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Project Log:  Saturday, May 26, 2012

The day didn't start out that well.  I thought I'd go ahead and complete the run of the steering hoses back to the after steering room, getting the coils out of the way and avoiding any damage to them.

The first problem I discovered was that the existing opening into the aft compartment wouldn't work, as the fittings on the ends of the hoses were just too large for the clearance above the top of the adjacent center fuel tank.  I solved this problem by drilling a new access hole just to one side of the tank.

The real problem was that the hoses were too short.  Just too short.  The hoses needed some slack in them to accommodate the natural movement of the (yet to be installed) hydraulic steering piston to which they'd be attached, and this photo shows the best case; the second hose would need to be even longer to reach the far end of the cylinder (i.e more to the left of this photo).  Yes, I still needed to paint back there, but was awaiting the final installation of any supports required for the steering cylinder and autopilot pump.


And so it goes.  I'd order a new, longer pair of hoses and switch them out when they arrived.  A small setback, but easily corrected, and better to find out now. 

I did complete the run of the nasty coiled plastic hose (a different type than the upgraded main hoses that I selected) that would act as the compensating line between the autopilot pump and the helm, as this hose was long enough for the journey.  What miserable stuff that was to work with, nearly impossible to tame into a straight line.  I hated it, but at least the end was now in the compartment where it needed to be.


While I had the hole saws out, and before things progressed too much in the console, I created an access hole between the console and the space immediately behind, in the void above the eventual main cabin overhead where various critical electronics wiring and installation would be located.  These spaces needed to communicate to allow passage of various cables and wires between the electrical source and the instruments themselves. 

There wasn't a lot of room where this opening could be located, so I made it as large as possible within the confines of the space.  Later, I'd clean up the edges of the opening.

    

I continued with some wiring work in the console, this time with the three fuel tank gauges.  I omitted the lighting circuits for these gauges, as I thought that would add unnecessary complication and just be wasteful, but even so, each gauge required three separate wires:  battery power; fuel tank sender; and ground.  As elsewhere, I left the wires long for eventual connection to a nearby terminal block.


Also in the wiring mix for the upper portion of the console was the VHF radio.  While it was early for this sort of installation, the flush mounting of the VHF required that I do it sooner than later, to minimize the need to access the top of the console again in the future.  See, once I got all these wiring chores in the top half of the console complete, I'd be doing all the remaining work from the large opening below, and while I'd always be able to get into the top section by removing the engine gauge panel, I didn't want to have to do this more than needed.

The VHF was easy to install, but the lack of access to its outboard side meant that I couldn't install the supplied flush mount clamp, so I came up with a way to hold that side tightly, while still allowing removal someday if required.  Beneath the outer flange of the casing, where it sat on the panel, I applied a small piece of butyl tape as a basic adhesive, sort of like chewing gum, if you will, and beneath the console I used a small wooden wedge to secure that side of the VHF casing against the nearby wooden cleat, adding one screw through the wedge to ensure it stayed in place.  On the accessible side, I used the supplied flush-mount clamp.

    

I'd intended to do more work in the console, but at lunchtime the sky miraculously and instantly cleared, along with a cleansing breeze to sweep away fog and excess humidity, and I spent the remainder of the day doing things outside.
 

Total Time Today:  3.25 hours

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