anchor

Rhapsody came with a 35-pound CQR on a short 1/4" chain plus nylon rode, riding on a small side-mounted roller. The mounting was not particularly satisfactory because the anchor could swing into the bobstay, and was mounted off to the side of the bowsprit.

Original CQR installation on bronze roller

Anchor locker containing 250 feet of 5/8 rode, 50 feet of 1/4 chain, and a spare 250 foot 1/2 inch rode. (Plus the usual junk!)

Original deck showing bronze deck plate for anchor rode

We installed a large stainless steel roller, a manual Simpson Lawrence Seatiger windlass, and 200 feet of 5/16 HT (G4/G43) rode. The windlass was mounted on top of the bowsprit, feeding chain through an existing gap in the teak. ABS pipe was sanded, heated, and "beated" to fit the oval chain feed of the windlass and epoxied into the deck for a chainpipe.

New Manson Supreme 35-pound anchor on new rode

Seatiger windlass installed on top of bowsprit

ABS pipe used as a through-deck fitting

Chainpipe from the inside, with 200 feet of 5/16 HT chain piled under it. The line is 50 feet long and provides the ability to cut the anchor and rode free in the case of an emergency, while retaining the anchor and rode in a lesser emergency.

A piece of the ABS pipe was split and screwed to the caprail to provide chafe protection. When taut, the chain just touches the teak and stainless

Final install from the front. The anchor is lashed to the lifeline stanchion, even though it's rock-solid without the lashing. And I think this is a cool picture....

The original rode was left in place, with a hook installed on the deck pipe cover for quick and easy retrieval.

We still have to find a place to store the CQR, which will serve as a secondary or backup anchor.

The Head

Rhapsody came with an old Raritan head with all the usual age-induced "features" - dry seals, random leaks, and even a cracked pump body. I tossed it and installed a new Jabsco toilet. I considered the Lavac, but was under the mistaken impression that the Jabsco would be a simpler affair. If only!

The original Raritan head

My first surprise was after installing and testing (not _that_ sort of testing, thankfully!) was water seeping from under the setee in which the holding tank is built. Re-sealing the openings (intake, vent, and pumpout) didn't help, so I used my reciprocating saw (part of a Ryobi kit, which has so far been a really great set of cheap power tools) to open up the plywood-and-epoxy tank, but still could not find the leak. I coated the inside of the tank with several layers of Gluvit, which stopped the waterworks.

After moving the pump to the other side and rebuilding the floor plate, I managed to get the Jabsco head shoehorned in, and then ignored everything for a couple months. I finally finished the plumbing, which ended up as this:

1. Intake water comes through a seacock to the head pump
2. Water from the head pump is routed through a vented loop and back to the toilet bowl. The vented loop keeps our boat from sinking in the event of head pump failure, and we continue to keep the seacock shut when we aren't aboard
3. The toilet discharges into the holding tank. The holding tank is a plywood and epoxy built-in unit of about ten gallons. It's located under a settee immediately adjacent to the head, so plumbing is minimal.
4. The pumpout pickup exits the tank to a T-fitting, where
1. A deck fitting may be used to pump out the tank, or
2. A Guzzler diaphragm pump may be used to pump the holding tank overboard through a seacock. This seacock stays closed and locked except when we're actually pumping waste overboard.

Jabsco head installed and plumbed. A little industrial, but very functional

engine data

Rhapsody is powered by a W30 Westerbeke 4 cylinder diesel engine turning a Westerbeke "short sailing" transmission, then a 1 1/4" shaft, then a 14x16 (?) right-hand bronze 3-bladed propeller.

Engine data:
Serial Number 1517C102
Model WESTERBEKE30
Spec HBW100
BLOCK MFG IN ENG

Oil Filter:

• Fram PH8A 
• AC Delco PF2
• Baldwin B-2
  Bosch 0-451-104-001
  Deutsch D539
  Donaldson LFP17-0008
  Fleetguard LF3313
  Goodyear L-8A
  Hastings P115A
  Kendall K1
  Knecht OC-4
  Lee LF-1A
  Lucas F-678
  Motorcrap FL-1A
  Napa 1515
  Pennzoil PZ-1
  Purolater PER-1A
  Toyota 15601-41010
  Wix 51515
  

Secondary Fuel Filter: FRAM C1191A

Primary fuel filter: Racor 500 FG with 20 micron filter element

Oil Capacity: 5qt 30WT (Delo 30 Weight Oil)

Transmission Capacity: ~1/2qt ATF
Transmission Plug: 17mm (11/16 in a pinch)

Raw water pump V-Belt: part number 9375 or Gates 17375

Computers and navigation

We purchased a HP Mini 110 Netbook and a GlobalSat BU-353 USB GPS Receiver, and installed OpenCPN rather than buying a chartplotter. It was terrible - every time we really needed it, either HP or Windows was busy updating something, had crashed, or had lost connection to the GPS. The only way to re-gain GPS connection was to reboot, and we never - not one time - got the machine to shut off on it's own. So you have to hold the power switch until it dies, then deal with the "oh geez, Windows got all crashy" errors after it restarts - in about 5 minutes.

We installed Ubuntu Linux, and so far so good. The install was a little tricky due to HP's use of a non-standard network card, but there is good help available on the Internet. A cold boot, from pushing the power switch to looking at a chart in OpenCPN with a GPS fix now takes 35 seconds. Total number of Linux crashes to date: Zero.

However, we're still ogling the Garmin GPSMAP 740s. Not being able to see the laptop screen in bright sunlight is inconvenient at best, and the option of radar and depth information integrated with charts is VERY appealing. There's also the weatherproof factor - we KNOW we're eventually going to get the HP wet and it will die, we just hope it doesn't happen at an inconvenient time. The Garmin will happily ride out weather in the cockpit with us. Decisions, decisions....

Fresh Water

Rhapsody has a single freshwater tank of yet-indeterminate size (60 gallons?) under the V-berth. Hand pumps of indeterminate model are provided in the galley and head sinks.

Head Sink

Galley Sink

I was able to get both pumps working with a thorough cleaning and a bit of plumber's grease.

The galley countertop/sink seal was a bit rough, and I needed to remove the sink to install the stove gimbals, one thing led to another and I ended up with a battery tray fiberglassed  under the galley sink counter aft of the sink and a new (temporary?) vinyl countertop.

Electrical

The boat came with a single very dead D6 battery installed under the starboard countertop. I upgraded to two banks, a primary bank of 4 new T-105 Trojan 6-volt batteries (480AH) installed in previously almost-inaccessible space under the galley counter, and a secondary bank of a single ca. 90AH Group 27 cheapy "marine" 12V battery, installed in the original battery box (which is now mostly tool storage) and used only in the event of primary bank depletion. A new BLUE SEA Automatic Charging Relay keeps the secondary battery charged and isolated. All new Ancor Marine Grade Tinned Copper Battery Cable ties everything together through a new Perko 8501DP Marine Battery Selector Switch, and a new LinkLITE Battery Monitor keeps track of capacities and voltage.

The primary mode of operation is to simply turn the Perko switch to (1), which engages the main battery bank. The deep-cycle batteries are more than sufficient for engine starting. In the event of main bank depletion, turning the Perko switch to (2) isolates the dead primary bank and puts all electrical load on the backup. The (both) position has no useful function in this system is generally unused, but remains available and could be used to combine two partially-dead banks in an emergency (Thanks N8Kraft!).

Original battery box, now containing a secondary battery and tool storage. We still need to somehow insulate and isolate the battery posts - rough weather could cause a short.

An aside on tool storage: Commonly used items are now in roll-up pouches created by my very talented wife. They take minimal space and make everything easy to find and very portable.

Screwdrivers rolled and tied

Galley sink cabinet cutout removed to show batteries. The batteries rest on a wood and epoxy shelf and are restrained with nylon tiedowns.

Batteries and tiedowns. I had the cables made. I measured what I needed, and they cut the cables according to my measurements - then installed the ends. The result is that everything is about 2 inches too long. I try to pretend it's more "upgradable" that way.

Maintenance Backlog

The following attempts to reconcile my work up to this point. It is probably incomplete, and I'll try to break it out into more detailed posts as time permits.

Bilge Pumps

• Installed Rule 500 Automatic Bilge, wired directly into main battery bank and plumbed to galley sink
• Installed Rule 2000 Bilge Pump on float switch, wired directly into main battery bank and plumbed to starboard cockpit scupper
• Rebuilt manual Whale Gusher pump installed in cockpit and plumbed to port cockpit scupper

Engine

• Installed new impeller and carbon bushing in raw water pump
• Fabricated from 1 1/2" galvanized pipe and installed new exhaust water injection elbow
• Changed oil in engine and transmission (February 2010)
• Changed belts

Electrical

• [ Split out to Electrical ]

Plumbing

• Rebuilt galley and head manual sink pumps
• Installed Jabsco Manual Toilet
• Epoxy coated interior of holding tank with Gluvit Epoxy

Galley

• Installed new gimballed Force 10 Gourmet Galley 2-burner range and oven
• Re-bedded galley sink
• Recovered galley countertop

Anchor

• Installed 35lb Manson Supreme anchor on 200' of 5/16 G4 chain
• Installed Simpson Lawrence 555 Seatiger manual windlass over a new chainpipe
• TO DO: find a place to stow the 35lb CQR anchor, which will be our spare.

Deck

• Installed lifeline netting
• Installed Lifesling MOB Recovery System
• Installed rail mount outboard bracket
• Installed 20lb composite propane cylinder and plumbed propane system to our rail-mount Magma grill and range
• Repaired and revarnished tiller, which had some minor rot and delamination
• New dodger fabricated and installed by Martinez Boat Canvas in San Rafael, CA. Caesar did a great job for a great price, and we recommend them highly.

Rigging

• Cleaned and inspected all running rigging
• Respliced wire-to-rope genoa halyard
• Rigged single reef in main
• Installed soft boomvang
• Cleaned sails

Cabin

• Installed new galley and V-berth cushions
• Ordered curtain rod holders from http://www.jimsengineering.com/
• Thoroughly cleaned all interior surfaces, including bilge. Lots of deceased marine life, mold, and mildew met it's demise at the hand of much Simple Green.

Misc

• October 2010: Painted bottom with Petit Trinidad red
• Cleaned and re-sealed cockpit "manhole" cover. The PO had sealed this cover with silicone, completely eliminating access to the exhaust, packing gland, transmission, and rear of the engine. It took us a couple days to get the cover off.
• Purchased 8'6" Hypalon dinghy with 4hp 2-stroke Suzuki outboard, which lives on foredeck