Fitting Out (Year 14):

Date	Discussion
1st April 2023	"Here we go again!" Or is that "Here we go some more?" Anyway, another year has passed, dear reader, in the ongoing saga of building of the good ship "Rhapsody in Glue". I am superstitiously glad that the thirteenth year of the blog is over. It would have been better, perhaps, if the year had contained a report of a launching, but it will come. The usual one paragraph summary of work to date says: 2007 - Make a plan. July 2008 - Lay a keel. March 2010 - Turn the hull over and start on the fit out. Still fitting out... This is the fourteenth year of "Just the Fitting Out to Go!"
26th April 2023	There's been some work going on "behind the scenes", this month, on the new fuel injection system. There is a separate area on the website where I have described progress in some detail. Suffice to say that the ECU is now working with the new crank trigger wheel and has every appearance of performing as expected - which is nice. The next job is to put the ECU into a box, ready for mounting and wiring it into the boat. The throttle body unit has to be cleaned and provided with new filters and "O" rings, and the new high pressure fuel system has to be installed too but, say it quickly and - well, you know! Mounting the crank trigger wheel has necessitated reorganising the fan pulley arrangements, which, in turn, has affected the positioning of the alternator and drive pulley for the water pump. So, some new mounting brackets have to be manufactured, which proves once again the old adage that "five minute jobs - aren't!" Whilst test running the engine, many years ago, long before it was ever installed in the boat, I noticed that the cooling system was, perhaps, too effective. Given that it will be using cold water, straight from the river, the engine's working temperature is unlikely to rise much above 50 degrees (C). Most petrol engines don't operate efficiently until they reach around 80 degrees. I was forcibly reminded of this fact recently, whilst the ECU on the bench was, apparently, not working, when I finally realised that it was simply because the engine temperature (in simulation) was set to 50 degrees. At that temperature, the ECU considers it to be only in "warm-up mode" and so it just sits there,and twiddles its thumbs, waiting for the engine to reach a proper operating temperature before even starting to work its magic. When I first bought the engine, it had a number of odd pipes, water take-offs, and taps installed as part of the cooling system. Their use wasn't clear to me until someone suggested that they had been used to operate a storage hot water system. Since Rhapsody uses gas to generate its hot water, I had no need of any unnecessary plumbing complications, so I removed them. Now I realise that their secondary function was to provide an adjustable cooling water bypass facility that allowed the engine to reach a much higher working temperature than it would otherwise. The cooling system has been substantially modified since that time, but now, it seems, it has to be modified again to re-implement part of the system that I shouldn't have removed in the first place. Some short words were uttered at this point, although that didn't seem to help. After a quick trip to the hardware shop to acquire some Kinko "T" fittings and a mini-sized cistern tap, the existing cooling system was partially dismantled, and a new cooling water bypass function constructed. This consists of a tap just after the outlet of the Jabsco cooling water pump that allows a portion of the water flow to be diverted directly to the wet exhaust outlet and back into the river, without going through the engine at all. This should allow the engine to reach a much more satisfactory working temperature. Bending copper pipes is another skill I quickly discovered that I don't have. So, several experiments and false starts later, I have a really curly pipe that actually fits in, and around, the other bits of the engine and provided it doesn't leak, should do the job nicely. Time will tell... This is the first time that I have had to do any work on the engine since it was installed in the boat and I have rapidly arrived at the conclusion that it's an ergonomic failure and that the designer should be "keel-hauled" at the very earliest opportunity. I haven't left much room on the Port side of the engine to access things like the alternator. Also, given that the "engine room" is 900mm deep, whilst I'm lying full length on the floor, my arms are not long enough to reach the bottom of the area to retrieve any dropped items, which, of course, makes such droppages even more likely than usual! The aft ballast tank has finally had its top panels permanently glued in place. They have to be trimmed and sealed all around with fibreglass tape, but the tank is now almost ready for the installation of the necessary operational hardware. There is an automatic 31.5lpm bilge pump to go inside, plus various level detection switches and a solenoid tap to enable the tank to be filled remotely. I have designed a small electronics module to manage both the fore and aft ballast tanks which is just a box of components at present. Just another job - put it on the list! The solid timber galley benches have been firmly fixed in place with many more screws than one might have thought were necessary, but the disgraceful warping that had been occurring with this product, for so long, finally seems to have stopped. Which is a relief! Some white silicone is now required all around the edges of the benchtops to keep them waterproof and finish them off. They have been fully oiled now and, actually, do look quite handsome. Still working aft from the galley, a big job that has been outstanding, and studiously ignored, for a very long time is the preparation of the inside of the main windscreen frame, for painting. Long time readers of this tome will know my view of painting and all things associated with it - particularly the preparation. However, the time has come; the "fix-it while you're away" fairy has deserted her post yet again. However, it has now been done. Two days of joyous boat building behind an orbital sander, miles of very expensive (to ensure that it can be removed) masking tape and everything is ready. Still, perhaps I'll procrastinate a bit longer now all of that is finished - why break the habit of a lifetime?
2nd June 2023	There has been a bit of a break in activity at the boat shed (all of May, actually), due to a serious chest infection. My immune system is already negatively impacted by ongoing medications and as a result, I am prone to "catching" other infections. I have been surprised that Covid has passed me by, so far, but every few years a chest infection will take hold and make breathing problematic - which is a nuisance. However, I'm back in "harness" today and have added the first coat of gloss white paint to the inside of the windscreen frame that was undercoated just before the "bug" struck. I will put another coat of gloss on next week to finish it off and that will allow the fixed glass of the windscreen to be installed. The two fixed windscreens and their aluminium frames are ready to go in and are only waiting for the paint. It is an important step because whilst the sliding windows have been ready for installation for a long time, it is now possible to "seal the boat". I could actually move the boat out of the shed into the weather, although I'm not proposing to do that until the plumbing and wiring are finished. However, it is a significant "milestone".
27th June 2023	My chest infection is slowly lessening its grip and some progress at the boatshed has been possible, so the painting around the inside of the windscreen frame is now finished. Given the amount of epoxy and fibreglass tape that was used in its construction and all the "odd" angles involved, a perfect finish has not been possible. However, it is now ready for the glass. The opening "hopper" window has been finished for some time. So, installation was simply a matter of locating the tricky concealed screw hinges, which had been put "somewhere safe", and then the screw holes, made during the dry-fitting process, which were now completely hidden under the new paint (Grrr). Yet another oversight soon revealed itself, as well. When test fitting components, a more experienced boat builder might have allowed for the thickness of the various coats of paint that would then be applied before the final fitting. Not this one - as a result, the finished and painted hopper window no longer fitted into the now painted window frame, simply because of the thickness of the various layers of paint. A very frustrating and time consuming oversight! The two windscreen panes, either side of the hopper window, are fixed. They are made of 6mm toughened glass which, as the law requires, is not tinted and they are mounted in a rubber (EPDM) "U" shaped channel to provide an effective seal against moisture and also for some expansion of the glass with changes in temperature. The outside retaining frames are made from flat aluminium bar and are designed to match the professionally made sliding windows used around the remainder of the boat. The tedious business of making those frames has already been described, in detail, elsewhere. Since the interior of the galley is largely finished, (there's a word you don't see often in this document!) it was time for the sliding windows to be installed. They were made seven years ago and had building progressed as quickly as had been hoped, rather than which has actually occurred, would have been installed long since. In fact, the small shed, in which the windows have been securely stored, hadn't been opened for so long that the lock had rusted shut and a "shoulder to the door" type of break in had to be made! However, the galley windows were recovered, cleaned up, and installed in the boat. And, very handsome they look. (Now to fix the door frame of the shed!) Being in the galley now, with all its windows installed, is an odd experience. It feels different. It sounds different - it's quieter because the space is now separated from the outside - finally! The other odd effect of having some of the glass installed is that there are less handholds available to use when clambering around the outside of the boat. Previously, you could always grab a window frame if needed - now, all that happens is that you bang your knuckles on glass! There are some small jobs remaining such as the liberal application of silicone window sealant, both in the galley, and all around the windscreen, but otherwise, it looks terrific! There are a pair of shelves in the galley, above the bench tops, down both sides of the hull. In common with all the other shelves on a boat, they need ledges, or fiddles, along their outer edges to stop things falling off with the motion of the boat. Pin rails have been used elsewhere to perform this function and they have been used here, too. The difference is that these shelves are 2.2m long and curved. So, rather than make up the pin rails on the bench, they had to be made in-situ. The Meranti strips were cut, properly thicknessed and then laid out on the bench with a substantial curve applied. Some hot water was sprinkled on them occasionally to aid the acceptance of the bend. After a couple of weeks, the strips were drilled, to take the 6mm brass "pins", and installed in the boat. Once the glue was dry, the pins themselves were installed, all 58 of them. The top rail for the fiddle was similarly clamped to the bench, with the necessary curve applied, and left for another couple of weeks to come to terms with its lot in life. It was finally installed and glued into place and whilst the whole job has taken many weeks, it now looks very handsome. The wall between the galley and the saloon has a flat timber top that was intended to act as a shelf for cups of tea, or anything else, being passed through from the galley. Accordingly, it has become known as the "servery". It sits over the top of the TV space and in keeping with the style of the other shelves, has a pin rail all around its edges. Happily, these are all straight and could be built on the bench, which was much easier. The servery has now been finished and installed.
31st July 2023	More windows have been installed this month. The bathroom window, and three of the bedroom windows, are now dry fitted - that is, they still have to be removed, sealed with silicone and replaced before they qualify as finished. Given that the bedroom windows weigh, as I now know, 15kg each and lifting them 2m in the air, to reach their respective window openings, is a stretch, I will organise some help for the silicone sealing job. The saloon windows are significantly bigger and therefore even heavier, of course, so the more help the better. The galley windows, being lighter, have all been removed, sealed with silicone and reinstalled. All the fixed panes of the windscreen, entry door and the bedroom have all been sealed as well. The middle window on the Starboard side of the boat is not glass; it is a fine mesh metal grill. The window space is next to the sundeck stairs and is not used to admit light nor for viewing the world. However, it is the site of the hot water service, the solar panel controller and the 2Kw 240volt inverter, all of which need access to the open air to keep them cool. The metal mesh panel is mounted in an aluminium frame that both matches the other windows and makes the mesh panel removable for cleaning. The mesh panel frame has been installed, so now the electronics can be installed, too. The fitting of one window in the saloon and one in the bedroom will be left until last to allow easy access for tools and materials to be passed into the boat. The alternative is to carry items up the very narrow steps and in through the sliding door entry, which is much narrower and less convenient. The top edges of the bulkhead, between the galley and saloon, immediately under the windscreen, form almost flat areas in front of the windscreen, which will inevitably be used as shelves. And so, - you guessed it - they need fiddles. These have been made and installed. There are some more pieces of trim timber needed for that area, too, in due course. The fuel injection system is finished and is ready for testing in the boat. However, whilst the engine has been installed for a very long time, it has not been connected to the boat's electrical system, principally because there isn't one, yet! To run the engine, one needs a "start" button, of course, and since that will be mounted on a dashboard, we'd better hurry up and make one. The dashboard is made of 4mm ply and will have a contrasting trim frame of Red Gum. The front face is covered with a carbon fibre look-alike film. This may seem anachronistic, but it is to emphasise that whilst the boat has been built in an old style, the construction methods and materials are very modern. The layout of the various gauges and switches, on the dashboard, was finalised on paper (well, on the computer, anyway), many months ago. However, whilst making the "real thing", a small oversight became obvious. Since the dashboard slopes, the depth available behind it, particularly in its upper half, is quite limited and some of the instruments are reasonably big and deep. So, "back to the drawing board" to redesign the dashboard layout, placing instruments that need significant depth behind the dashboard toward the lower section and those that don't need so much depth, towards the top. The aft ballast tank has been the last major part of the whole construction to receive attention. The top panels were cut and installed some months back and they have now had fillets of epoxy and fibreglass tape installed to complete the sealing of the tank. This week, they have been painted as well, along with the remainder of the frames and spaces under the bed, so that now the electrical portions of the steering gear can finally be installed. The design of the steering gear is somewhat unusual, and it will be good to see how well (if?) it operates, in practice. With the bathroom window installed, I reconnected the LED ceiling lights temporarily and, in the newly enclosed space, the colour of the so called, "Warm Daylight" LEDs looked very odd. They have a rather yellowish hue that may be relaxing, but not what is needed in a bathroom. So, back to the box of spare bits and pieces, to locate some "Natural Daylight" strips. They are also somewhat more powerful and look really good. There are five strips, and they consume 1.2amps each, rather than the 0.6amps of the previous units. The colour "Warm Daylight" is generally considered to be around 2800°K, whilst "Cold Daylight" is usually about 6000°K. The colour of the new "Natural Daylight" LED strips is apparently 4000°K. In order to operate a vessel at night, it must carry legally compliant navigation lights. So, Port and Starboard lights, red and green respectively, are fitted on the outside of the coach house. The boat should also carry a white "steaming light", which must be mounted one metre above the other lights and visible for 225° of arc in front of the boat. A fairly exhaustive Internet search for a suitable commercial light fitting that satisfied the legal requirements, and my budget, was unsuccessful, so I decided to make one. In the words of a well-known TV personality - "How hard can it be?" I had some crystal clear casting epoxy from another project and used a plastic box as a plug to make a Plaster of Paris mould. The light source consisted of 10, high power, white ZD1096 LEDs mounted on a cut-down piece of an old CD. The whole thing was embedded in clear epoxy and then turned and polished in the lathe. The resulting steaming light not only looks quite handsome, but works very well, too. Ultimately, it will become part of a more complex fitting that will include a blue flashing xenon light as well, but more of that later. Some of the wiring within the boat has already been installed whilst building other parts of the hull. Examples include the concealed LED lighting, the air conditioning fans and some of the bits and pieces in the galley. The six 12volt House batteries will not be purchased until nearer to the launch date, so an interim supply would be useful for setup and testing in the meantime. It also seemed a good idea to have a connection available on the transom to be able to link to a tender boat, should it have a battery that needed charging from the boat's solar panels. It might even be an electric tender boat one day - who knows? So, a classic 50amp Anderson style plug, in a water and dust resistant housing, has been installed high on the Port side of the transom. That position was chosen because the vessel will also have to have a HIN number plate, once the boat is registered, and it has to be mounted high on the Starboard side of the transom. It will be about the same size as the Anderson plug, so the symmetry of the transom fittings will be maintained. The Anderson plug will be connected to the main House battery system via a 70amp circuit breaker. It could be used to put 12v power into the boat, in an emergency. Because of my background in electronics engineering, people often give me defunct appliances and tools saying: "If you can fix this, you can have it." I have a number of drills and sanders in my toolbox that have been acquired in this way. Recently, I was given a gas MIG welder. It was quite old, had been out in the weather, and also attacked by vermin. Having removed a beautifully constructed rat's nest, together with a dead rat, from within the case, the repairs could begin. (How do rats get into a MIG welder anyway? There are no holes in the casing that are anything like big enough.) Rat's urine is terribly corrosive stuff. Some extensive rewiring and a new control board were obvious starting points for the repairs and there turned out to be quite a number of other issues as well. However, it is now working, which is great, but it doesn't seem to have a setting for welding plywood. Ah, well!
10th September 2023	This is the August report, although it's September already - so, I must be having fun if time is flying this fast... Maybe I'm just getting old. A significant milestone has been reached in that the electric steering system has finally been installed. As you may recall, the steering arrangement is somewhat unusual. It consists of a 12volt pancake style DC motor with integrated 25:1 reduction gearbox. The motor drives a 630mm length of 12.5mm steel motorcycle chain that is connected to a steel cable at each end. And just for reference, one is 780mm long and the other is 1355mm. The two steel cables are connected to the rudder quadrant, which is 430mm in diameter, providing another 4:1 reduction ratio. The motor is rated at 1/10hp and, through the overall 100:1 reduction, provides 10hp of turning power to the rudder. Whether this is sufficient, or not, remains to be seen. It does give a "lock-to-lock" transition time of only just over one second, which is very useful. The steering motor is driven by a proportional, bi-directional, control unit, which, in turn, is controlled by a 50mm joystick. An issue that has become apparent is that as soon as the required angle of the rudder is reached and the drive to the steering motor is released, the pressure of the water flow will immediately tend to self-centre the rudder. To combat this problem, an electronic brake will be added to provide some drag on the rudder quadrant. It will be applied each time the steering motor is turned off. This is still a "work in progress", for the moment, so, more on that later. Murphy's Law immediately intervened to complicate the fitting of the steering motor because two of the hose fittings on the aft ballast tank, the precise positions of which I had considered to be largely insignificant, happened to be exactly on the path of the main steering drive chain - naturally! Also, because the top panel of the ballast tank had been raised to the maximum possible height, in order to increase its overall capacity, that, too, fouled the steering chain. The two offending ballast tank fittings were unceremoniously removed to be refitted at a later time in a different spot and the steering motor was then raised by 12mm, as well, to provide the necessary clearances. A piece of polyethylene sheet was fitted, under the path of the steering chain, to act as a self-lubricating guard should tension be lost over time. Finally, power could be applied to the steering motor for the first time and the whole system worked very nicely - which is a relief! There are micro-switches fitted on the quadrant to detect when the limit of travel has been reached and to cut power to the steering motor to avoid burning the armature. The electronics unit to control this function was finished, but now has to be enhanced to include control for the drag brake system - when I design one. The project to convert the engine to fuel injection is largely finished. It is set up on the bench and as far as can be determined with the oscilloscope, it is now working properly. The real test, of course, is to install it on the engine and try it. However, there is a problem - there's no "start" button yet! Obviously, that's not a real problem but it does suggest that now might be a good time to finalise, and actually construct, a dashboard. The space for the dashboard is approximately 500mm square, which is fine, but because it is sloped toward the bow at the top, to make it more convenient to use, the clearance, or depth, behind the dashboard for gauges, particularly at the top, is very limited. Indeed, the proposed layout has had to be revised several times in order to accommodate the depth requirements of the various switches, indicator lights and gauges. With the layout finalised, the dashboard was made of 4mm plywood and covered with carbon fibre print vinyl. Why choose a carbon fibre "look", you may wonder? Given that the boat is of an older style and made of timber, it seemed like a good opportunity to remind anyone who sees the dashboard, that there are some very modern materials and design ideas hidden "under the hood" in this boat. The dash has a clear finished timber frame and is hinged at the bottom edge for access. Now that the steering system is installed, the whole area inside the back of the boat, much of which will be unseen, such as under the bed, can be painted. This will allow the plumbing and wiring to be installed. The only construction jobs, still outstanding in that area, are the bedside cabinets. They each consist of two drawers on steel runners. The runners need to be mounted on frames at both their front and back edges, but the frames need to be removable to be able to access the areas of the hull beneath; all of which complicates matters somewhat. The bedside cabinets also have a removable top panel for overnight bits and pieces such as clocks, spectacles, charging phones, etc. (Yes, there is a USB plug, nearby, on each side of the bed.) However, each top panel had to be separated into two parts because the awkward geometry of the area wouldn't allow the tops to be fitted into their allotted spaces in one piece. There is no facility for connecting the boat to "shore" power because, all being well, none should be needed. Although, it may be useful to be able to connect to the boat's internal electrical system in order to, possibly, charge the battery in a tender boat. Perhaps an electric tender boat in the future - who knows? Therefore, a 50Amp, Anderson style connector has been installed in the upper Port side of the transom, with this in mind. It has its own 70amp breaker and as a small bonus, it also provides a way of powering the boat's system from an external 12volt source, during construction and testing, so that the proposed six AGM batteries don't have to be purchased until much closer to the launch date! Another small job, that is still outstanding, is to provide breathers for each of the battery boxes. The batteries weren't originally going to be placed under the bed and were only relocated in order to, hopefully, improve the final trim of the boat. The details of breathers have yet to be finalised, but they are really important. A friend once took delivery of a brand new ocean cruiser, where proper breathers had not been provided. The boat promptly blew up and sank on its first voyage. It was a total loss...
4th October 2023	Now it's already October and this is still the September report - I sense a pattern forming here! Battery breathers were mentioned above, and you'll be relieved to know that they are now installed. Phew! 19mm hoses from the very back of the battery boxes are routed behind the bedside cabinets to vent into the removable fuel tank lockers and thence to the open air. Gasses produced by batteries are predominantly hydrogen, and being lighter than air, they should find their way out quite easily. The vents are above the bottom of the fuel tank areas to avoid rainwater draining back into the battery boxes. The two ballast tank fittings that, simply due to "Murphy's Law" (or bad planning, if you prefer), ended up in a very inconvenient spot, have been relocated. These were the filler connection and the "Full Tank" detector float switch. They are now well out of the way awaiting final connection once the electronic unit to control them gets built! Argh... One's sub-conscious must be very busy at night sometimes. I woke one morning, a few weeks back, with a fully developed and complete understanding of a problem with the design of the steering system. Consider: the electric steering motor, driven by a little joystick, moves the rudder to a particular position to effect any necessary course corrections, perhaps even coming about. Once the rudder reaches the required position, the captain would expect to simply release the joystick and have the boat continue the manoeuvre. With a normal steering system, the captain would continue to hold the "wheel" manually until the turn was complete. In this system, the instant you release the joystick, the water pressure across the rudder will promptly return it to mid-ships. I had hoped that the significant reduction gear ratio of 100:1 might give the rudder enough resistance to stay put - but no! Not even close! You might continue to hold the joystick in position, but with the steering motor stalled, that would simply make the motor very hot indeed - not good. What to do? A potential solution wobbled into sight through the haze, a few days later. The rudder system needed a brake that comes on when the steering motor is not actually trying to move the rudder to a new position, to hold it stationary in the current position. I considered a disk brake on the rudder quadrant using parts from a bicycle. Would it be powerful enough and how would it be activated? Whilst I began measuring up for a car type disk brake instead, I realised that boat trailers often have electric brakes, and wondered if that would be a better approach. Firstly, I had to find out how they worked! With a little research, I realised that an electric brake unit from a trailer would indeed make a very effective rudder brake, providing enough drag to hold the rudder in position once the steering motor had released it. I also realised that the brake need not be mounted on the quadrant but could be attached directly to the steering cable instead. This would allow the braking action to be along a straight path instead of a circular one - which is much easier! The brake unit from a trailer is simply an electromagnet in a steel housing, faced with brake lining type material. By building a nylon carriage to be able to mount it directly on to the steering cable, the brake block could then be arranged to slide up and down inside a piece of 75mm steel "U" channel fixed into the boat. Thus, when power is applied, the magnet sticks to the "U" channel and holds the rudder still, or at least, provides sufficient drag to largely solve the problem. However, there's always something else, isn't there? The brake block is labelled "12v, 3amp", but what that doesn't reveal is that it's not intended to remain switched on for extended periods. It turns out that if the unit is energised for more than a few minutes, it becomes much too hot to touch! Not good! So, after some more research and advice from friends, it seems that the brake unit can handle 6volts indefinitely without bursting into flames, which is nice. Controlling the brake unit turns out to be relatively simple, too. The electronics that disconnects the steering motor when it reaches full lock to Port or Starboard, to avoid it overheating, can, with the addition of a single relay, also control the drag brake operation. The unit also has to include a power supply, of course, to limit the brake unit voltage to about 5-6 volts and this utilises a PWM motor controller kit from Jaycar. Simple! The system is not quite ready to be installed, but it's looking good so far!
29th October 2023	Wow - typing up the October report whilst it's still October - wonders will never cease! Significant progress has been made with the rudder brake. A piece of 75mm steel "U" channel, 380mm long, has been installed in the boat parallel to, and slightly beneath, the rudder cable. A carriage has been made from engineering nylon sheet, to attach directly to the cable, to allow the electric trailer brake pad to slide up and down inside the steel "U" channel with the movement of the rudder. Power is applied to the brake whenever the steering motor is idle, which then locks the rudder solidly in that position. As a separate job from the rudder brake system development, I have also been finalising the dashboard layout and one of the essential components is a dimmer for the panel lamps - of which there seem to be quite a few! Having become aware of the PWM unit as a solution for controlling the rudder brake, I realised that such a unit would also make a very effective dimmer for all the LED panel lights and gauges. So, a second PWM unit was built for the dashboard, providing a very neat solution to that problem, as well. Warning: technical bit - PWM stands for Pulse Width Modulation. It's a method of reducing voltage, or, more correctly power, without converting it to heat, which is not only wasteful, but can be decidedly awkward in a confined space. It works by switching the current on and off very rapidly rather than actually getting rid of it via a resistance of some sort, which was how it was often done in the past. The advent of very high power transistors has made this sort of switching possible, which is essential if you're making an electric vehicle, for example. The same principle works just as well for dimming panel lights! The bedside cabinet frames have been finished and are now ready for the drawers. The drawers are mounted on steel runners, which, in turn, are supported by removable timber frames. The cabinet tops have been made and installed and the whole area painted. Given that making the drawers is the next step, the obvious question is "What sort of knobs should they have?" Plain round timber knobs, chrome handles maybe - no, that is all too easy. Knobs with a nautical theme is what's needed. What about a Monkey's Fist made from light cord - yes, that's an idea. Nothing simple, of course! With the help of YouTube, and a number of knot tying videos, plus a considerable amount of patience, some approximation of a Monkey's Fist was produced. But what sort of rope, cord or twine should be used? At a Sunday market, and quite by chance, I spotted someone selling white cotton Macrame string. Monkey's Fist knots are usually made with a hard ball of some sort in the middle, and via eBay, I was able to source some 37mm wooden balls. (If you use metal balls, they become classed as an illegal weapon in Australia.) There are two drawers in each bedside cabinet and a chest of drawers in the bedroom which will have six drawers - ten in all! Ten Monkey's Fists have now been made and "Scotchguarded" to keep them clean - job done! Having made a few practice knots, and now the final ten, as well, I'm getting quite good at them - which is really useful, now that I don't have to make any more! Humf!
24th December 2023	Yes, I know, Christmas Eve - but it's all quiet around the house and the mice aren't stirring, so it's a good opportunity to add a few "bon mots" to the blog. The rudder brake system described above has now been built and installed and seems to work very well. The real test will have to wait until the boat is in the water, of course. The "electrickery" required to control the brake unit is closely associated with the need to protect the steering motor from overheating if it is stalled hard to Port or Starboard for any length of time. To protect the steering motor, there are limit switches fitted to the rudder quadrant such that once the full range of movement of the rudder is reached, around 35 degrees, the power to the steering motor is cut off. The electronics will only then allow power to be applied in the opposite direction. It's a simple unit consisting of three relays and a couple of diodes. The actual circuit is shown in the "Pipes and Wires" section of the website. The aft ballast tank, under the bed, was, I thought, complete, apart from the various external connections. However, there's a problem. When you fill a closed tank, the air in that tank has to be given a way out and I had planned to make use of the drain hose for that purpose. Obviously, the hose that empties the tank is not required whilst filling it - is it? Well, of course, there's a fatal flaw in this plan. Letting air out of the tank whilst it is being filled this way might be fine, but the converse is also true. To empty a tank, you have to let that pesky air back in again somehow. Now, it becomes clear that the notion of using the same pipe for two different purposes, at the same time, is doomed to failure. The solution is quite simple, albeit frustrating, because it involves re-doing work that was already thought to be complete. The installation of an additional fitting is all that is required to allow for the connection of a dedicated tank breather pipe to be used during both the filling and emptying process. The breather hose would be best, perhaps, if it were vented outside the hull, but that involves yet another hull fitting and more work. However, provided the outlet of the hose is higher than the top level of the tank, or, at least, has a "goose neck" arrangement somewhere along its length, it can remain inside the hull, which is much easier. The tank should never fill above the level of its upper reed switch, anyway, so there will never be water coming out of the breather pipe, only air. But suppose the reed switch fails? The result could be filling the hull with water, which is not good! So, the aft breather hose, with its goose neck, will be vented into the adjacent stuffing box sump, which is already equipped (happily) with a bilge pump, anyway. All this reconsideration of the aft ballast tank operation prompted a mental review of the forward ballast tank arrangements, built so long ago and, of course, they highlighted my lack of forethought there, too! But it gets worse. Galley benches and cupboards should have a kick plate at the bottom to allow the chef to stand close to the cupboards without stubbing any toes. This was done everywhere - except under the stove, for some reason which is not clear. The offending obstacles are the hose connections for the forward ballast tank which, for some reason, I had epoxied into the very spot where they will get solidly kicked (and probably damaged) every time the chef stands at the stove. Worse still, the breather arrangement was as ill thought out as the aft tank and doomed to the same failure. So, back to the drawing board! Yet another outcome of this "review" of the forward ballast tank's operation was the realisation that I hadn't made allowance for a "tank empty" switch either because I had assumed, naively at that time, that the sensor switch built into the bilge pump could be used for that purpose but, as it turns out, and after some experimentation, it can't. As a result of all these issues, three connections into the forward ballast tank have had to be sealed and moved elsewhere and two new connections provided as well. Grrr! Access to some of these areas is also becoming quite difficult and drilling new holes in tight spots can be a challenge. The trusty right angle drive drill attachment was called into service and that would have been fine had it not chosen that moment to expire spectacularly in a shower of broken casing, bushes, bearings and gears. Oh dear - back to eBay... The preceding five paragraphs could be summed up by saying "I mucked up" and that, particularly with the forward ballast tank, a significant amount of reworking was required to correct the results of previous oversights. I say "mucked" up, but in reality, I may have spelt that word differently... To gain access to the forward ballast tank, I had to lift the temporary chipboard galley floor, made so long ago. (It will be replaced with a 12mm sheet of polyethylene, in due course.) The aftmost section of the galley floor covers a sump that, being the lowest point in that part of the hull, is intended to contain not only a bilge pump, but the gas and petrol "sniffer" unit as well. Since it needs to be open to the air and be able to be walked upon, it presented the opportunity to make an old style timber hatch cover. (Rods for backs come to mind!) The hatch cover will be visible, so it should be presentable, at least. Having purchased some very good looking Tasmanian Oak, I set about learning how to use a dowelling jig and cutting thirty-eight half lap joints with a circular saw. What fun! Actually, it turned out very well and with some industrious sanding and filling, followed by some timber preservative and several coats of clear finish, it looks great. Meanwhile, on another planet far, far away - well, the shed at home, anyway, the dashboard is taking shape. Fitting all the switches and gauges was straight forward, having finally found a layout that accommodates the surprisingly large depth requirements of some of the units, but fitting the extensive array of warning lights was a different story. The dashboard has fourteen warning lights. They are all LEDs, one green for "Neutral", five yellow for non-critical warnings and the remainder being red for serious problems. The red LEDs are also connected to an audible buzzer in order to draw a napping captain's attention to situations that may require some action. An alarm also sounds at the second helm position on the sundeck. The alarm, once sounding, can be muted - so that you can then ignore it. (At your peril, perhaps!) The facia plates for the warning lights have both been cut on a 3D engraving unit, attached to a laptop. There is a significant learning curve required (at least for me) to successfully use these machines - and they are very slow. Both plates have had to be cut a number of times with different materials, both to correct mistakes and improve the aesthetics. The latest set are made from 3mm clear acrylic sheet that has been spray painted silver on one side. The paint has to be allowed to harden significantly, over a few days, before it can be engraved - all very time consuming - but looking good! The boat will eventually have six deep cycle AGM batteries to power everything except the engine. However, given that they have a defined service life, they will not be purchased until the last minute, when the boat is about to be launched. In the meantime, there needs to be a 12v supply available to test wiring and some of the electronics now being installed. Currently, that power is being provided by a 30Amp battery charger. Battery chargers are fine for charging batteries - obviously, but in the role of powering a boat - not so much. Chargers only produce a raw half wave rectified output, which, whilst technically is DC, it is far from ideal for powering DC devices. Another visit to the Internet revealed the availability of second hand "Server Power Supplies". These are astonishing little units. They were designed to power large computers and produce a stable, smooth and fully protected 12volts at 100amps! Given that they have been produced in such large numbers, they are available very cheaply. For the modest sum of $70 and, thanks to my son and his 3D printer to create a suitable case, a great little unit was ready to go. Having recently fitted an Anderson plug/socket in the transom to provide a connection to a tender boat, Rhapsody can now be fully powered, in the shed, without the expense of buying batteries until the appropriate time. Now it's Christmas Day - let's eat, drink and be merry! Have a great 2024!
29th January 2024	Happy New Year - Yet another new year! This is the seventeenth since Rhapsody's keel was laid in 2008 - where has the time gone? Enjoying boatbuilding - mostly! December and January are always frustrating times for any project because of all the social interruptions - little things like Christmas, end of year lunches and New Year celebrations, all of which absolutely have to be attended to maintain peace and harmony amongst the support crew. However, some progress has been possible. The focus is still on finishing the bedroom at present, particularly, the area under the bed. The aft ballast tank is now finished and all that remains is to install the pump, so that it can be emptied, and to connect all the hoses and electrical cables. The removable inspection hatches will then be sealed in place with silicone. I mentioned above that a side effect of finishing the aft ballast tank was to highlight the unfinished status of the forward ballast tank, which was a bit disappointing, really. Various connections were, with hindsight, in a very inconvenient location, and two connections were missing altogether. These oversights have now all been corrected, but having to remove and re-make bits and pieces, previously considered as finished, is very tedious, frustrating and time consuming. I have designed a small electronic unit to control the ballast tanks. It has fill and empty switches, of course, and indicator lights to show the level of the water currently in each tank. The unit is only half built, but the circuit is shown in the "Pipes and Wires" section of the web site. It should be noted that the "tank full" sensor switches in each tank are different. The aft sensor goes "open circuit" when the tank is full, and the forward tank is the opposite. Many moons ago, when the interior fit-out began, I made allowance for two large drawers under the bed. In fact, I even made the parts for the drawers themselves, although I didn't assemble them at the time. Now, I'm not sure why. In hindsight, they were probably a little overcomplicated, as well. They have 12mm Hoop Pine fronts and 10mm sides, all with half-lap joints, and a routed 4mm slot all around for the bottom panel. If I were making them from scratch today, I suspect they would be somewhat more simplistic. The drawers are now fully assembled with epoxy filleted for strength and do actually slide into their slots, under the bed, tolerably well, which is nice. They will be better with some old fashioned candle wax as a lubricant. I have clear finished the drawer fronts and have made mitred "picture frames", from Meranti timber, to add a darker contrast finish to the edges. The drawers will need some handles, of course, and yet another visit to the dreaded Internet might offer some ideas for that. The other storage areas under the bed were made as simple cubby-holes rather than traditional drawers because the passages down each side of the bed are too narrow to allow a drawer to be fully pulled out. The major task remaining for the bedroom is painting and long term readers of this tome will be aware of my serious dislike of painting. Still, it has to be done. In fact, much of the port side hull wall and underfloor area has already been completed. For all these largely unseen interior areas, I'm using InterPlus 1180 two-pack epoxy. It contains 70% solids and is wonderful stuff for covering gaps, holes and all manner of carpentry sins. It's not much fun to apply on a hot day, because it goes off too quickly. (Well, that's my excuse, anyway!) However, once it has properly cured for a couple of weeks, or so, it is so hard that a grinder is necessary to remove it! Once the painting is completed, the underfloor plumbing and wiring can be installed. It will also be time to add other essential items like the grey water outlet and the exhaust pipe. Then, I may even be able to test the engine. What fun!
25th February 2024	As noted above, the job of painting the unseen areas of the bedroom can no longer be avoided. So, armed with a relatively cool weather forecast for a few days, the painting began. Again, I'm using Interplus 1180 two-pack epoxy which is so thick it is hard work putting it on with a brush. Particularly given that, eventually, the areas being painted will not only be out of sight, but they are already hard to reach. So much so, that I think I'm developing "painters' arm", not unlike "tennis elbow", I suspect. All the floor panels have been removed, of course, in order to paint underneath and some have had to be re-made and, themselves, painted too. Some of the early panels were made of MDF, which seemed like a good idea at the time, but are not really suitable for a boat, so they have been re-made in marine ply. At least, the originals made useful patterns for some very awkwardly shaped panels! Another area that the "paint it for you while you're away" fairy has missed, is the Harry Potter Suite. That's an area under the sundeck stairs which is largely intended for storage. I have built some shelves in there, so, from a construction viewpoint, it's finished - except for the painting, of course. The 300amp master battery isolator switch will be fitted next to the bed on the lower face of the starboard bedside cabinet. It will be recessed to avoid being damaged, or activated, by contact with a stray foot and that has involved building a sub-panel to hold the switch and two circuit breakers the necessary distance behind the front of the panel. There is a 300amp circuit breaker to protect the main battery bank and a 70amp unit, as well, to guard the transom mounted Anderson plug connection. The two big drawers fitted under the foot of the bed, are finished and have received three coats of Cabot's Marine Satin Clear. The knobs for the bedside cabinet drawers are made of Monkeys' Fists knots on a timber former but, since the handles for the under-bed drawers will be at ankle height, it seems prudent to make them of somewhat softer material to avoid damage to knob or ankle. After another relaxing search around the Internet looking for something suitable, I discovered the Reever Knot, also called a Vice-Versa knot. It is the right shape, and, using 6mm white sash cord, is the right size. So, two have been made and soaked in Scotchguard to keep them clean. They will be fitted next week and should look great. If you detect a certain paucity of progress this month, it is all the fault of Facebook Marketplace. I saw a brand new induction cooktop being advertised, locally, at a ridiculously low price and I had to have it. Of course, to run an induction cooktop, you need an additional 32amp circuit in the house. Naturally, my fuse board turned out to be too old to be able to be legally updated and had to be replaced. Now, a new cooktop is great, but when you remove the old stove, you need to find a replacement oven. Back to Marketplace - no problem. All this new equipment seemed the perfect excuse to upgrade the pantry and, indeed, all the cupboards on that side of the kitchen. Being a practical person, and an amateur boat builder, I thought I should be able to do this myself. Clarkson's immortal words came to mind - "How hard can it be?"...