The Motorsailer Project

Project Log: Friday, May 8, 2015

Though I'd made good progress through the week, most of the jobs had been hampered somewhat by a continuing--if not necessarily surprising--need for different or additional pieces and parts: the scourge of the punch list. My Projects, Interrupted list included the electric bilge pump installation; manual bilge pump installation; saltwater washdown system; and mizzen mast wiring. But new deliveries had rounded out the materials inventory, and I couldn't wait to get back to these several items and fully complete them.

First on the list: the saltwater washdown. The new 316SS pipe nipple (1/2" NPT male pipe threads to 3/4" hose adapter) had arrived, and with no further ado I installed it to the base of the deck hose fitting and secured the hose, completing that installation.

To complete the two bilge pumps' installation, I'd required some different hose for the electric pump (1-1/8", now on hand), plus different bronze adapters for the discharge (since I'd originally planned--and purchased for--3/4" hose). To begin, I pre-assembled a bronze tee, 1-1/2" hose adapter (for the manual pump), and 1-1/8" bushing and hose adapter, then spun this assembly onto the new discharge through hull in the lazarette.

With my messenger line in place, it was pretty quick to pull the new 1-1/8" hose into the bilge, where I attached it to the pump and secured it as needed on its run aft, to keep it clear of the shaft.

When I ran in the new hose, I also ran in a new length of messenger line, which someone might thank me for someday. I secured the ends in the engine room and lazarette as needed.

I completed the electric pump's hose run by leading the hose into a loop above the discharge, then connected it overboard. While the high loop increased the pump's head, which would reduce its capacity, since the electric pump was just for convenience and reduction of nuisance water, I didn't see an issue, and preferred to reduce or even eliminate the possibility of backflow and siphoning should the outlet become submerged.

Afterwards, I made up the final length for the manual pump's discharge. It's a busy little place back there in what I like to call the after steering room, but nowhere near as chaotic as these photos would make it appear. All systems here were easily accessible for future inspection and maintenance needs.

The biggest project of the day, in terms of basic time-elapsed if not in difficulty or importance, was to install the shower sump pump. When I first installed the shower pan, with its new drain hose led raw into the bilge pending final connection, I'd originally thought of running it to an enclosed submerged pump chamber somewhere in the aft bilge, but now that the time had come to actually proceed, my thoughts had changed, and instead I chose a stand-alone non-submerged sump pump for the job.

During the week, as I worked on nearby projects, I'd spent quite a bit of time contemplating the shower sump also, and had looked into (and ultimately rejected) several possible installation locations, including a locker beneath the dinette (and immediately adjacent to the head), a space at the bottom part of the starboard storage locker, and others. Because my initial plan had been to locate an enclosed sump chamber in the bilge, I'd purposefully led wiring for the new pump with this in mind, dead-ended at a terminal block in the starboard storage locker just forward of the galley--what used to be the hanging locker--where it made logical sense for my vaguely-planned installation. So this wiring lead was a factor in the pump's final location, though certainly I could have worked with this no matter what.

More important was the shower drain hose itself: the new pump had to be within reach. I'd used a long length of the 1/2" reinforced hose to give plenty of installation flexibility, and it was likely that it would reach anywhere I logically wanted it to, but this was a practical consideration that, once I narrowed down the locations, would drive the final installation more than any other--this and the means of getting the water overboard.

The net result of all this unspoken cogitation was that I decided to locate the pump in the plumbing machinery space beneath the v-berth, where the saltwater washdown pump and septic system were also installed. Access to the space was good, and it seemed to meet all the requirements. First, though, I had to be sure that I could lead the shower's drain hose forward to the space, which, without much difficulty, I did: it led nicely up the port side of the bilge and into the open area just forward of the septic tank, where the platform ended and the bilge was once again exposed.

I tried out a couple possible locations within this locker before settling on a nice area at the forward end of the port side. Initial access to screw in the pump was a little tight, and the nature of the pump base bracket (as is so frustratingly often the case--I just don't understand why mounting bases need be so small, as if another 1/2" would make any difference other than to allow for actual practical installation) was to obviate easy installation of the fasteners and fender washers required to secure the pump through its flexible mounts. I had to tape the washers into place first, as they needed to slip beneath the pump housing and couldn't be threaded onto the screws first.

But despite this, installation went pretty easily, and with the pump mounted I made the suction hose connection after first adapting the 1/2" hose up to the 3/4" required for the pump inlet, using a bronze coupling and two bronze hose connectors of the appropriate size.

Next, I turned to the pump wiring. For this pump, which would see intermittent use during normal practice (as the shower pan filled up with water, a user might choose to turn the pump on and discharge it), I elected to provide a handy switch in the shower area. The switch I chose had not yet arrived, but I led in the pair of wires required to the utility space outboard of the head, into which bulkhead I'd eventually install the switch. Then, I made up the remaining wiring as required, with a fuse holder in the space near the pump, and eventually led the wires back to the terminal block containing the remainder of the circuit leading back to the main switch panel at the helm.

Throughout this entire process, leading back several days, I'd also been thoughtfully considering the location of the discharge for this pump. Once more, hose and installation access--and logic and practicality--ruled the day. One thought I'd had--and the leading candidate--had been to run the hose into the utility space outboard of the head, and install a discharge beneath the rubrail, near the vent for the septic tank. But I ultimately rejected this for a few reasons. First, and foremost, I didn't think there was room to drill another large hole through the tiny section of bulkhead that communicated between the head and forward cabin machinery spaces. This narrow, V-shaped space was already chockablock with various wires and other previously-installed hoses for the septic system and related.

Even if space existed for another 1-1/8" hole (which I didn't think it did), access for drilling would tough to impossible with the existing installations, and with the tightness of the space from the head side (photo on the right--any new hole would have to be in that little wedge all the way at the bottom). Note that the two red wires on the right are the yet-to-be-finalized wires leading to the eventual switch for this pump in the head.

I considered other possible ways to lead in the hose, perhaps through the bottom of the space, into the platform where the toilet was installed, and up a tiny hidden space at the back side of the panel, the only such spot that communicated invisibly with the open space beyond, but this was too complicated and challenging, once more, to drill the access holes.

Perhaps I would have somehow made this all happen, but for the nagging idea that I didn't like the thought of this discharge being halfway up the hull: it would be sure to dribble and stain, and would also be prominent in its discharge-ness while in use.

Finally, I took some measurements from outside the boat to determine roughly where the waterline was in relation to some known fixtures so I could translate it to inside the hull. I measured down from the aftermost round deadlight in the hull, which happened to be directly above the space in which I was working, and eventually determined that if I installed a through hull in the boottop--well above the actual waterline, but thankfully also beneath the top of the v-berth platform, where it had to be in order to work. With all the complications considered, this ended up being the best place for the discharge. To ensure my calculations before committing to the final hole, I drilled a small pilot hole, and from within check the location. Perfect. Access from within was pretty easy.

I drilled the appropriately-sized hole for the 3/4" through hull, and even took a picture showing a view one would never otherwise get.

I carefully checked the through hull threads before installation, hand-turning the nut all the way down the shaft a couple times to make sure it would be easy to install, after my near-disaster with the bilge pump fitting earlier. This one worked well, so I went ahead with the installation: lots of sealant, tape to hold the fitting in place, and then installing the nut from within to secure the fitting, after which I cleaned up the excess sealant.

From there, it was simple to install the final length of hose and clamp it securely, completing the project (other than the switch, which was on its way after a short backorder).

The day was drawing to a close, and rather than start anything new and unrelated, I returned to the mizzen mast, and completed securing the radar cable with new clamps now on hand.

The final step for the mizzen at this point was to reinstall various cleats and a halyard winch, all of which I located roughly based on photos of the original spar before I disassembled it. Repurposing an older Barient #10 winch for the halyard (I found three that matched; none of the winches that came off this boat originally matched, and all were weird somehow; fortunately I had a supply of old winches from other boats to choose from), I mounted it on the port side of the mast, where one had originally been, along with three cleats--one per side, plus one on the forward side of the mast for the mainsheet, perhaps. The winch needed some basic servicing, as the pawls were gunked up with inappropriate grease, but I installed it regardless, as the servicing could occur later. I just wanted it secured to the mast so I could wrap up the mizzen work and move on to the mainmast shortly.