Soles Nearly Finished

The teak parquet floors which had been taken out in sections weeks ago to be refinished in one of our heated shops, have for the most part been re-installed. It's nice to have the temporary plywood flooring finally removed! All the teak was repaired, where necessary, and refinished with three coats of varnish. They look fantastic! While the floors were out, we were able to clean and paint the bilges with an Interlux product called "Bilgekote," which is highly scrubbable and resists oil and other nasty things that might find their way into the bilge. Other things we handled prior to re-installing the parquet floors: checked bilge wiring and corrected any deficiencies, replaced both shower sumps, serviced the bilge pumps and replaced a couple float switches.

New Anchor Riser Block, Windlass Tweaked

In this owner's continuing focus on his anchoring system, we've repaired the original riser block, which is made out of solid oak. It had a couple bits of rot which was removed and replaced with some new oak inserts, after which the whole block was stripped of paint, re-faired and re-coated with a white Sterling linear polyurethane (LPU). While we were fixing the riser we went ahead and enlarged the hole where the chain falls and put in a a bronze tube so that no water will migrate into the oak block. We made the tube long enough so it could go all the way through the deck where we'll be able to attach a piece of hose to minimize chain abrasion. We also installed a G-10 pad on top of the winch base so the foot print of the anchor windlass would not leave an indentation in the wood like it had done before. We also ran the windlass wiring around the block to a deck fitting, instead of through the block, as had been done before. Finally, to get a better drop angle on the chain into the new locker, we moved the windlass four inches forward. Last, but not least, the windlass itself was rebuilt and painted.

Anchor Locker Almost Done!

The new chain locker is nearing completion! Photo shows new bulkhead which has been moved aft approximately one foot to allow straight drop of the anchor chain. New design also allows locker to be drained out the side of the hull, well above the waterline and also eliminates the old tube that used to run through the foot of the v-berths. The step underneath is a footwell for the berths. Picture also shows that the teak strips, which had been removed, have now all been refinished with a satin varnish. While the teak was out, we also were more easily able to paint the entire cabin. This forward stateroom nearing clean-up stage!

Anchor Locker

After taking a week or two to catch our breath, we're back on the GB 50 full time, finishing up the battery install and moving forward with our expanding plans to rebuild the anchor locker. As we may have mentioned earlier in the blog, the original locker had several issues. After several attempts at running the 7/16ths chain it became apparent it simply wouldn't stack correctly, no matter how we changed the fair-leading around. And now that the owner has requested a 300' chain capacity. Our solution was move the forward bulkhead back one frame, so that instead of the chain being under the v-berth and running through a steel tube, it will now just fall into a much larger space, the floor of which would be above the waterline, allowing it to be flushable and self-draining--a big plus.

While working on the locker, we discovered that the windlass was attached with mild steel fasteners and to make matters even worse, we found that two of the four fasteners were rusted through and broken. Our plan is to replace the fasteners with greatly stronger and more durable stainless steel--he feels it would be beneficial for the windlass to actually stay attached while anchoring. Since the windlass is off, we'll take it in for service and also have it painted. The owner is very pleased with our efforts and it just shows that a little creativity can go a long way towards solving most any operational challenge that might come up.

A Busy Day

Got a lot done today! A batteries were yarded out and replaced with new. It was a back-breaking job, but a couple young bucks from the Locks yard came over and the task was accomplished in just a few hours. Nothing like having a fresh set of batteries--one less thing to worry about! Meanwhile, Jeff removed all the anchor line and chain and starting laying out an improved anchor locker. Previously the anchor rode lived in a loose compartment without proper containment, no floor and no drainage. In the lower level hall and the master stateroom, all the carpet was removed, exposing a potentially beautiful parquet floor. We'll start refinishing that tomorrow or Monday. Finally, James was tackling the AC switch, a crucial safety improvement.

Going Through Systems

Much of yesterday and today was spent getting to know the extremely complex mechanical and electrical systems of the boat. With an eye towards safety and functionality, more specific gameplan was formulated, which included the following items, not necessarily listed in order of priority:
• Total electronics upgrade
• Fresh water system improvements, with total redundancy
• Remove marble from pilothouse, replace with wood
• Make plans for additional storage, room for extensive provisioning for longer cruising
• Come up with a plan for better storage of paper charts
• Galley updates, including new refrigerator
• Remove existing radar mast, plan for improved replacement
• Plan for better energy efficiency, updated wiring and lighting
• Replace engine controls
• Improve anchor locker
• Replace AC switch, which controls power dispersion between shorepower and generator and routes through boat
• Rewire inverter
• Check stuffing boxes
• Improve heads
• Remove carpet in lower deck, re-varnish parquet oak floors
• Change engine and generator oil
• Check turbos
• Replace batteries
• Arrange for new canvas
• Improved anchoring functionality, with possibly a new windlass
• Countless details!

Arrival at Lake Union Yard

After spending the weekend docked at our Lake Union yard, Legacy was officially checked in this morning. The owner was introduced to the crew that he'll be working with and the boat was secured at the main dock for what is expected to be an extended stay for interior improvements, electronics installs, new canvas and possibly new windows and cabin paint.
While the Lake Union yard does offer haulouts, it's mostly limited to sailboats of 40' or less. Because of its extensive docking facilities, the Lake Union yard specializes in work that can be done with the boat in the water. This involves marine electronics, mechanical work, interior improvements, cabin repair and painting, as well as wiring, plumbing, window and port replacement and varnishing, just to name just a few.