Leaky Keel Bolt

The following was overheard on Channel 16 earlier this summer:

Boater, "May Day, May Day, MAY DAY!!!!!"

Coast Guard, "Vessel hailing May Day, what is the nature of your emergency?"

Boater, "My boat's broke!!!"

Not to make fun of another's misfortune, but now I know how he feels - my boat's broke!

A couple months ago, we discovered that Joli's forward-most keel bolt was leaking.  The top of the nut and bolt sticks up through the stringer inside a recess in the stringer.  We had noticed water in that recessed pocket and thought it was from rain coming in through the leaking hatch above it.  After further inspection, we determined that the bolt was leaking.  After consulting with Karl at Sassy Marina, we decided to haul the boat early and get the keel removed to assess the situation.  After three days hanging in the slings on the keel stand, the guys at Sassy finally got the keel separated.  It was really stuck on there, but not sealed, allowing the one bolt and maybe others to leak.  We will probably be able to let everything dry out over the winter, clean up the bolts and reattach the keel using 5200 sealant.  It shall never come off again!!! So, my boat's not actually broke, just undergoing maintenance that is not that unusual for a 45 year old boat.

The notch in the lead that you can see above is where the nut was removed from the bottom side of the keel bolt that was leaking.  The bolt has also been removed.

If you look closely, you can see the bolts coming up through the lead keel.  There are 11 keel bolts along the center line and 2 smaller ones on either side up forward where the lead mushrooms out on the bottom of the boat.

Summer Projects - New Batteries, Instruments and More Progress on Hard Top

We've been busy with three big projects this summer - new batteries, 2 new battery chargers and battery monitors and all the wiring that goes with it; new instruments and wiring; and finishing up the hard dodger and bimini top.  The 2 new battery banks, one 12 and one 24 volt, are complete and all the big loads are fused.  Bryan worked hard on that project and he is very satisfied with the results.  It all looks great - neat, orderly, labelled and everything is functioning well.  He also pulled a new backbone cable for the the NEMA 2000 instrumentation system.  I went up the mast a couple days ago to install the ultrasonic wind instrument on top of the mast.  I'll post the video as soon as I do the editing.  So now we once again have depth, boat speed, and all kinds of weather indications, which we've been missing.  We've also been working on various smaller projects such as new radios and book shelf in the nav station; cleaning, sanding and oiling cabin floor boards and general organizing and pitching junk that has accumulated over the years.  We managed one trip to Put-in-Bay for the 4th of July which was very fun and relaxing with great sailing on the 4th of July to PIB and another great sailing day the next day to return to Sandusky.  We enjoyed the company of my sister Betsy and brother-in-law Bob and we wished we could have spent more time at the bay.  Otherwise, we've been working, working working! Good thing we both like working on the boat.  We had one set back in our refit efforts - we discovered a leaking keel bolt.  OH, NO!  We will have to haul the boat out in early September so that we can have the keel removed and assess the situation.  It could be a fairly easy fix, or...  If the keel bolts are bad, we will have to ship the keel to Mars Metal in Canada.  The stringer that the bolt is recessed in will also have to be assessed to determine what kind of repair may be necessary.  Oh, boy, it's always one thing or another with an old boat.  Again, good thing we both like the "old boat lifestyle"!

Above - old compartment in nav station for the old radar CRT and radios 

Above - two new radios and book shelf. Bryan will add a bar across the books to keep them in place. He's "thinking about it" to come up with a simple, functional design.

Above - refurbished floor boards.  There are 31 total floor boards made of solid teak slats.  It was quite a project hauling them out of the cabin and onto the dock for treatment with the 2-part teak cleaner, sanding and oiling.  It took us three weekends and some work during the week to finish them. 

The new hard top dodger fitted to the boat.  Next step will be to paint the bimini top and dry-fit it to the boat.  We would like to finish all this before hauling the boat in September. 

We added a cut-out above the companionway to eliminate the head knocker that was on the canvas dodger.  It usually took 2 or 3 good knocks before one knew to duck when going down below.

The metal frame was designed and built by Bryan and then welded by a local guy.  The bimini will be mounted on the upper supports.

Above - old 24-volt battery bank.  The bow thruster, refrigeration and winches are powered by the 24-volt system.

New 12-volt battery bank with the one old engine starter battery two fuses for the main panel and the Automatic Relay Control.

New Fuel Tanks

Joli has 4 tanks, 2 water and 2 fuel, on either side of the engine compartment.  On the port side, the tanks were built in to a triple berth arrangement and on the starboard side, they are under a double berth in Lorraine's Cabin.  The fuel tank on the starboard side had been removed before we bought the boat.  Unfortunately, the fuel fill hose and deck fitting had not been removed and someone had tried to refuel without the tank installed.  Yuck!  That resulted in Lorraine's Cabin smelling like diesel fuel no mater how much cleaning and deodorizing I attempted.  Last fall, Bryan decided it was time to remove and replace the remaining water tank in Lorraine's cabin, the water tank in the triple berth area (not in use) and the fuel tank (currently in use along with the aft fuel tank for about 85 gallons) in the triple.  The goal is to install 4 new fuel tanks to increase our fuel capacity to 250 gallons.  We have 3 water tanks currently in use - one in A.J.'s Cabin and 2 under the dinette with capacity of about 300 gallons so we are all set for water.  Bryan started the demolition in the fall and last weekend, Bob & Beth came up to Sassy with us to get the water tank out of Lorraine's cabin.  Success! After lots of sawing fiberglass and foam, prying and pulling, it came out.  We also removed the pipe berth, the fuel and water fill hoses and the vent hoses.  Then Beth and I spent the rest of the day chipping out the old, stinky, moldy, nasty foam and fiberglass that had surrounded the water tank.  The original installation was certainly in there to stay and it put up a fight the whole way.  By the end of the day, the area where the 2 tanks will go was ready for sanding and painting and it already smells much better!

Update on Hard Top Dodger

It's coming together! Lots of thinking, planning and hard work has resulted in a great looking dodger. I can't wait to see it on the boat.  You can see the first few layers of the bimini top on the mold behind the dodger; however, we had a slight setback.  The photo showing the side view of the frame for the dodger looks great on the work table, but when we brought the frame up to the boat to see how it fit, it DIDN'T.  Bummer! So, we will have to cut off the mounting pads and come up with plan "B".  I think we are still way ahead of where we would be for $$$ if we had a professional designing and building it for us and it will be a better design. PLUS, we seem to love the hard work of owning a big, old boat!

Put-in-Bay Sunrise

I'm dreaming of summer time and sailing!  This winter has been fairly mild so far, but I'm still ready for summer.  Here's a short video of the sun coming up in the mooring field at Put-in-Bay.

Link Put-in-Bay Sunrise

Trip to Sassy Marina, Algonac, MI 2016

September 16, 2016 - We left our homeport of Sandusky, OH on Friday afternoon, headed for our last stop of the summer at Put-in-Bay before continuing north up to Sassy Marina for our winter haul-out.  It was a beautiful evening and we all had big smiles on our faces.  Shortly after getting out on the lake, a rum storm moved in and didn't let up until after midnight.  A good time was had by all!
Saturday was windy and gray but fairly warm with winds at 8-10 knots out of the south to south-east, perfect for sailing across Lake Erie.  By the time we made it to the mouth of the Detroit River, the wind had built to 20 knots and the waves were stacking up.  For the first time in 10 years of winter storage at Sassy Marina, we were able to sail up the Detroit River.  It was awesome!  We made it to Bayview Yacht Club that evening and enjoyed a good dinner and drinks on the lawn afterwards.  Sunday was beautiful and sunny but the wind had died down quite a bit.  We were able to sail across Lake St. Clair and took the jib down and put away for the winter once we got in the St. Clair River.  We really appreciated the extra hands as we finished the preparations for taking the mast down and storing the boat for the winter.  It was another great trip up to Algonac, Michigan.

Check out my first edited video.  It's a little rough but not too bad for a beginner.  I hope you like it!

Link - Trip to Sassy 2016