Progress Update: May 24th

(Eric working on termite prevention) 

The repairs are now completed around the upper deck companionway. The last of the engine room ports have also been repaired and have new gaskets. 
We continue to be vigilant in termite prevention. They are swarming right now and will continue all through June. Eric has sealed off the outer vents. He also drilled holes in the bottom of all the cupboards and sprayed with a long term boric acid insecticide. Then he placed small removable covers over the holes for future access. We also pulled the two new floorboards in the galley and soaked the undersides with spray. So far, the termites have been dying quickly on deck after shedding their wings. Thankfully it's not a constant swarming, but only once a week or so and should be over in a month.

 Termite prevention!

This large access opening under the sink was already there,

 so spraying was easier.

Eric using his heavy duty hole-saw!

The galley floor boards drying after being sprayed.

Drilling new screw holes in the aluminum for the upper companionway rail.

 Re-bedding the rail with SIS 440 Caulking.

Another repair project successfully finished.

Progress Update: May 18th

(Eric removing the upper deck companionway trim)
Due to needed repairs on the upper deck and fighting the seasons' termite swarms, finishing work on the lower cabins has been postponed for a bit. It's also going to get blistering hot very soon so this is the time to fix some leaks, do some repairs and also a bit of exterior painting. 

Eric wrote the following on our ministry FB page concerning this photo of the current project: 

"Ok, now for Eric's "Don't do this" comment of the day on boat repair and maintenance. Today's pile of rot and corrosion brought to you by my nemesis for the last three decades. Silicone caulk.

It has very few places it can be used successfully on a boat and never on the exterior, ever. I will slap you up side the head if I catch you doing it!

All this could have been avoided if the last person who worked on this had just taken a little more time and care and the proper stuff to bed it in.

I now have several hours of work cleaning up this mess before I can even think of reinstalling new trim and this time drilling and tapping fasteners into properly sized holes instead of stripping out the heads on stainless wood screws trying to force them through aluminum with undersized holes."

Grinding 









 

Ground clean and epoxy filled screw holes

Cleaning aluminum oxide out of deep
pitting with a pick to get a good bond.

 Epoxy fairing compound applied to pitting

(This has to cure for 24 hours before sanding)

On another note, Eric has finished the workshop rectangular port! Completely salvaged frame with new glass installed.

 New gasket in the refurbished workshop port

Fantastic! Outer trim will be a future project. 

       This is what we started with.

Progress Update: May 6th

Getting a 200 lb cast iron compressor off the boat! This is the engine driven air compressor for the old pneumatic fin stabilizer system that we will not be using. 

It was a whopper and a little more than we were going to carry up the engine room stairs. So it was a combined effort with a come along winch, the crane and a lot of grunt work.

 

A team effort!

Progress Update: May 5th

 (Eric prepping workshop port frame )

The rectangular ports are finished and Eric is now working on the round ports in the engine room. The workshop port has been salvaged. Glass has been ordered for it and hopefully it will be in next week. The glass for the round workshop ports has arrived and we are waiting to hear back from the welder about building some modified frames. 

Our broken dishwasher has been replaced with a beautiful donated one. We also received a really nice GE Microwave and fully equipped KitchenAid Mixer!

DJ has been experimenting with building an LED lighting system for the workshop and all the cabins up forward. We may end up putting them in the main salon as well.
 

 Workshop port frame repaired and painted.

Removing the broken dishwasher

 DJ prepping the old dishwasher for removal

DJ wiring a new switch for the dishwasher. The old one had some sketchy wiring that was replaced. He had to run new wire through some difficult spots but patience prevailed! 



 

 Dishwasher waiting to be installed

 Beautiful!

Very nice donated  microwave!

 This KitchenAid will come in very handy when there are teams of 8-14 people on-board during mission, medical and disaster work.

New 1/2 inch tempered glass for workshop ports. 

 DJ's LED lighting experiments

 Lots of new storage under the bunks 

in the cabin we just finished painting.