently the Split Charge Diode wasn't working so he decided to "by-pass" that?? So what I ended up with I don't know, but it was different to what I had before, & there were continuing problems of charging & he was called back several times until in the end he lost the will to return & I lost the will to call him! Next a friend of mine who works for the AA & knows a little about auto electrickery agreed to take a look & see if he could sort something out, this he did & I had a period of stability until I forgot to turn the isolators off one night & the batteries went flat on me, & although I got the engine running via a spare battery I carry, I was obliged to cancel a trip not wishing to take the boat out when I would be using the trip to charge the batteries. That was when Trevor stepped in & offered to look at the system & try to identify the problem, this he did on his first visit & he managed to get the alternator charging properly, & the ignition system exciting the alternator into life & then switching off as it should, he also identified that the bulb in the fuel heater plug line had blown, when replaced that light works too He explained to me the workings of the Split Charge Diode in words that I understood, & although it isn't working I understand what it does now. Whilst the alternator produces current that flows to both batteries to keep them charged, the diode is supposed to kick in when you stop the engine, so that the "MAIN STARTING BATTERY" does not discharge by running all the "bits & bobs" of electronics, lights etc, that is the function of the secondary battery with the main one used strictly for starting the engine. Apparently there is a fault in the diode & the discharge is at random, but the amount of power used at anchor by Belle is minimal (& I ensure it is less than minimal now I know how it works). Trevor suffers badly in the cold weather, & we have decided to leave it as it is until it gets a bit warmer when he will remove the split charge diode & check it out & if necessary replace it if it needs replacing. It was good to learn what does what in "everyman language" which only took about 10 minutes, but I now have a good idea of what is going on in the engine box as we plod across the bay. I am still struggling with the terms, to me a "field" is something green & full of cows, a "leak" is something you get in a pipe not in an electrical appliance, & "power" seems to mean something different to my concept of power, but we are getting there, (but still only at 6.5 to 7 knots)
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Post by pilgrim17 on Jan 22, 2018 17:04:16 GMT 1
I was/am concerned about the weight of the timber for the new wheelhouse, it has finished out at 26mm thick, & I have fabricated the starboard side & screwed a couple of bearers onto it to hold it together whilst I the aperture for the window. I moved it from the bench last night & only then did I realise how heavy it is I had a job to lift it, so I have though about putting it back through the planer/thicknesser to refinish it at 20mm? It will be a lot of extra machining & a loss of durability, & probably given that the existing wheelhouse (which is full of water, & has a "patio roof" fitted) probably doesn't weigh much less I will have to give it some serious thought, because a properly sealed & properly preserved 26mm wheelhouse will outlive the boat itself, even a 20mm thick wheelhouse would last for many years. I will keep you posted as to the decision.
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Post by pilgrim17 on Jan 26, 2018 17:16:47 GMT 1
I have stopped worrying about the weight of the new wheelhouse, when Richie reminded me that the old wheelhouse rang the warning bell on the 3 ton crane they lifted the original top off with So 5/6cwt isn't going to make any difference at all, & the waterlogged "Weetabix" that is currently on there must weigh a bit anyway I had forgotten just how fiddly biscuit jointing is, ok it does a marvellous job of strengthening the bond between planks, but after 12 years "off the tools" I must have lost quite a few brain cells & today I managed in 5 hours what I would have done in an hour before I retired! "Measure twice cut once" is the war cry of carpenters but I measured so many times, I forgot what I was measuring. Get the biscuit slot out of line & EVERYTHING is out of line, & with 14 biscuits (7 per side) one slot out & you have to recut, so today I made sure that I measured & looked, & looked & measured before I cut any joints, & I STILL managed to positing a biscuit slot in the middle of the hole to fill with diesel No panic but I had to do come quick maths before the glue went off Sorry Janet & Keith but I am going to have to hand some invoices over to you, I had some glue & some biscuits but with 14 biscuits per plank & 12 planks per side its a minimum of 620 biscuits (without the roof ) & the glue is vanishing at an alarming rate, looks like as with most projects this wheelhouse is going to come in over budget I have decided to totally finish each section (including timber treatment & painting) before I move onto the next section, that will introduce some variety into the project as opposed to churning out plank after plank ready for fabrication, at least that way there will be some variety to keep my interest up. If anybody wants to come along to see what I am doing & how it is progressing then you are welcome, I can answer any questions you may have & its an excuse to down tools & make tea Hopefully the weather will hold & we can get out on Tuesday if its only in the moorings in Mumbles it will be a break.
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Post by pilgrim17 on Jan 27, 2018 18:01:31 GMT 1
Managed to do a little bit more this morning by putting noggins on 4 "glued together" boards I could use a small clamp to hold the 8 boards together which is a good proportion of the starboard side. The owner has claimed the biscuit jointer back for a couple of days so I will have carry on cutting & planing boards for the port side (if the weather is dry enough to use my scooter) my wife is back off holiday, & will now claim her car back so I will be back on "Black Bess" to go back & fore to Cilonnen Tuesday is a fishing day anyway, the forecast is good & even if we sit off Mumbles Pier its better than sitting in the house, I went to Tesco this afternoon to see if they had any sprats but no luck I did buy the last 3 sardines they had & I bought a mackerel (what vintage it is I hate to think) it is navy blue on top & grey underneath instead of been green & silver, never mind lets hope the whiting aren't that fussy So hopefully the weather will be dry & fine later on in the week, so I can finish the starboard side & make a start on the port side. This wont take so much timber because it is only built from the gunwhale up, & a lot of it is window, as is the front panel, & the back of the wheelhouse has the door in it so I should have plenty of timber, if not I will commandeer from Colin Owen I am concerned that the biscuits & glue & stainless screws will increase the estimated costs, but it should still come in under £300 which is about 20% of the lowest estimate from outside (which was going to be another fibreglass on ply potential "Weetabix" ) it will be able to be painted every year or so, like your garden shed I don't really care because it will outlast me, & whatever is said about it once I am buried I wont worry about honest
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Post by pilgrim17 on Feb 12, 2018 14:56:52 GMT 1
Been a while since I last wrote on here, so I thought I would report progress on the new wheelhouse, well I am staggering from one stage to another having lost the "second nature" of carpentry since I retired 12 years ago, I now have to "measure five times cut once" instead of "measure twice cut once", & nothing seems to come naturally any more? For example I made a template of the starboard side sliding window, taking great care to get it as close as possible, only to turn the template around the wrong way when I cut the planks, so that it sloped left to right, instead of right to left, to make things even worse the commodore had given me a lift to the workshop where I was "just going to make sure its a good fit when we erect the new wheelhouse". He reckons he has never heard so many different swear words from one person even though he is an ex matelot! It wasn't that the correction took any amount of timber, it was just the amount of time, & the annoyance of doing something that stupid, in the past I would have marked the template "inside" or "outside" "top" & "bottom" hence the lack of second nature. I even had to fumble to change the planer, to thicknesser mode the other day something I used to do in seconds when I was working, at this rate Noah will have been quicker building the ark! The cost is ratcheting up too, biscuits for jointing used to be pennies, but thanks to Norm Abrahan & "New Yankee Workshop" they are now £40 per 1000 as opposed to £12 12 years ago. PVA glue is £10 + p&p per 5 litres on the internet, & Barrantine (similar to Cuprinol but cheaper) is also £37 per 5 litres, Sikaflex to seal the quadrant around the windows must be manufactured by Christian Dior according to the price of it I have also had to replace some of my personal power tools which have deteriorated over the years & no longer function, biscuit jointer, jigsaw, crosscut saw were all beautifully rusted in the steel locker I stored them in 12 years ago I am getting there quietly, & I just hope that when its finished it will meet my expectations, & the little modifications I am making make the fishing a bit easier with rod storage etc. Really what I need is the Spring to arrive early, because the journey from Gendros to Cilonnen & back in the rain & wind is a pain on my old bones, the high point of my week is a few pints on Thursday evening, listening to everybody else moaning Hopefully there will be a few more trips before the whiting vanish & the bream arrive.
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Post by pilgrim17 on Feb 17, 2018 19:05:48 GMT 1
Moving forward with the new wheelhouse now, I seem to be getting back into the swing of work & remembering what I did as second nature 12yrs ago again. I did have a problem with the measurements as nothing seemed to add up, & measuring didn't help, until I sat in the bow wondering where the hell the problem was, & I finally saw that the milk crate we use to come aboard, was hiding the 10cm step between the forward deck, & the rear disk, all I had to do was measure from the top down instead of from the bottom up, & it solved the problem I am at the stage where I am fitting the Ramin quadrant around the windows so that it doesn't rot from the end grain down like last time, I don't know whether to apply Barrentine (like clear Cuprinol only MUCH cheaper) first to seal the wood, or fit the quadrant first (with Stixall & panel pins) then apply Barrentine, I am not sure if Stixall will take on top of wood preserver, I must search for that answer. I'm afraid I have overspent the budget for the job, I didn't realise that materials have increased so much since I retired eg the last time I bought box of 1000 beech biscuits they cost £12.99 + VAT now they cost £42 PVA glue is still reasonable, but stainless screws should now be gold plated for their price! I have also had to buy some new blades for some of my existing tools the biscuit jointer for example the solder holding the carbide tips in had deteriorated & a couple fell out resulting in me burning the slot rather than cutting it, & my jigsaw was much the same burning its way through the timber anywhere except on my pencil line! Hopefully everything is now working properly & all I need to buy now is wood primer, undercoat, & gloss, we are going back to default brilliant white gloss although I may keep the roof bright orange as that is much more noticeable from a helicopter than white! If anybody fancies giving me a hand with the wood preserver, primer, undercoat, gloss, then speak up now before I do it all myself
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Post by pilgrim17 on Feb 23, 2018 20:08:27 GMT 1
"All bar the shouting" the new wheelhouse is almost finished, the door needs to be removed & fitted properly in the new frame, & the glass in the windscreen is going to have to be cut because I have reduced the width of the wheelhouse by 6" to make more room to move from bow to stern on the starboard side, seeing as many of us are "bodily challenged", that extra 6" should make movement easier. I am now removing the panels one by one for painting before they are transported down to the boat. Today I removed the front panel & sanded it down, & gave it a coat of "Barrentine" (very similar to Cuprinol Clear but much cheaper) I will give all the panels 2 coats of Barrentine then a primer, then 2 undercoats, then a coat of gloss, & that should make it waterproof for a couple of years. I will install some rod holders to do away with the annoying practice of anglers laying their rods down on the seats, when I have to go back & forward from the stern to the bow to sort the anchor etc I have to run the gauntlet of rods lying on the seat I use to walk on (hence the widening of the walkway) how nobody has experienced a boot on their rod I don't know, but this should solve the spare rod storage problem! It seems that the whiting have headed for the Atlantic Ocean by now, & the cod have lost their satnav readings for Swansea Bay, so I might as well get this wheelhouse finished & fitted before the end of the lock closures, it will be easier to fit it at the berth than out of the water, the panels are heavy enough without having to lift them onto scaffolding, & there is an electrical supply on the berth, so any & all power tools will make life much easier. I have attached a photo of the front panel getting its first coat of Barrentine which will sink in overnight, & get a second coat tomorrow.
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Post by pilgrim17 on Feb 24, 2018 20:14:45 GMT 1
Going to take a couple of days break, the daily 30km journey through the lanes & moorlands, along with the continual cold is getting on my nerves, & not being "up to speed" anymore doesn't help either Having to "measure twice cut once" is bad enough but having to "think what you are going to do next" is adding to my woes The actual 4 sections of the wheelhouse walls are now finished & have been coated in wood preserver prior to being primed & painted, I now have to remove the door & fit it to the new frame to get an accurate fit. I still need to finalise what the roof will be like, I have a selection of materials available to make it from & I have decided that a simple domed roof (like the old gypsy caravan is the best suited to me & the boat). I have some laminated plastic panels from an old insulated container which are ideal for the job if I can get them to curve enough without cracking or delaminating, but that will be after I have finished the painting of the panels. The forecast is for some REALLY nasty weather next week, so I wont be pushing "Hercules2" through the lanes in ice & snow conditions (a) because its too bloody dangerous (b) because motorcyclists are invisible to motor car drivers (especially women & older men) I meet "Mr & Mrs Twat" at least once every day, & I need to keep my eyes in my head, & in my arse, to avoid being flattened, I hate to think how many bootmarks there are in some of the cars in the Killay/Dunvant/Three Crosses areas because when they narrowly miss me I put my boot into their door panel to remind them that I have as much right on the road as they do, & that I have to pay road tax, insurance, & MOT the same as them so I have every right to be seen & not flattened by their Chelsea tractor! I intend to paint the side walls of the new wheelhouse white, & the top of the roof orange (because its easily seen from the air if we ever get into trouble), if anybody has any outstanding reason for objecting to that, speak now or forever hold your peace. Tomorrow I will take the door off (well leave a couple of bolts in it so it can still be locked) but undo most so it can be removed when I get some transport to take it to the workshop. Plus the engine always enjoys a run to charge the batteries while I do my thing aboard.
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Post by pilgrim17 on Feb 25, 2018 20:25:42 GMT 1
Took the door of today (along with several large lumps of rotten plywood) the bolts holding the door on are corroded in the metal frame an when I put the screwdriver between plywood & frame to separate them several lumps of ply came with it, not to worry its scrap anyway. I need to take the door to Cilonnen now to fit it to the new panel, I will cover the hole with plastic sheets & remove the electronics at the same time for safety. The engine is starting no problem nowadays & the alternator is charging the batteries at a healthy rate now (thanks to Trevor), it is a shame that there is very little about to catch but possibly a good omen for me with fishing being quiet as I do the new wheelhouse, all I need to do now is make a new roof for it (still working on the design of it) I may get Dave Hoskins to turn his design skills on it for me, I am sure he can come up with something a "bit different" to the norm for me I will be looking for a volunteer to take the door to the workshop then run me back to the marina to seal off the door opening. my number is 07814528082 if you want to volunteer to drive the bus.
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Post by pilgrim17 on Feb 27, 2018 22:19:26 GMT 1
With the door off Belle I wanted to take it away for fitting to the new frame, plus I wanted to take the electronics & my accumulated tackle off the boat for safe keeping, & Colin who owns the workshop obliged with his pick up & we took some heavy duty plastic with us & stapled it over the doorway to keep the worst of any bad weather away. It is so cold that the Barrentine applied to the bare wood is taking a long time to penetrate the wood, & its no good applying primer until the wood treatment is complete, I have now treated 3 of the 4 panels giving then 2 coats each, & now it is just the last one to be sanded & treated, but with the weather forecast as it is I wont be beating a path from Gendros to Cilonnen for a few more days yet . I would like to give the duckboards on the deck another coat of Creocoat, & the duckboards on the seats another coat of Timbercare, but to do that I really need to take them up to the car park so that no drips get into the marina, I will be looking for a volunteer or two to help with that chore as they are oak & take a bit of controlling on the trolley. Hopefully the fitting of the new wheelhouse should coincide with the reopening of the Tawe Lock (not that there will be much to catch) but it will be nice to see it used as a boat again & not a flowerpot. If any feels they want to use a roller on the new wheelhouse they are welcome because the 4 new panels will have 2 coats Barrentine, 1 coat of wood primer, 2 white undercoats, & at least 1 coat of white gloss, plus the roof will have to be fibre glassed over, so there is no shortage of "volunteer friendly" jobs to be done, you will be under cover so no need to cry "inclement weather" I will even light the wood burner in the workshop for you if you get cold. Be warned that if you bring sandwiches "Big Dog" & "Little Dog" can smell them from 100 metres, & I can smell a boiling kettle from the same distance. I wonder if there will be a club night this week or will it be closed because of snow?
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