One more big job done!

     I've finally finished the steering locker. I have all my shelves installed and braced, and since it was a little dark down there, I installed a couple of lights in there so I can find what I'm looking for. I have also started wiring my ISO transformer. I didn't understand how to hook that thing up so I contacted a marine electrician to come and show me how to do it but it would have cost $400.00 just to get him here and back to his shop so I decided I needed to do a little more research on the subject and see if I couldn't do it myself. I called the manufacturer and talked to one of their technical folks and he explained what I couldn't seem to understand. It wasn't really all that complicated once he explained the two different methods of wiring it up. He told me the method most often used and that turned out to be the easiest way to do it so I'm working on getting it all wired up. I'm having a lot of fun working with that #6 wire I used for the shore power line. I wish I had used something a bit smaller but now that its in there, I guess I will have to hook it up.

The Mast is Finally finished!

     The mast is finally all put together. It took some time, but there was a lot of equipment to install on the mast and the yardarms. It's ready to go on the boat now but I have to wait until I get the fly bridge finished up before I put it up. I will have to cut a hole in the roof to put it up so I don't want to get wet if it rains while I'm working on the fly bridge.

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More Mast Hardware

     I got my hinged mast step back from the welding shop and it looks like it is going to work great. I spent a few hours polishing it up a little although it didn't want to shine up as nice as the swivel did because the angle is extruded and that leaves a lot of imperfections in the surface which makes polishing a real challenge. I decided to hinge the step so I could easily lower the mast if I ran into a vertical clearance problem. Below are a couple different views of the step. The top picture shows the step in the closed position which is the position where the mast is in the upright position. You can see the hinge in the forefront of the picture. The bolt in the top part of the picture is a locking bolt that will lock the mast in the up position along with the forestays.

 

     The bottom view shows the step in the open position which is where the mast would be in the lowered position. The smaller inner box is screwed to the bottom of the mast while the outer angles are screwed to the deck.

 

 

Yard Arms and Mast Hardware

     I have finished my yard arms and they are ready to mount on the mast as soon as I get it painted. I used schedule 40 stainless steel pipe and polished it to a chrome like finish, a couple stainless steel flanges to mount them with and some end caps. They really look nice, and should provide a good mounting surface for some of my antennas.

     I've made three trips to the welding shop in the past few days, and I don't have my mast step and boom swivel completed yet. I had to have them change the hinged mast step because they put one of the hinge parts in the wrong place. I did get the boom swivel back (picture below) but I need to modify it just a bit to make it work properly. That's what happens when you design something yourself. You have to get it built before you can tell if it is going to work the way you want it to. It's hard to see if everything is going to clear when it moves, on the drawings. So far the problems have been minor so it will be easy to fix. This little contraption will allow the mast boom to swivel left and right as well as up and down.

This is my Mast Boom Swivel

 



Back to Work Again!

     I had to take some time off to visit my kids in Virginia last week but now I'm back at it, working on the Molly B. I spent most of today designing a mounting bracket for my anchor light. I got it designed and built so it's ready to mount as soon as I get the mast painted. I also spent some time pulling wires for my radar. This afternoon I had to go to the upholstery shop and pick up my cushions for the dinette seats and the seat on the bridge. So, I did manage to get a little done today.

Summer in Florida

     Yes, It's summer here in Florida also, mighty hot and lots of humidity. I've been working every day on the Molly B and getting some things done. The engine shutdown system didn't work out because I had the wrong circuit board. I had to upgrade to the 5 circuit board in order to hook up the generator, engines, and blowers. That's four circuits and the board I had only had three circuits. As soon as it arrives, I can complete the installation of the engine shutdown system. In the mean time I've been working on some wiring for my winch for the mast boom and the mast itself. I've been pulling wires through the mast and getting my radar mount finished up. I'm making progress as usual all be it a little on the slow side. I've also been dealing with radiation treatments for my prostate cancer so that has really slowed me down as well. I just can't seem to work more than a couple of hours a day and I'm worn out. My Dr. says that will pass in a month or so. Maybe then I can get a little more done each day. I'm getting so close to the launch of this project I really need to get it finished up and in the water! I'm getting really anxious the closer I get.

The Hot Days of Summer!

      Here it is, the first day of summer already. It's been in the 90's here in Florida for the past few weeks and I don't think it is going to cool off until fall. My boat building amplifies the heat by a good 15 to 20 degrees so it is really hot working in there. I'm trying to finish all the inside work because I have my AC running and that keeps me cool.

      I have finished the installation of all my exhaust hoses and I'm now working on installing my fire suppression system. I have my extinguisher mounted and I'm in the process of wiring the automatic engine shut down system. I think I'm a little over my head with this one, but I hope I can figure it out eventually. I have a three circuit control box and I really need a four circuit box which they don't make so I have to try to get by with the 3 circuit box. I think I can wire a couple things onto the same solenoid so one solenoid will shut down both items regardless of what is running or not running. I'll have to test the whole system when I get it all installed to be sure but I think it should work.