Engine Installation on the Far Reach

[John Stone]

We have a launch date of Wed 3 June. Hooray! LOL. We have focused our efforts be be ready.

Hauled some scaffolding to the boat this morning bright and early and set it up under the bow sprit. Gayle sanded and I applied a coat of varnish to the bowsprit. We will apply at least one more coat before we splash. We need to get some paint on the bulwark butt blocks which are on the inboard side of the bulwarks. We spent the rest of day installing the solar panel on/off switch, reinstalling the solar controller and the panel. I cut and crimped a few wires and used heat shrink terminals. The system energized as soon as I flipped the switch and when we left the house bank was up from 12.68V to 13.5V and climbing. It was nice to see free power going into the batteries.

Part of the engine install project was to relocate, build, a d install a new electrical panel. A sub part of the project was to rethink the location for the solar controller snd to add a solar panel on/off switch. To support the new plan, I milled, sanded, and painted a small strip of 1/2” thick wood and test fit it a couple days ago. I applied two coats of grey paint and installed it today in the aft quarter berth compartment. I mounted our old Blue Seas mini battery switch as the panel switch. It’s a small panel, only 30 watts, but has worked well for us the last couple years since we have very low power demands. I designed and left room for another switch and solar controller for an additional panel I would like to add at some point. It seems advantageous t be able to have two small panels to move around on their 10’ long power cords. We can have one on either or on both sides of the boat as the sun dictates. I like being able to move them around and keep them in the sunlight. The reality is because we can keep them out of the shade they make more power than you might think. Our power needs are usually only 2- 10 ah per day. I have some ideas about how to put together a second panel, necessary because Gantz (the maker of our panel) no longer seems to be in business.

I had planned to bend on the mains’l today but we were too focused on getting the solar running so it will likely be completed tomorrow.

[John Stone]

The boatyard slung the FR this morning so I can to the bare spots where she had been sitting on the keel blocks. We are, however, expecting rain tomorrow so not sure when we will have the job complete.

After we got the blocks moved I sanded the bare spots. I can apply multiple coats of barrier coat in a single day but it requires about three hours between coats. The breaks allow me some time for hard thinking, which my wife insists is called napping. Ha! What does she know?

It’s warm but the wind is also honking. Steady 20 with gusts to 30 kts. Not sure about the Wed AM launch….

[John Stone]

Launch tomorrow? No-can-do GI. Kind of a mess. The slip we reserved six weeks ago was used to temporarily berth another boat while their dock is repaired. We have been offered another slip that is only OK on a good day. So we are mulling it over. In the meantime we gave up our launch slot tomorrow at 0800.

On the good side we are pretty much ready to go. The bottom is painted and we are out of the slings. Most of the things we need on the boat have been loaded and stowed. Got a couple days of rain inbound.

Today I got successfully energized and tested the LED navigation lights.

Couple of minor things on the check list. Might be able to launch Monday. Will know more tomorrow.

[John Stone]

I applied the last of the anti fouling to the bare spots where the keel blocks were located. And we got the boat out of the slings and reblocked.

Then it rained for 40 days and 40 nights….

No launch this past Wednesday. We had lost our I thought reserved slip and then we had days of electrical storms forecasted. We decided to sit tight. But we now have an OK slip for our use. It’s the same one my sister and I departed from in Nov 2015 for the BVI. Our new launch date is next Wed 9 June. Hopefully it will stop raining by then.

Our insurance premium increased 25 percent. It has tripled in six years. We are insured for about 25 percent of the value of the boat. I may have to go to just liability. It’s crazy. Our policy does cover me singlehanding to the West Indies though. Most will not.

I’m my next life my boat will be a beater or trailerable.

[John Stone]

No boat work today. But I made the drive out to the yard to see how she faired with all the rain.

Not a drop in the boat. Each trip to the Virgin Islands the bilge is just as dry when we arrive. It will be interesting to see if the bilge is dry with the engine….

[Jim Walsh]

Buddy of mine left for Bermuda at noon today with his Bene 423 (fully crewed). Just a couple knots of wind and dense fog at the time....with a forecast for thunderstorms later in the day. I’m putting the time to good use triple checking everything. We have a forecast of sun mixed with clouds and 12 knot southwesterly winds tomorrow. I’ll be catching the outgoing tide through The Race and past Montauk Point. With any luck I’ll drop anchor in St. George’s harbor in about a week. First book on the agenda is the A. S. Berg biography of Lindbergh.

[John Stone]

Buddy of mine left for Bermuda at noon today with his Bene 423 (fully crewed). Just a couple knots of wind and dense fog at the time....with a forecast for thunderstorms later in the day. I’m putting the time to good use triple checking everything. We have a forecast of sun mixed with clouds and 12 knot southwesterly winds tomorrow. I’ll be catching the outgoing tide through The Race and past Montauk Point. With any luck I’ll drop anchor in St. George’s harbor in about a week. First book on the agenda is the A. S. Berg biography of Lindbergh.

Outstanding Jim. I’m green with envy. I wish you a safe rewarding passage. Take it easy on the Wahoo tacos. Send photos and voyage report when able.

[Keith]

God Speed Jim

[John Stone]

We launched the Far Reach yesterday 9 June. We spent about 30 minutes checking for leaks (none), running the engine, shifting into forward and reverse. We cast off about 0920 and motored north up the ICW anchoring near the head of Adam’s Creek just before it enters the Neuse River. The engine performed great. Gayle really enjoyed the new diesel inboard. She helmed pretty much the whole way (about 7.5 nm). It was relatively quiet. The boat tracked straight as an arrow.

I checked the stuffing box about 10 minutes into the trip and it was hot. I loosened the nut just a bit, while Gayle helmed, to get a few more drops of water. The stuffing box cooled right down.

We dropped the hook about 1030 and spent the afternoon reading, napping, and just enjoying being back on our boat on the water. We had a series of squalls come through. Lots of rain. The boat remains absolutely water tight with a completely dry bilge.

We weighed anchor about 0800 10 June. I set a round fender bout on the dinghy anchor and we practiced slow speed maneuvering around it on very calm water getting a feel for how she handled. We backed her up, turned 360’s around the buoy, and practiced stopping.

By about 0835 we were under way for Cherry Point. We can get 3,500 RPM on the engine not in gear. Under load in forward gear we could only get 3,000 RPM so the prop is over pitched. I’ll be in the water Saturday removing the blades to send them back to FlexOFold to get them replaced. The hub will remain on the shaft.

The propeller was very smooth with little vibration. We attained 5.8 kts at 1,800 RPM snd 6.2 at 2,200. At WOT we managed 7.4. Again, smooth water with 5-8 kts wind on the beam. Pretty good performance.

We made it into the slip easily. Backed to a stop in a third of the boat length. Slight prop walk to port in reverse. I am very happy with her performance. It was great to be back on the water. I don’t know how long it will take for a turn around on replacement propeller blades. I am guessing three weeks.

I’ll update one more time once we settle on the final prop diameter and pitch. Currently it’s a 16x12.

This essentially closes out this thread. Thanks to all who have made comments and who have enjoyed following along. It was a long project but I enjoyed it. I hope it inspires others to challenge themselves to confidently tackle projects they might otherwise thing they are not qualified to undertake. You are.

[wikakaru]

Congratulations, John, on being back in the water and to completing the project in such an exemplary fashion! May the new engine expand your cruising options and may you derive much enjoyment from the boat and its new addition.

I'm just back on the Cape Dory forum/board after a long winter/COVID hiatus. I hope to launch our CD22 Arietta today. She was pampered over the winter by Tim Lackey and is looking better than ever.

Smooth sailing,

Jim

[Keith]

Congratulations John, It's great to see her floating again.

Keith

[John Stone]

Congratulations, John, on being back in the water and to completing the project in such an exemplary fashion! May the new engine expand your cruising options and may you derive much enjoyment from the boat and its new addition.

I'm just back on the Cape Dory forum/board after a long winter/COVID hiatus. I hope to launch our CD22 Arietta today. She was pampered over the winter by Tim Lackey and is looking better than ever.

Smooth sailing,

Jim

Jim, did you have covid?

Tim is a master and ever practical in figuring out solutions that others want to over complicate.

Would love to see some pictures.

[John Stone]

Ha. Turns out I am not finished with this thread. Called Beta Marine today about the fact the engine will only get to 3,450 RPM. Farron was not having it. He said “might be the tach. Get a digital photo optic tach from Harbor Freight and confirm.”. So I did. $40. Turns out he was right. The spec sheet with the engine said it was tested without a load at the factory to 3,845 RPM. I warmed it up today. Disconnected the throttle linkage. Ran the engine up to max throttle and put the photo optic tachometer on it. 3,789 RPM. Brought it back down to idle. Connected the throttle/shift linkage and ran it back up 3,780 RPM. Dead on. So it’s the Beta tachometer. I think it can be adjusted but more important it means the prop is probably off only a little bit. Probably close to 3,400 RPM. Will take her out this weekend and run her up and check it with the photo optic tach. Then decide what to do.

[wikakaru]

Tim is a master and ever practical in figuring out solutions that others want to over complicate.

Would love to see some pictures.

I will start a separate thread for this. Be on the lookout for it...

[John Stone]

Gayle and I took the Far Reach out on a test run Saturday morning. We ran her across the Neuse River perpendicular to a light wind and mild current. We motored her at selected RPMs checking the Instrument gauge tachometer against the digital photo optical tachometer I purchased. Gayle steered a compass heading and worked the throttle while I compared the two tachometers being careful not to get my hand sucked into the water pump/alternator belt. The bottom line is at wide open throttle our Beta tach was 320 RPM low. So our Flex O Fold prop was actually attaining 3,280 RPM vice the ideal 3,600 RPM. The error rate was low at idle and increased in a linear manner as the throttle was increased.

I shared the info with Flex O Fold and they recalculated our prop specs. They report their computer calculation still shows 16X12 is right for boat and engine but also said that is not the reality so they have recommended we change to a 15X11. They are sending us new blades free of charge. I just have to return the old blades.

They told me one inch change in diameter corresponds to 250 change in RPM and one inch in pitch corresponds to 125-150 change in RPM. So we may end up about 50 RPM over 3,600 which Beta Engines says they prefer rather than be under on RPM.

Flex O Fold has been great through the whole process. It’s just one of those things.

To remove the prop I needed to get in the murky brackish water in our marina. We have alligators there. Most of the ones I have seen are on the smaller size of about 8’. But the wildlife officers told me there is a 12 footer just up the creek from our marina.

Yesterday, I donned my 3mm wetsuit, weight belt, and fins and rigged up the hookah and eased into the water. Gayle kept a lookout and handed me tools. I was prepared for a struggle with the prop but the two bolts I needed to remove to get the blades off came out easily. Even though the visibility under the stern was about 12” it was a simple event. We did not see any alligators. I don’t know if they saw me.

So, now I am waiting for the new blades to arrive from Denmark. In the meantime I will install the pram hood and pull the water tanks out of the boat to wash out the bilge. I also need to paint the bulwarks this summer. Can’t wait to get this project complete so we can start sailing.