Getting there

Snow, snow, and more snow.  That has been winter for us so far.  Fortunately for me, Lagniappe is still warm and happy in her spot in the Workshop on the Water at the Independence Seaport Museum.  For this I am extremely grateful.  Although  I have lost a few days due to weather related closures, I have pretty much completed all the tasks I set out to do this winter while in the shop.  Therefore, it won't be long before we move her again.  This time, the move will be into the water, I hope.

Bosco Brown checks out the latest snowfall in the back yard.

The engine installation has been occupying most of my time. With occasional valuable consultation offered by Jeff Huffenberger, the head of the Workshop, tasks have gone pretty smoothly.  The engine is now connected to raw water, fuel, prop shaft, and exhaust.  It is bolted to the bearers, and even connected to the battery.  In other words, it is fully INSTALLED!

I ordered a 7/8 inch stainless shaft from Tim at Down Jersey Marine, in Greenwich, New Jersey, and picked it up a couple of weeks ago -- between snow storms.  Tim, who provided my rebuilt Yanmar 1GM early last year, had the shaft carefully fitted to the coupling, and even dimpled for the set screws. He milled the end of the coupling for a perfectly square fit to the engine.

I decided to use a "newfangled" stuffing-less stuffing box made by PYI, Inc. It only cost a bit more than the conventional ones, and has the advantage of being drip-free and needing virtually no adjustment once in place.  It consists of a finely milled graphite ring that bears against a finely milled smooth stainless bearing attached to the shaft. It is lubricated by water that flows past the stern bearing and into the shaft tube.  

PYI Packless shaft seal (PSS) set in place on shaft.

The stainless collar gets tightened on the shaft. Rubber O-rings keep it sealed.

PSS fully assembled, shaft and coupling locked in.  Waterlock exhaust at bottom of photo.

Once the engine and shaft were set, I turned my attention to final rudder installation.  I had a bit of trouble with the lower pintle and gudgeon, which absolutely did not fit as they were supposed to.  When positioned on the deadwood, at the required angle, the gudgeon could not be fastened. It's arms were nearly parallel to the edge of the deadwood.  Finally, I reversed the pintle and gudgeon, mounting the pintle upside down onto the deadwood, and the gudgeon upside down onto the rudder.  That worked out fine, but I was very disappointed that the extremely expensive "custom" casting for Oughtred's Grey Seal made by Classic Marine in the UK was not what Iain's plan called for at all.  If duty and shipping were not so high, I probably would have sent the pieces back. In the end, the setup worked OK, but I could have had an "off the shelf" set that worked just as well for a much, much cheaper price.

Upside down and reversed pintle and gudgeon in place.

I fastened the pintle and gudgeon with bronze bolts and nuts bedded in 3M 5200, and painted the whole thing with bottom paint.

Just a bit more rudder trimming, and my prop will spin freely

Rudder fully mounted and painted.

I began a bit of wiring by installing my bronze running lights and wiring up the bilge pumps. A 6 circuit switch panel with fuses is mounted to a mahogany chase attached the forward side of the aft cabin bulkhead on the starboard side.  That way, I can hide all the wires from view by running them down and either forward or aft below the cockpit sole or cabin sole, as needed.

Wiring chase glued to bulkhead

I installed the de-chromed port and starboard running lights into the cabin sides slightly forward of the center.  They look pretty nice.  I will run the wiring as inconspicuously as possible under the side decks and back to the switch panel.  Later, I will wire the masthead mounted aft running light to the same switch.

Starboard running light

Now that the engine is finished, I can begin to close in the cockpit sole.  I plan to have two removable sections down the middle of the sole, for and aft of the engine hatch, so I can get access to batteries, shaft, etc.  Additionally, I will have a removable raised (about 4 1/2 inches) engine box.  I framed with 1 1/2 by 2 inch ash beams, half lapped and glued to adjoining beams.  Next, I will install the remaining plywood and paint the sole.

Ash framing is in place. Aft cross piece will be screwed in place so engine can be removed.