More Boring

I am still deep in the midst of engine installation as we near Christmas and New Year's Day.  I have been strongly encouraged by my life partner to take a few days off from boatbuilding in order to foster the illusion that I have resumed my social/family life, and I plan to follow that suggestion.  In any event, boatbuilding has become, in the past few weeks, a series of telephone calls and a lot of Googleing as I attempt to find parts and determine solutions to various plumbing and power train problems. Not nearly as much fun as cutting and gluing. 

I decided to go with a 7/8 inch diameter shaft.  Most of the Google hits I found seem to advise this for a Yanmar 1GM engine, and Tim, the Yanmar guru at Down Jersey Marine, who sold me the engine agrees that 7/8 will work. Before I can order the shaft, however, I need to get the precise positioning of the engine, finish the shaft bore, and determine the length that the cutlass bearing housing will extend into the prop aperture.  The later has presented a bit of a problem, because Iain Oughtred's drawing shows a housing with about 1 1/2 inch extending aft of the cutout in the skeg, and the only housing I could find that met my needs is a casting made by Buck Algonquin which is 4 inches long. While I have come to realize that Mr. Oughtred's style of drawing, at least in the case of the engine installation page, is more Impressionist than Realist, I still try to adhere to his measurements until they prove to be impossible.  A phone call or three to Buck Algonquin resulted in a compromise.  They advise that one can safely cut as much as 1 3/16 inch off the end of the housing and the bearing, leaving me with only an inch or so more than the plan shows.  I will probably cut the aperture deeper to avoid compromising the steerage by cutting a bigger aperture in the rudder.

I continued my boring (pun intended) work, first extending the bore to a straight 1 inch diameter and reaching the correct height and center line position inside the boat.  I used the boring bar for this, gradually advancing the cutter tip with each pass.

A 1 inch trial shaft fits the bore.  Got to keep drilling, though.

I finally was able to drill the bore out to slightly over 1 1/2 inches. This gave me enough room to insert a structural fiberglass tube as a shaft log.  That way, I will not need to mount a bronze housing for the stuffing box to the keel. The tube was coated with 3M 5200 marine adhesive, and a small paint roller on a rod pushed 5200 into the bore and coated the sides completely. This should give a permanent watertight fit.

Not exactly dignified, but hopefully effective

The Buck Algonquin cutlass bearing housing that I ordered has a flange that is 2 1/2 inches wide, so I needed to find an additional half inch in width at the aft end of the skeg.  I did this by turning a 4 inch diameter cone out of fir and fastening cheeks to the skeg as shown in the picture above.  I am also happy to have some additional "beef" at the aft end of the skeg, where the 1 1/2 inch bore doesn't leave a great deal of wood on either side. Moreover, I think the addition looks pretty good, but unfortunately not many folks will get to see it once the boat is in the water (one hopes.)

The structural fiberglass shaft log with the fir "cheeks"

Waiting for phone calls and deliveries has given me a chance to cross a few small jobs off the "to-do" list.

I finished the traveler project.  Jeff, who is a first class welder, helped me by brazing the stops to the traveler assembly, and then I could bed, insert, and tighten down the whole thing.

Traveler is done.  The rings will prevent the mainsheet hardware from hanging up.

I also mounted the engine control panel in the bulkhead beside the companionway and routed the cable harness back toward the engine.

The Yanmar control panel is in place.

I built a small enclosure to cover the back side of the control panel which protrudes into the cabin.  I will fasten a removable cover on it.

The back of the control panel will be housed in this box.

Finally, I installed two small bilge pumps -- one on either side of the centerboard case -- between frames 4 and 5.  I mounted these of fir wedges glued to the garboard so the pumps will sit level.  I plan to route the hoses under the cabin sole, behind the berths, and up toward the second plank on each side of the hull where I will drill 2 more holes in the boat for the bilge pump through hulls.

Mounting wedges for bilge pumps got 2 coats of sealer.

Pumps and float switches in position at lowest point in hull.