Projects

Today will be a productive day.

I think. The boat needs some work done to it. And there is no time like the present! This is mainly because the new job situation is probably going to result in a screwy and unpredictable schedule. For now anyway. So while I have the time I should use it to get some shit done!

First up is resolving the fuel alarm. Last time I was out the port tank was running low, so I opened the valve for the starboard fuel tank. Then a couple of minutes later I get an alarm. A fuel alarm. Attached to the engine is a water separating fuel filter. This is the source of said alarm. There is a float switch in the filter, and when water gets in it the float switch trips sounding the alarm. I was able to keep doing my thing, but I do need to figure out what the hell is going on. I have the new filter. I am hoping that the problem is NOT phase separation! That would be bad. But I think the gas I have in the boat is not that E-10 shit, so I should be OK. Remove the fuel filter on the engine, dump the contents into a jar for a visual inspection, hope there is not signs of ethanol phase separation going on, put the new filter on, then dump the contents of the external fuel filter into a jar, visually inspect it, hope there is no signs of phase separation going on, then haul the boat off to ye ole filling station to top off the tanks. And while I am at it add the usual fuel treatments I use.

Keeping the tanks full is the best way to prevent water in the fuel. I know this - but I got lazy.

And then there is problem 2. This is my cool custom made cooler rack that is installed in the splash well.


Pretty nifty huh? Notice how it holds the cooler. I like this set up because the cooler is never in the way.

Well this is what the cooler rack looks like now.

Notice the slight difference. What happened was a little bit of shitty engineering. The previous owner designed and built the cooler rack. That was pure genius. The splash well is wasted space, so it was put to excellent use. The cooler lives back there, leaving the deck 100% free and clear.

But as cool as the idea was, and as good as the design was - the guy used screws to hold it in place. This was not the best idea in the world. A cooler, loaded with ice and beer and whatever else is in it, is heavy. The boat rides well but it still pounds a little bit in waves. Well the last time I was out I hit some wake and landed a bit hard. The screws pulled out of the fiberglass and the cooler rack was down. Nothing was really damaged, but it needs to be fixed anyway.

My solution is going to be BOLTS! Not screws. I will use stainless steel bolts, large washers, and self locking nuts. I might even put in a backing plate and washers - but I do not think the backing plate will be needed.

What the washers and/or backing plate will do is distribute the force exerted by the weight of the cooler over a larger area of fiberglass. The end result will be much stronger than screws.

In addition, the tarp over the boat got ripped up in a rain storm a few weeks ago. It needs to be replaced too. I have the tarp, I just need to get it strung up.

Then the project will be over, and the boat will be ready for use again.