Electrical Panel Installed

Since the new DC panel arrived the third week of January, we've had miserable weather to work on the boat.  Finally a break in the weather, and the installation is complete.  The panel looks and works great.

I decided rather than having the hinge only open 90 degrees and complicate the cutout, I would modify the hinge so it closed flush. The hinge was removed from the panel and marked with tape to show the areas that needed to be notched so it could fold flat and not interfere with the components on the panel. The hinge was placed in a vice and a Dremel tool cutoff wheel used to cut the notches out. After cutting the notches, the rough edges were filed and corners rounded. This photo shows the work in process to notch the hinge.

After the notches were cut, the hinge fit was checked on the panel. The hinge was again removed and three holes 3/16" diameter were drilled that will be used to mount the hinge to the wood panel on the boat. These hole were countersunk so that they can be mounted flush when the hinge is closed. Below shows the hinge mounted on the panel, folded showing the relief area that allows the hinge to sit flat.

I traced the modified hinge and created a template others can use for  modification, and drill pilot holes to mount the hinge in the boat. This is in the PDF file attached.

Once I was able to get to the boat, the wiring for the shunt was completed.  The shunt is bolted to the lip on the battery well.  This location provides a convenient connection point and maintains the existing wiring locations from the negative terminal on the battery to the engine block with minimum changes.  The current carrying conductors are attached to the large bolts while the sense lines are attached to the smaller screw terminals on the side of the shunt.

The old panel was unscrewed and pushed through the existing cutout so that the wiring would be clear of the cutout.  This allowed the wood frame to be cut using a Fein Multimaster tool to provide a rough opening for the new panel.  A cardboard template was made to mark where the wood needed to be cut.  Note that there are areas cut from the previous equipment mounted, seen on the left side in the picture below.  The wood will be covered with Starboard to provide a new mounting surface, thus covering up these old cutouts.  The hinge was mounted to allow a trial fit of the panel.  Note that the wood trim piece on the edge of the sliding chart table needed to have about 1/4" notched to allow the slider to clear the hinge.

Once the hinge was mounted to the wood, the new panel was attached for a trial fit.  The AC breaker previously installed (shown on the left) will be moved along with the entire AC section.  The old DC panel with the wiring still connected can be seen below the new panel.

Once the panel was trial fit, the remaining AC components were removed from the panel so that the wood could be cutout for mounting the moved/replaced AC components.  The picture below shows the cuts made.  Note that there is a lip along the top edged and bottom that provide a flat mounting surface for the new Starboard panel.

The Starboard panel was cut after a cardboard template was made that fit over the wood.  The cardboard template allowed placement of the actual hardware to determine the fit before making any cuts.  This was needed for Rhapsody since a shore power breaker, outlet, switch and circuit breaker for the battery charger are needed.  The AC components were pre-wired on the bench so that the only connections required were inputs and outputs, thus simplifying installation on the boat.  Labels were made with a Brother label maker.  The panel is held in place with a screw in the top right corner, and the tabs on the back of the 115vac outlet box.The balance of the panel will be held in place by the screws at the top of the DC panel when it is mounted.  The picture below shows the Starboard panel mounted without the DC panel in place.

The new DC panel was mounted on the hinge. The old panel was replaced by cutting and labeling one wire at a time.  The wires were reterminated using heat shrink ring terminals screwed to the appropriate terminals on the new DC panel.  Installation was simplified by labeling the new DC panel before installation so that all breakers and terminals were clearly identified,  Where needed, a heat shrink butt splice was connected and used as a wire extender.  All wires were labeled using a Brother label maker, or white shrink sleeve that was written on before being shrunk.  Old connections were cleaned up.  The wires were dressed and bundled using ty-wraps so the bundle did not interfere with the edges when the panel was rotated open and closed.

The picture below shows the panel running on battery power only with current displayed.  Two circuit breakers are closed (VHF Radio and Navigation instruments).  You can see the breaker label back lighting, and the LED indicators for the two breakers that are energized.  Note that the load is 0.6 Amps discharging as indicated by the minus sign on the display.

The same configuration is now shown with the battery charger energized.  Note the current now displays 6.4 Amps (positive) indicating that current is flowing into the battery.

Some other miscellaneous wiring was done befor the panel was installed, including an additional AC outlet on the lower forward angled panel of the starboard quarter berth.  The hole was cut using the Fein Multimaster and a standard single box mounted with a GFCI outlet.

A standard Ivory colored plastic plate blends well.

Finally, ventilation louvers were installed on the port and starboard setees to help prevent moisture buildup.  Since a dehumidifier is usually run at the dock, this help keep moisture from sweating on the hull.

New DC Electrical Panel Arrives

The new DC Electrical Panel was on my door step when I arrived home tonight.  It looks very nice.  There are no instructions in the box, so I'll create the documentation for the class to install.

The first thing I noticed was the current shunt had been wired on the panel and held in place with Ty-wraps on the harness.  It was the intention that the shunt be mounted by the battery so that battery charge and discharge would be sensed.

 In order to accommodate that, I removed the shunt by cutting the ty-wraps and disconnecting the terminals.  The picture below shows the wiring side of the panel with the shunt removed and labels added on the edge of the circuit breakers..

Once the shunt was removed, I connected a power supply and tested the panel on the bench.  The meter has a low voltage alarm that can be set.  I set it at 11 volts and slowly lowered the voltage.  The alarm sounded a few seconds after the voltage dropped below 11 volts.  The delay is a good thing as the alarm won't sound spuriously due to quick voltage transients.

 After bench testing the supply, I created labels on the back side of the panel to make wiring on the boat easier.  This will also make troubleshooting easier in the future.  Note the -12V and Ground bus bars.

 I'll be working over the next couple weeks to clean up documentation so people have something to use as a reference for installation.

New Chainplates

My previous post showed the repair to the port bulkhead.  The repair provides good compression strength but virtually no tensile strength.  In order to distribute the load from the port side of the rig, over-sized chain plates have been constructed.  The intention is to distribute the load to areas of the bulkhead that are solid and have the strength to take the load.  The load is transferred from the bulkhead to where it is tabbed to the hull.  The photo below shows the new chainplates constructed of 1/4" 304 stainless steel, and backing plates constructed of 1/4" G-10.  The original starboard chainplate and backing plate is shown on the left.  The center shows the new starboard chainplate and backing plate that are extended for one additional pair of bolts through the bulkhead.  There is no problem on the stbd side, but this provides extra insurance.  The right side shows the new port chainplate and backing plate.  Note the plate has been extended down similar to the starboard plate, but also widened about 6 inches since the two upper bolt pairs go through the bulkhead in the repaired section.

The new chainplates and backing plates were coated on the bulkhead side with a thin film of silicone caulk applied with a squeegee, then allowed to cure.  The purpose of this is to compensate for any surface irregularities in the bulkhead and act as a gasket that will help transfer the load to the entire surface, rather than relying on the through bolts for taking the load.  Since the caulk was allowed to cure before installation, the plates should be easily removable in the future.

Below are pictures of the new chainplates and backing plates installed.  The tongue extending through the deck was coated with caulk before being inserted through the deck so that a good seal would be formed.  Once in place, the though bolts were tightened and the topside area caulked and cover plate screwed in place forming a good seal. 

More Core Work, Bulkhead & Electrical too

I have multiple projects going on now. In addition to the recore effort under the port primary winch, I am fixing the forward bulkhead where the port chainplate area got wet. I am also replacing the 12VDC electrical panel and am cleaning up wiring.

Continuing on the recore effort.  I was able to save the top skin removed from the area under the winch.  This was cleaned up and the bottom sanded so it could be bonded over the new core.  I ended up cutting too close to the rail, and didn't realize there was and angled lip molded where the core ended.  Thus I ended up with a 2nd cut that resulted in about a 1.5" strip.  The photo below shows the skin being bonded to the replaced core.  I used paint cans for weight and vacuum bagged to create pressure for holding the skin down while the thickened epoxy cured.

The plastic from the vaccum bag was removed the next weekend and the area sanded.  Thickened epoxy was spread to create a rough faired surface.  At this point the area is now sealed for the winter.  I still need to drill and epoxy fill the holes for the winch and genoa track.  In the spring i'll sand, do final fairing and shoot with gelcoat.... unless I get warm weather before then.

The next area being worked is the wet bulkhead under to port chainplate.  This was discovered last spring when I pulled the chainplates to epoxy isolate the deck area around them.  When I tightened the bolts through the bulkhead, the liner on the bulkhead forward side cracked from the compression.  This fall I removed the chainplates, then made a cut with the Fein Multimaster tool into the aft side of the bulkhead surface.  The area was found to be wet on the inside.  I dug this out about 6 inches on either side.  The cut was extended to the 2nd set of holes where the core was dry.  I dug out the wet plywood and used a heat gun to dry the area.  The approach is to inject epoxy to the area to give it compressive strength.  There will be virtually no tensile strength, so the chainplates will be extended so they can attach to solid bulkhead.  The load on the bulkhead is transferred to the tabbing along the bottom and sides.  There should be no load on the top of the bulkhead, as the deck is supposed to float over the bulkhead.

The area was masked and a series of tape strips spanned across the cut to create a dam to hold epoxy before it cured.  I also taped a clipboard over the area to keep it flat.  Thickened epoxy was mixed and injected with a syringe to fill the area.  It was about 50 degrees and I thought the epoxy would take a long time to cure..... However, there was enough volume to create a critical mass of epoxy.  I had a small nuclear reactor as the epoxy reached critical mass, kicked and started to smoke. 

The result after the masking was removed is shown below.  You can see the epoxy cracked when it kicked.  If I was trying for a combination of tensile strength and good looks, I would grind it out and redo it.  But this area will be covered by the new expanded chain plate, so I don't care how it looks.

Moving on to electrical work now.  I will be replacing the DC distribution panel with one that has circuit breakers and includes a meter to monitor voltage for each battery and the DC bus.  It will also monitor the current for charge/discharge on the batteries.  In order to properly attach the remote monitoring, ABYC standards require that the connections near the battery be fused.  I am taking the time to clean up the rats nest of wiring, both at the battery area, and behind the DC panel.   One of Rhapsody's co-owners (also the previous owner) installed a DC meter panel next to the battery switch.  Since this is no longer needed, it will be replaced with the fuse panel that is now needed. The photo below shows the old meter panel removed.  There is also a meter above this connected to the output of the battery disconnect.  I an removing this and replacing it with a Rule Bilge pump fuse/switch panel.

The replacement panel is cut from Starboard and sized so it will cover the hole cut for the old meter panel.  I also made sure that the electrical hardware mounted on the panel clears the outline of the existing cut.  The panel dimensions and hole locations are shown below.

The replacement panel front side is shown below.  I used a Brother label maker to create the labels.  Note that the "hidden" inline fuse that feeds the DC main to the distribution panel is being replaced with a 40 amp push to reset circuit breaker.  There will be no hidden fuses.  There is a battery charger installed on Rhapsody.  The inline safety fuses near the battery are being replaced by fuses on this panel.

The panel is pre-wired with soldered connections so that only the wires on the boat side need to be attached.  The circuit breaker has screw terminals.  The fuse sockets have push on blade connectors.  All the wires are labeled.

Fall 2012 - More Core Projects

Rhapsody was hauled on 19 October 2012 for the season.  There are a bunch of projects that will be done this year.  The forward hatch was replaced by a Lewmar 60 Ocean Series model to replace the one that cracked on the last race of the season.  Previously on my blog I posted the moisture meter survey done in October 2008.  It showed the area around the port primary winch as wet.  I noticed this season that when the winch was under load, the deck flexed and I could see light under the aft end of the winch.

Port Primary Winch Area

I decided to take care of this problem early before the cold weather set in.  So, two days before Hurricane Sandy, I decided to remove the winch and make the cuts to correct the problem. The first picture shows the area under the winch. The holes were not epoxy isolated, but filled with silicone caulk.  The area outline pretty much corresponds to the area shown as wet with the moisture meter.  I decided to try and make an area that I could cut out and potentially reuse the skin with the non-skid pattern if I was successful in removing it without damage.

Outline Cut to Remove C

In the second picture a cut around the outlined area was made with a Fein Multimaster.  I also opened  an area under the winch so the chisel saw on the Fein tool could be used to start cutting core from the skin.  I also decided to leave the genoa track in place and work beneath it.  I pried the skin away from the core a little at a time while chiseling to remove the bond to the skin.

Core Removed

The third picture was taken after I removed all the core.  The core was not as bad as the area where the transom and stbd side below the waterline was recored.  This is where I stopped on Saturday afternoon, then taped up the area with plastic to protect it overnight.

Trial Fit New Core

On Sunday morning I returned with the materials and tools to do the recore work.  A friend gave me a piece of 40 year old marine plywood that was hard as a rock.  I decided to use under the winch and genoa track this since it was free, and readily available.  The remaining area would be recored with balsa I had left over from the transom and stbd side recore effort.  I created the puzzle pieces that would fill the area to be recored.  Once these were cut to shape, I masked off the area with plastic sheet and tape.  I mixed up batches of West Systems epoxy thickened with colloidal silica.  This was mixed to a mayonnaise consistency and injected using a syringe into the void areas along the edges, particularly by the stanchion base.  I mixed up batches of 6 pumps epoxy/hardener in plastic cups, as this gave me enough to work with but not too much so the mixture would kick in the cup.  It required 6 batches to cover this area.  I spread it using a disposable chip brush.

The final picture of this post shows the core and marine plywood bonded.  The B notation indicates bow and C notation indicated center when I made the puzzle pieces.  The map I used is also shown so I could figure out what order the pieces should be bonded into place.  Note that the area outboard was strengthened with fiberglass tape since I wanted to keep the edge by the deck joint structurally stiff.  I made sure to put a skim coat of epoxy over the entire surface so if the plastic taped on for the hurricane blew off, the core would stay dry.  Now if we didn't have this damn hurricane, I could finish the job!  More to be posted after next weekend.

New Core Bonded

Spring 2012 Final Launch Preps

The spring temperatures cooperated allowing many of the items on the Rhapsody work list to get accomplished early. The Rhapsody decals had become chipped since they were put on in 1996.  Thanks to my brother-in-law Larry who owns a laser cutter, I was able to send him a file with the font and desired letters.  This was accompanied by a wax paper tracing of the old letters and a scraped piece of the old decal for color match.  Below shows the new decal squeegeed on with the mastic still in place.  The mastic was removed the next day, and the area waxed.

New Rhapsody decal

The bottom was painted with VC Offshore using a foam roller.  All but the bottom of the keel is done.  This will get done when the boat is put in the sling the night before launching.  I found the roller almost as effective as spraying, but more efficient on pain usage than spraying.  There is more wet sanding using the rollers to get the same finish.

Bottom painted

This is the result of wet sanding with 320, 400 then 600 grit, followed by burnishing with bronze wool.  The brown color is residual sanding artifacts.  The bottom feels very smooth and has a mirror like finish.

Wet sanded and burnished

I've tried a number of things to prevent growth on the prop.  This year I'm using the cream you put on a baby to prevent diaper rash.  It has a high Zinc Oxide content and is greasy as hell.  I remember what a pain it was to wash this stuff off my hands when we used it on our kids.  I'll see how it works on the prop and shaft this year!

Baby Butt Cream on Prop

Here is a nice picture looking down the stbd side of the hull. The shiny finish is from two coats of 3M Finesse wax, all hand buffed, then covered with Teflon finish and hand buffed.

Shiny!

The area in the stbd cockpit that was recored is now finished.  I elected not to do a "permanent" finish since the plan is to redo the entire topside finish in a couple of years.  This was sprayed using a Preval sprayer and a match as close as possible to the existing deck color.  The traveler area was sprayed at the same time. It looks good, but not a perfect color match, which is kind of difficult when you have 30 year old Gelcoat.  Note all the newly finished teak.  Those cockpit toe rails have 11 coats of Epifanes Wood Finish Gloss.  The traveler is greatly simplified since the windward sheeting car is installed.  The outboard cleat is used to lock the traveler in place when the boat is stowed, or is needed in light air chop.

Simplified traveler, finished stbd cockpit & refinished teak

Here is a good view of the traveler with the windward sheeting car.  After I took this picture I noticed the junk on the deck I left from polishing the stainless rails. 

Windward sheeting, refinished teak

The mast wedges were removed and lines tied around the base of the mast to allow positioning so that Spartite could be poured.  I needed to provide lines to pull the mast forward and to starboard.  It was centered using a sight line from behind the boat.  The sight line was a string on a step ladder that was sighted to align the keel bottom, top of keel, rudder pins, with the base of mast and top of mast. I found the area under the mast boot to be pretty messed up, so ended up sanding that area both on the mast, and through the deck.  This was cleaned with acetone and then coated with Vaseline as a release agent so the Spartite wouldn't stick to it.

Setting up to reposition mast

The mast step is exactly 1 inch back from the molded lip at the base.  The front of the mast was positioned exactly at 11 ft 6 inches from the stem per class rules.   This required that the mast be pulled forward at the deck using a block on the bow, and a line run back to the primary winch.  The line on the stbd side was run through the #3 jib block, back to the stbd primary winch.  Note the lip on the deck around the mast. 

Mast exactly 11.5 ft from stem

The mast slot was filled with closed cell foam and covered with modeling clay so liquid Spartite wouldn't run out.  A block was made using modelling clay filling the void around the mast from below decks. A Spartite "mold" was made with modeling clay and masking tape around the top so a new boot was formed.  

Spartite poured

This is the cured Spartite that will eventually smoothed and painted to match the white mast.  There is some cleanup to do at the base of the mast, but overall it didn't turn out too bad.  The masking tape did not peel off the Spartite cleanly, so I'll try solvents or just scraping it later.

Spartite cured

Traveler, Handrails & Chainplates

It's been a while since I posted. I'll start with the traveler. The existing Harken traveler was mounted on a wood base that extended it over the recessed area that the original stock J/30 traveler fit in. This had the problem of the control lines sometimes getting caught in the space between the wood base and the forward and aft edges of the recessed area. The area also collected dirt, grape, cheese, crackers, whatever. The old wooden mount was removed. I measured the recessed traveler area and determined that the void could be filled using a 2 x 3. I ended up using two 1 x 3 Red Oak boards. These were planed to fit and the bottom edge rounded to account for the rounded edges in the recessed area.

I covered the top surface of one piece with fiberglass tape using neat epoxy.  This is merely to seal the wood surface that will be exposed, prior to covering with Gelcoat.

I made an aluminum template to capture the position of the existing holes that mounted the traveler.  This was used to drill the holes in the new wooden base so they would align precisely with the existing holes on the deck.  You can see in the photo below an alinement check of the bolt holes on the template.   I brought the template home and drilled the wooden pieces on my work bench.

Template Trial Fit

All of the pieces laid out on deck can be seen in the photo below.  Ultimately the aluminum template will be used inside to spread the load between the nuts and washers that mount the traveler. 

All the pieces

The photo below shows the trial fit of the wood pieces.  You can also see where I recored the stbd side.  This will be covered with Gelcoat at the same time when I Gelcoat the traveler mount.

Trial Fit Wood Pieces

The chainplates were removed and cleaned up with a scraper and wire brush.  This provides access to the holes in the deck so they could be drilled out and epoxy isolated.  The port side was dry on the deck, but the stbd side required that core be dug out, dried with a heat gun, and injected with thickened epoxy.

Chainplate

Below is a picture of the stbd chainplate hole that has been epoxy isolated and sprayed with Gelcoat.

Chainplate Deck Opening

The area below deck where the chainplates bolted to the bulkhead was cleaned up.  The stb side had no problem even though there was wet core in the deck above.

Stbd Bulkhead

The port side below showed signs of stress cracks and the upper part of the bulkhead compresses when the chainplate fasteners were tightened.  This will be put on the work list for next year.

Port Bulkhead Cracked

Some additional epoxy isolation on deck was done in the cockpit area.  Each of the locker hinge mounts was over-drilled and epoxy filled. The holes were drilled and tapped for a 10-24 that will replace the stainless "wood screws" that were previously into the core.

Deck Locker Screw Holes Epoxy Isolated

New teak handrails were mounted.  I taped of the deck and around the teak so it was easier to build a seal using flexible caulk.  You can see the teak bungs inserted before being cut off and sanded.

New Teak Handrails