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| Jo Beth at Hinckley Yacht Services, Savannah, GA |
A little more time has passed than I’d planned for between
these refit updates. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as it means the work
by Hinckley is really moving along now. Nearly all of the ordered materials
have arrived, decisions regarding fabrics and colors for the interior have been
made, and the weather is (finally!) warming.
We do have the occasional issue arise when some new piece of
equipment doesn’t fit exactly right, or there’s a question as to how new wiring
should be routed, and so on. Quick and simple things mostly, and so far, all
easily resolved.
One decision we did make was to replace our mast. I wrote
about the extensive corrosion and fatigue damages to our boom, and once the
decision was made to replace it, along with the standing rigging and
chainplates – the wires that hold up the mast and the hardware they attach to –
it didn’t make sense to put all of those new things on an old mast.
Fortunately, we were able to get one ordered in time for it to ship with the
new boom. They are somewhere between Georgia and California, hopefully closer
than further, and should arrive by middle of the week next week.
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| One of the dozen or so fatigue cracks found in our old boom |
Another big decision we made was to replace the through hull
fittings and seacocks. These are the fittings and valves which control the flow
of seawater into the hull and allow water to be drained from the decks or
discharged from inside the hull. Seawater is drawn in from outside the boat is
used aboard the boat for a variety of reasons: engine cooling; flushing the head
(known as a ‘toilet’ on land); deck wash-down and cleaning; dishwashing, etc.
The seacocks are constructed of a bronze housing with a stainless steel ball valve
within it. The stainless steel ball is attached to a handle and has a hole
through its center; when the hole is in line with the opening in the hull,
water can flow in or our through the valve. When the valve is closed, the ball
is turned so the hole is no longer in line with the through hull fitting
opening.
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| Thruough hull fittings... |
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| ...and a seacock |
Seacocks are generally maintainable, but after thirty plus
years of service, ours were very tired and worn. It goes without saying that
keeping the water outside of the boat is vital to our success – hence, the
decision to replace them. All of the seacocks and through hull fittings on the
bottom have been addressed. Those for the deck drains and pump discharges will
be done a little later.
The biggest job in the works at the moment is that of
replacing the cabin overhead liner. Pacific Seacraft boats are built with a
stitched vinyl headliner fitted with zippers to allow access behind the
headliner for repairs. It’s a good idea in theory, and works well if all the
nuts and wiring one needs to get at any given time are in close proximity to
the zipper location. In practice however, it didn’t always work so well. The
single biggest issue we had with the overhead was with the zippers. On Jo Beth,
they were metal and tended to corrode and get stuck. Plus, the headliner was
looking dingy with its age. It was time for it to go.
The new headliner will be a paneled system, secured in place
by wooden strips, or battens. The grid for the system is in place now. This new
system will markedly improve our access to fittings, wiring, etc. and make
maintenance much easier. It does reduce the headroom in the cabin by about an
inch and a half; fortunately, not a problem for Lisa and me!
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| Looking up at the grid structure for the new batten and panel cabin overhead |
Two of the more challenging tasks crossed off the list were
the choice of a fabric for new interior cushions and the replacement sink and
fixtures for the galley. Lisa wanted to create a cozy, homey environment for
the two of us aboard Jo Beth, just as she did in the rebuild of our home in
Miami following hurricane Andrew in 1992. Boat fabrics require different
considerations for those in a house, and must be able to stand up to sun, sea,
and salt. After perusing countless fabric swatch books and placing dozens of
sample swatches around the boat, she finally decided on Sunbrella Cannes
Parchment. While she had hoped to bring in some warm colors similar to the
upholstered furniture in our house, it was decided a neutral pallet would be
more versatile, enhanced with colorful accent pillows.
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| Sunbrella Cannes-Parchment |
The difficulty of finding a replacement galley sink
surprised both of us. The existing dual bowl stainless steel sink has seen
better days, and while it’s plenty deep to contain things such as glasses,
plates, etc. in rough conditions, it was too small to put a pot in on either
side. Our choices were to either replace or refurbish it. The costs for doing
either were the same, surprisingly. So began the search.
You’ve heard me say it a thousand times: space on a small
cruising yacht is limited. So it was with the space allocated for the sink. The
structure of the cabin interior allows no room to move, either front to back or
side to side. Every ready-made sink we found fit in one dimension but not the
other – without fail. Eventually, after visiting dozens of websites, consulting
with restaurant supply companies, and visiting a couple of interior design
firms, Lisa found a sink online which will work. It’s a granite composite sink.
Very heavy duty, and very durable, it is a residential bar prep sink, made from
a mix of 80% granite dust in an epoxy resin. A little bit of trim work around
the flanges and we will have a beautiful and much more functional sink installation. She even found a
pull out spray head faucet in a matching color! Pictures will follow once the installation is started.
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| Electrical work in progress |
Jo Beth’s electrical system is another area where a fairly
large job is underway. We’re not rewiring the boat, but we are removing old and
unused wires and replacing our aged electrical control panels and breakers.
We’re adding a battery management panel, (batteries are our electrical lifeline
when we’re at sea), and with it a monitoring panel for tank levels and
electrical consumption, as well as consolidating switch locations and the
system layout.
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| Jo Beth's new dual filter fuel filtering system |
We’re hopeful for a launch date sometime in early June and
to be done with sea trials and the like by the end of June. Mechanical, carpentry, and electrical work are continuing and rigging and paint work will begin soon. More updates will
follow as things move ahead. Stay tuned!
