Working on Kate

13 July 2012

Now that my full time job is working on Kate, our neglected 1962 Allied Seawind, I decided I should start writing our blog again.  More like a journal for me, I will be able to look back and see what I have accomplished and hopefully the notes about how to do it better/easier next time.  Our camera miracously started working again out of the blue, but I still can’t find the cord to download it to the computer.  I love using the camera for boat projects I so often have a hard time describing what something looks like or forget what it used to look like before I started taking it apart.

Frozen Pin

My first project today, I started yesterday.  I am trying to replace our broken transmission cable.  Both ends are frozen in place and despite tapping, spraying with first Lanolin and then PB I still couldn’t free up the pin on one side.  What finally worked was a large socket on the pin head side, around the head so no pressure was applied to that side with a slide clamp tightened on the other side of the pin and the socket.  Still took all my strength, but it finally broke loose and allowed me to struggle with vise grips to get it the rest of the way out. 

Notice the line and block hanging (old kill switch line)

Transmision side of new cable

I had to remount the block on the wall using an epoxy paste.  I found it was too thick, Zach thought this might be why our old cable was bending.  So I planed it down with one of Zach’s hand planes, which took a little getting used to but worked well.  I realized that the shifter has three holes that the pin can go through creating a larger circle with each hole farther out and therefore greater cable bending.  I think this is the reason the old cable was getting bent, I probably did this wrong two years ago when I replaced it last!  So I used the inside hole this time and it seems to work much smoother.  All back together and we have forward, neutral and reverse, YEAH!!!

While I was down in that area I noticed that our cord for our kill switch gets caught on the back of the shifter.  So I shortened the line the block was attached to added more line and ran it through a guide which I screwed to the wall.  We can use our kill switch without lifting the seat again!

Not a fun place to hang out - but won't having a built in cooler be nice!

On to my internal cooler project, the hardest project I’m working on because of all the paint and fiberglass dust.  This will be day two working on sanding the cooler, yesterday I chipped off all the loose fiberglass and peeling paint and now I am trying to prep it for minor glass work on the bottom corners, 5200 to seal around the old side door, then prime and paint.  Hanging upside down in a small box sanding fiberglass is no fun.  I wore a mask and goggles, could barely breathe, could see very little and got incredibly itchy and light headed.  Taking breaks from being upside down, I prepped the surface of the inside of the other cockpit wall to remount the water pump block which is falling off.  After that was sanded and wire brushed I again used thickened epoxy and a clamp to remount.  By the end of the day the cooler still isn’t ready for glass, but I’m exhausted!

Water pump I originally installed a couple years ago - hope I did a better job this time!

I made a great breakfast before dropping Zach off at work of pork chops and eggs.  Put oil and gas in the outboard.  For dinner we still have some mussels left so I am going to make a white sauce with sausage and mussels over pasta – yum!