First Haulout

2.5 years after our launch, we finally had to get around to our first real haul-out. Even though we were probably about half a year over our planned dry dock interval of two years, things below the waterline were generally good. The massive hull anodes were in fine shape with signs of actively working to protect the boat, but only 10-20% used up. Even the smaller anodes on the rudder and around the prop were good enough to clean up and re-install. The zinc collars on the rudder shaft and prop shaft were definitely due, and the keel cooler anodes were all gone (including the bolts!). I had actually discovered this a few weeks prior when doing an inspection dive of the boat. This is what put the dry dock at the top of our priority list. The keel cooler anodes will definitely be an "every six months or less" inspection item going forward. The keel coolers were in good shape with no sign of wastage, so I guess we got to these in time. I also discovered that when I was testing the coolers in the rush to get the boat ready for launch in 2012, I had forgotten to replace the temporary brass drain plugs with proper bronze alloy plugs. Regular brass underwater deteriorates very fast, acting like an anode as all the zinc in the brass is removed through galvanic action. This leaves the brass very weak and spongy. We got to these just in time too. Otherwise a pretty standard haul out, with some basic bottom spot prep and prime and a couple of coats of good commercial ablative anti-fouling paint. Bay Marine in Richmond did a very nice job for us, and showed us all kinds of hospitality while we were "living at the ship yard" for the week of our haul out.

We decided to go black on the bottom paint color this time. This will give us a good indication of how the new paint is wearing- If we see the original red starting to coming through, we'll know that the latest bottom paint has ablated away and it's time to re-coat. With all the interior work we've done on the boat (and gear we've brought on board) the boat was trimmed down a bit in the stern. To keep the topsides clean from growth when fully loaded with fuel and cruising supplies, I raised the bottom paint from mid-ships back to the transom about 4"- something I've been wanting to do since we launched the boat.

Another item that I knocked off my to do list was a re-pitch and balance of the prop. We were generally cruising at 7.5 knots (our "economy cruising  speed") at around 1800 rpm or so. I had 2" added to the pitch of the propeller, making it a 34x26 prop. Now we get our target cruising speed at a slightly more leisurely rpm of about 1600 or so. This feels just about right now, and the exhaust temp shows us that we are still loading the engine correctly to keep the machinery happy. 

Keel cooler with new zincs anodes.

Hull anode- still in good shape.

Some loose ends

With the boat back at home, there were quite a few loose ends to tie up. The biggest job was sorting out all the wiring coming out of the mast and running it to the interior of the boat. This took a few days to get all the wires to the right places inside, and terminated at the electrical panel, helm, and overhead console:

I also added the final brackets for the ladder which now feels very secure going up and down from the crows nest:

The view is fantastic:

So now everything works! antennas have great reception mounted up high with heavy duty coax, radar is hooked up and operational again, hailer horns (both PA and "listen features) work great, and all the electrical connections for nav lights, deck lights, etc are working. The hailer that we are using has an intercom function so I mounted a remote station in a box up on the crows nest railing  This allows easy communication with the wheelhouse and sound quality with the hard wired connection is very good compared to a wireless radio or handheld vhf:

Still tweaking the lines and rigging but I did add a couple of cleats at the base of the mast for securing the boom lift and the halyard. I'm working on some propane tank brackets too. More on that next time:

Aft Rig install videos

Here are some videos showing the mast install. A huge thanks to Casey at CS Marine for once again coming to our aid with a crane and a super competent crew to help with the install of the mast. We were originally planning on putting the mast up using a forklift with a boom attachment, but this would have taken a lot longer and been way more difficult to get everything in place without risking damage the mast, antennas, and other attachments. With the crane it was really straightforward, safe, and controlled all the way though the process. Thanks Casey!

Mast and down rigger install

We spent Thursday though Easter Sunday up at Mare Island getting the aft rig installed. Most everything went as planned and we got all the critical stuff done. Welding up the stainless pads for the down rigger hinges to the hull was a lot of work and required removal of the interior back to bare steel in four different places to ensure that we didn't catch the boat on fire when welding on the hull plating. In the end we got it done (thanks to the late sunset this time of year) but that was a very long day. Of course this leaves a host of minor details to complete, but after so many months looking at everything horizontally it's great to finally see it all standing up. I'm very pleased with how it looks. I think the the whole rig seems to fit the boat well and doesn't seem out of scale or out of place on deck. Next weekend will be spent at our home dock routing all the wiring into the wheelhouse, hooking up all the electronics and antennas, and completing the rigging. I also need to reinforce the ladder with a couple of more brackets so I can spend some time up in the crows nest enjoying the view.

A little more prep work on mast

With a date set for the mast and down-rigger install, I have been working just about every evening on finishing the wiring, rigging, and about a dozen other little details that are still on the list. My strategy is to close out my to do list starting at the top of the rig, and working my way down. That way if I don't get everything finished, at least I won't have to be working at the top of the mast too much once it's installed. That said I'm sure to forget something up there and end up at the masthead at some point after everything is installed. Due to the complexity of the design and the relatively short overall height height (about 26ft to the anchor light) , I've decided not to mount the mast in a tabernacle (which would allow the mast to be lowered in place on a pivot at the base). Any future mast removal will require a lot of disconnections and a crane (or some fancy rigging on deck).

I finally got around to getting some proper hollow fid (a device for splicing line) and taught myself how to splice double braid. I can splice simple three strand stuff in my sleep, but the double braid is not nearly as intuitive. It took about half a dozen tries before I felt confident enough in my splices to put them in service. I'm using double braid for the halyard, boom-lift, and down-rigger up hauls. I'm also using hollow braid Spectra line for the working top-guys on the down riggers. These support the down rigger poles when they are deployed and carry the full load of the paravane stabilizers, so must be very strong and low stretch- perfect application for Spectra type line.