Unfortunately, the painting of the bridgedeck keeps getting interrupted by thunderstorms… really good thunderstorms… so I’ve been working on other projects. I hope that next week will have a few dry days in a row that I can get to the boat during to finish the painting.
The projects I’ve managed to get a start on during this time are: re-plumbing the head, re-routing the water deck fill, and modifying the companionway dropboard rails.
All work was delayed by having to do a clean up of the interior of the boat. Soda blasting does a wonderful job of cleaning up the hull’s surface and prepping it for painting, but it also finds small vents and can make a major mess of the interior of the boat if you’re not careful to seal all of the vents… including small wiring conduits.
I’ve basically had to empty the cabin, and clean it from end-to-end. Oh well, chalk that up as another way to learn about my boat. I’ve finished most of the clean up from the baking soda disaster, but have left the bit under the cockpit area for later. Now, I just have to go through and re-load everything again. UGH!
During this time, while the forepeak was empty, I’ve finally gotten started on my head-pumpout design change. As part of my plans for outfitting the Pretty Gee for long-distance cruising, I wanted to provide a way to empty the holding tank when pumpout facilities were not available.
The way I decided to do it is as follows:
The head was originally designed so it can be flushed with either raw water from a through hull or fresh water, via the head sink. This hasn’t changed. It could also flush either to the holding tank or directly overboard via a diverter valve. I removed this diverter valve and changed it so the head now pumps directly into the holding tank.
Then I cut the hose going from the holding tank to the pumpout deck fitting and added a diverter valve to the line. In one position, the holding tank output goes to the pumpout deck fitting, in the other, the deck fitting is isolated and the holding tank output goes to a Whale Gusher diaphragm pump located next to the head itself. The output of this goes to the large seacock and through-hull that was previously used for dumping the head directly to the ocean.
I also cut a hole in the top of the holding tank and added a clear Beckson inspection deck plate. This allows me to check the volume of the holding tank, without having to open the plate. It also allows me to open the plate to clean the tank or pour in chemical treatments.
While this setup no longer allows me to pump the head directly to the sea, I don’t see that as a problem. If I am far enough out that I could pump the head out to the sea, I can also dump the holding tank to the sea. If I am too close to land to vent the head directly to the sea, as is often the case, since Buzzards Bay is a No Discharge Zone, I have to use the holding tank anyways.
The main reason, at least as far as I know, for being able to dump the head directly to the sea was because there was no provision for emptying the holding tank outside of a pumpout facility. To prevent the tank from filling up on longer voyages, it was necessary to vent the head directly overboard. Since I can now pumpout the tank whenever I want, this shouldn’t be a problem.
I hope to have the hoses and pump fully installed this weekend and will post photos when I get a chance.
Besides the head pumpout project, I’ve also re-routed the water deck fill. It is now located on the angled aft portion of the bridge deck, and looks quite good there. Having it on the angled section prevents water from pooling around the deck fill, which was a problem where it was located previously. You’ll be able to see this when I get the photos of the finished bridgedeck.
Also, as part of the bridge deck project, I rebuilt the companionway drop board rails, and added a hand rail to the starboard side of the companion way entrance, as well as added internal fast pins sockets to the drop board rail. This allows me to “lock” the drop boards in the drop board rails. On a monohull, this would be a great addition, since in the case of a knockdown or capsize, it would prevent the boards from falling out. I mainly did it as an additional security measure. Previously, it was possible to slide the dropboards up a bit and get a hand or so into the cabin. That is no longer possible with the fast pins are in place.
In the course of working on these other projects, I’ve found that the new bridge deck, with the additional storage it provides the cabin and the seating it provides the cockpit, has been a great upgrade to the boat’s design and functionality.
I still have to make a new companionway ladder and fashion a door for the new bridge deck storage locker. I think I’ll make the door for the locker serve two purposes—act as a door, but also function as additonal counter space for the galley when opened.