Winter of 2015 to 2016

Taking the Boat back on a Supposedly Ugly Day

Supposed to be Windy: Hardly enough wind to sail

Just floating along in what was supposed to be bad weather

Then the blue sky appeared

At Milford, Under Wraps with the Mast Out

Here is a list of the Work Completed over the Winter of 2015 to 2016

These are in no particular order. Additionally, it shows the number of systems that are important for cruising that were much less important for racing.

Repair  and refinish Teak and Holly Sole: One of the things that struck me about Calypso, and all three other C&C 121's that I looked at was the poor maintenance of the wood work, in particular the cabin deck (or sole).  It was discolored with many "water spots".

The Boat in disarray because I pulled the floor boards out and took them home.

Refinishing the floor boards

Working on the deck on Christmas Day, one of the better Presents from mother nature for Me

Calypso out of the Water with Its Mast Down

Added a Serpentine pulley kit to the Engine: As noted in a previous post, the alternator/water pump belt on the engine were going into self destruct mode rapidly because the 100 amp (after market) alternator was putting too much drag on them.  After fooling around with replacing the belt and reducing the amperage put out by the alternator through voltage regulation, I decided it was time to solve the problem through the alternator manufacturer's solution, a serpentine pulley kit for the engine.  The installed kit is shown in the picture.  So far it has worked.

The Serpentine Belt and one of the Pulleys

Replaced the Lifesling Bag: When I acquired Calypso it had Lifesling as the throwable safety device attached to the stern pulpit of the boat.  Apparently it had been on the stern pulpit since the boat was originally put in the water in 2003 because it was in a state of advanced deterioration.  I got a new bag as a Christmas present.

Check the Binoculars: I could never seem to get the binoculars that I bought when I first acquired Starwood to work right.  So I thought that I might have to replace them.  But after finding a copy of the manual for the binoculars online, I found that it was a short circuit between the users ears rather than a problem with the binoculars.

Water in Saildrive: In the winter 2014-5 the mechanic found some milkiness in the saildrive lubricant and change a couple of seals.  Toward the end of the 2015 summer, I again found the milkiness and it got worse quickly.  So the mechanic completely disassembled it and replaced all the seals.

Replaced the Bow Pulpit: As I showed in my last blog (Summer of 2015) a storm came through, a boat drgs its mooring and smashed the bow pulpit.  Over the winter it was replaced with a new bow pulpit.

Repaired Saltwater Vent Loop for the Engine: During a fall inspection of the boat, the mechanic found that a hose for the saltwater vent loop of the engine had sprung a leak. And it was leaking first on the charger/inverter (which caused the C/I problem) and then into the footing for aft cabin wall (which caused the bottom of the wall to rot away).  So three problems were resolved.

Repair Engine Water Strainer: Additional the strainer on the engine water intake was repaired.

Speed/Depth Sensor Thru Hull Calking: In checking out the boat after it had been pulled for the winter, I noticed that the calking was pulling away from the housing for the speed/depth sensor as shown in the following picture.  It was repaired.

The White Calking is splitting off the sensor housing

Fixed LPG tank and valve: Even after replacing the gas sensor for the stove/oven, the gas was not flowing freely to the stove; it took 10 to 20 tries to get it fired up.  Further, I could not get the LPG tank out of its enclosure.   I had the repairs done and the tank replaced.

Updated the Chartplotter software and hardware: When I acquired Calypso it had instruments that did not allow the chartplotter on the deck to display the radar.  So I updated the instruments and had my friend Alex help me to install them.

Replaced lights with LED lights interior: As part of my updating of the electrical systems, I continued to change the interior lights from halogen to LED bulbs; halogen uses a great deal of electricity and become very hot, while LED bulbs use little electricity, last a long time, and produce no heat.

Added Blocks to the Boom Harness:  Over the summer of 2015 I discovered that my first design for a boom harness did not work as I expected to, so I revised the harness by adding blocks to allow better tightening of the harness.  Over the summer I found that I will still doesn't work as well as I would like.

Added a Flag halyard: Most cruising boats the size of Calypso come with flag halyards, racing boats, not so much.  So I added a flag halyard.

Replaced the Wind Sensor: As noted in a previous blog, the wind direction sensor fly was missing when I acquired Calypso.  So one of the repairs I made was to purchase and install a new fly.  Over the course of the summer of 2015 I replaced it two more times.  Finally, I called the manufacturer, Garmin, who did not acknowledge that they had a defective product, but did recommend replacing it.  So over this winter I had the new type of sensor installed.

Replaced Sump and Bilge Auto Float switches:  The mechanic noticed that both float switches were not (floating) and consequently needed to be replaced.  I had them both replaced.

Repaired the Hatches: Two of the hatches had covers for the mechanisms missing and one did not stay open properly.  So I  purchased the maintenance kit and tried to repair them.  The net result is that they worked properly for about two weeks

Replaced the Locks: Most of the locks on the boat were inoperable.  So I've had them replaced.  Now I need time to take them off, one at a time, and get them rekeyed so that they use the same key.

Top Down Mast Inspection: In the fall of 2015 I wanted the yard to perform a number of maintenance and repairs on the mast.  While most of these could have been performed while the mast was up, they would be easier with it down.  I wanted the stays checked, getting two of the mast lights working, and touching up mast paint.  One item can only be performed while the mast is out of the boat, replacing the mast collar.  The mast collar is the fitting that holds the blocks at the base of the mast.  It goes through into the cabin.  The collar that came with the boat is made of a low grade aluminum and is oxidizing at a rapid rate leaving a white powder all over the interior.  So I purchase a new stainless steel one to put in.  Unfortunately the yard left this project until the boat was almost ready to launch then found that the screws were frozen in place and none of the normal methods of extraction worked.  So that repair will have to wait until the winter of 2017-2018 when I plan to have the mast unstopped again.

Problem with filling water tanks: During the summer 2015, we had problems filling the water tanks.  When we checked it out, we couldn't find any problems

Refrigerator
The refrigerator had been a problem from the time I acquired the boat.  It would run and run and not cool.  During the summer of 2015, I tried adding refrigerant to the cooling system to no avail; it seemed to work a little better for a short time then it was back to being warm.  And there were other problems, the broken handle for example that I replaced in the winter of 2014-2015.

New Refrigerator Cooling System: One of the major items for the winter of 2015 to 2016 was the replacement of the cooling system for the refrigerator.

Repaired the Refrigerator gas compression struts: When I acquired Calypso, in 2014, one of the struts that held the top refrigerator doors was missing and the other had loose hinges. When I found the missing strut buried in one of the lockers, I realized that the lining of the refrigerator was not strong enough for the stress that was being put on it by the strut. So I put larger screws, but I found out during the summer of 2016 that these screws also pulled out. Now I will need a new design to repair this defect.

The Refrigeration Unit

Replaced the Light in the Refrigerator: When I acquired the boat the light in the refrigerator was not working. I replaced it with an LED fixture.

Added two New Fenders with Covers: I found that two fenders for the boat was inadequate in many situation; that 4 was really much better.  Further, for the Awlgrip finish, plush covers were advised.  I got the additional fenders and added the covers.  However, during the summer one of the new fenders was stolen.

Link GPS and "Otto Pilot": When I acquired Calypso it came with all Garmin brand instruments and electronics except for the autopilot that was Raymarine.  In 2014 and 2015 I was learning how to use the instrument effectively and how to configure them to allow me to use them effectively.  Additionally, I was learning the how to use the autopilot, which I call "Otto".  In the process I found that "Otto" could follow the path that I laid out on the navigation system, but that the supposed communications path didn't work; the sensor information was not transferred from the instruments to Otto.  So I had Cliff install a different type of communications link which works.  However, over the summer, between one thing and another (instrumentation glitches), I never spent the time to fully activate the link.

Replace Electrical Panel Lights: Several of the LED lights on the main breaker panel didn't light up.  Now they do.

Repair Roller Furling for the Spinnaker
While all of the components for the roller furling mechanism worked, the amount of tension required to keep the sail's tack line taut deformed the retractable bowsprit sufficiently that the line was never taut.  I suspect that the design of the bowsprit didn't envision the roller furling, nor did I.

Added a Bobstay: Bobstays holds a bowsprit in place by holding it to ensure it would not break upwards under load. While the line has been in use for perhaps 1000 years, until the advent of roller furling spinnakers they were not used for retractable bowsprits.  Using a high strength non-stretch line, I had a bobstay added.

Added a Bungee cord for bobstay: After the bobstay was added, it became immediately apparent it would be in the water any time the bowsprit was retracted.  So we added a bungee cord to keep the bobstay out of the water.  These is shown in the picture below.

The Bobstay and bunge cord with the Bowsprit retracted

Water in Engine Compartment: Over the first two summers I had Calypso it was constantly getting water into the engine compartment.  When we discovered the leak in the engine vent loop (see above) it solved the problem of where the water was coming from.

Added a Hook for the trash bags: In Starwood, there was a hook on which we could hook a trash bag.  There was no such thing on Calypso, so in the winter of 2014 - 2015 I added a small trash can under the sink.  During the summer of 2015, I found that it was not used, so I added a hook, in the form of a collapsible cleat and this worked.

Tried to fix the swim platform (again): While getting the boat ready to go into the water I found that the swim platform actuator was not working again.  However, neither the yard's mechanic nor I could get it repaired.  I finally did in the summer of 2016.