Monthly Archives: February 2008

The BIG ONE

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Yep, if we thought previous work was expensive, today I scheduled the big one.  The haul out.  Actually part of the purchase of Charisma included budgeting for some of what is to come.  

  • New standing rigging including a roller furling headstay and SSB backstay antenna
  • New lifelines
  • Running backstays (as a cutter rig, the staysail needs a bit of extra support.  You can see the mast pump in a lot of wind.  When we’re on the ocean pounding into 15 foot waves, I don’t want to have to worry about the mast!)
  • New halyards
  • New electrical wiring in the mast
  • New masthead Tri-color
  • New wind, depth and speed instruments
  • Bottom sanded and painted
  • New prop (mentioned in previous post)

And a bunch of other misc stuff.  I’m going to do some work on the boat while she’s on the hard as well.  The fun one should be installing the new gasket kit for the head.  Ahhh, boat ownership is sooo glamorous! February 19 is the big day, but when we’re done, we’ll have solid new rigging to go with our overhauled diesel.  The combination gives us the confidence that we’ve replaced “the big stuff”.  Even though Charisma’s actually in great shape, she is after all, 20 years old and we want to make sure that her rig and systems are solid and ready for the next 20. 

More Diesel

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More Cowbell would have been cheaper.  But diesel it was and January.  Lousy time to sail, great time for maintenance.  Mentioned a while back during the general maintenance of the engine that some more major issues were found.  Even though the engine sounded and ran great, we wanted to have the engine as reliable as possible, so scheduled the needed fixes.  One diesel mechanic and three days of full time work later, Charisma has a practically new engine.  A real tear down.  Both aft engine mounts were rusted out and it turns out, not actually holding anything down anymore.  This necessitated that the rear of the engine get lifted so the mounts could be cut off and replaced.  The air filter was corroded so off it came, and in the process it was discovered that the manifold had corrosion inside.  Off came the manifold and a new one was ordered.  The cooling system needed to be flushed and in the process off came the heat exchanger.  It got sent out to be overhauled (cleaned and flushed).  The original 40 amp alternator was judged too small for long term cruising, so guess what?  Off came the alternator and a new 120 amp powerhouse was put in its place.  I was hoping to fix the hot water heater hoses during this event (water system is heated by the engine), but discovered that a 20-year old hot water heater lasts about 19 years.  Off came the hoses and plugs were substituted in the engine until a new unit is decided upon.  After a few hours of watching all the stuff come off, coolant dripping on the floor, rust going in the bilge, mechanic muttering; “uh oh, this doesn’t look good”, parts stacking up everywhere, etc., I couldn’t stand the carnage any longer and went home. So…a few days and couple more boat dollars later a new corrosion-free, newly painted completely overhauled engine is now awaiting future adventures.  Oh, did I mention that we found out the exhaust diameter is too small?  Another project sometime this summer.