Water Tank Replacement

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We just finished the install of our second water tank and we are in the process of cleaning up the boat and making the main cabin liveable. As unexpected boat projects go, this was as typical, quite expensive and very time consuming, but I am sure those memories will fade as we enjoy running water on the boat.

So here is the story from beginning to end, I will try to keep it as brief as I can.

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Refit Part 7 – Return to Loyalist

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First the good news, the arch part of the refit is going really well, we are getting down to details and most of the hard work is done.  Dave from Quinte Canvas finished the enclosure, I got the solar panels mounted with help from my friend Brian, a retired design Prof who is a dab hand with a trim router. The solar panels where originally mounted on the bimini with zips, I made panels from Starboard to support the solar panels on the arch and this frees the binini to allow it to fold.  The system I used allows for the solar panels to be removed for the winter or if we are worried about storms.  As we had moved back to Loyalist Cove Marina for work on the tanks project, we had Dave P and Dixson do the heavy lifting of installing a new set of house batteries, we are now running 4  SMS AGM-400 batteries replacing NSB M12-210 units that have gotten weak with age.  The new batteries are the same package with 185Ah vs 210Ah of the old batteries, the new batteries are designed for longer life so hopefully the small difference in capacity will not be an issue over time.

With the new batteries and the solar panels reinstalled, we can put a big tick in the “Done” column for the electrical system.

With the major work finished some details can be attended to, the MOM 8a Man Overboard Module  has been reinstalled on the port quarter and the new Transport Canada life ring is on the starboard side.  Kathleen spent a hour or two on the arts and crafts required to get the lettering on and she did a great job.

 

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Now to the not-so-good news, our project to replace the water tanks is still going on.  We discovered that the starboard tank vent which drains to the bilge was initially draining in to a pocket between the bulkhead for the end of the berth and a cross member.  This pocket had no drain to the bilge and when I noticed some damage and poked my finger right through the 3/8 ply bulkhead.  Rude words were said.  I am not going to go into all the details here, I will save that for a long form post on the tanks project.  After looking at the large hole left when I cut out the rot we decided that we wanted Loyalist to help with the glass work.  A quick call to Dave Hinton and we were on our way to Bath.

Dixson was able to repair the bulkhead and make a drain for the pocket. With the repair done we got the first tank installed and we now have running water for the first time in several weeks. We ran out of time to finish the second tank but Kathleen was very happy with progress so far.

 

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Our progress has been slower than planned and the to-do list is still long and as a result our plan to sail the Lake Ontario 300 race has been dropped and we will be doing a shake down cruise instead on the same weekend.  This will avoid the  delivery to and from Port Credit and allow us some breathing room.

Refit Part 6 – Home Port Achieved

This weekend we passed an important milestone, we moved Kinship back to Confederation Basin in downtown Kingston.  It looks like we turned up way to early to the party but we are happy to be back.

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Confederation Basin is 30 minutes less travel time from Ottawa and we don’t have to drive if we want to buy food or eat out, so life is a lot simpler.    Cutting the cord at Loyalist Cove was hard, having skilled people around has been a big help, we were made very welcome and we were able to get a lot done.  Before leaving we installed the radar and wind generator on the arch with help from Loyalist staff and we sent Kathleen up the mast to move the topping lift to the right side of spreaders before putting the boom back into place.

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Kathleen up the mast.

DSC00238Here I am wiring up the radar, sitting on the arch made this quite easy as everything was to hand.DSC00240

After we took the ladder off the boat the last thing to was to remove the tether from the wind generator and test the systems.  Everything on the arch is working well. we have to add the solar panels and the 2 sat phone systems and rig the dinghy lift but we are getting closer.  Dave from Quinte Canvas has started work on the new bimini and enclosure, the frames are in place and he has made his patterns.  Now it is a race between Dave finishing up and the mass invasion of Kingston may flies.

Kinship is cleaned up and looking great at least on the outside.  On the inside we are still in the process of replacing the water tanks, the first one has been built, but more on that next time.

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